Dozens of Salvadoran soldiers who recently arrived in Haiti carried out their first patrols in Port-au-Prince on Friday, October 30, in Tabarre near the Santo area, HaitiLibre reported. It is in this part of the Croix-des-Bouquets district that four Salvadoran technicians of the Gang Suppression Force went missing after an ambush on October 18.

Some passersby applauded the convoy, and local media reported that the soldiers had set up a base in Tabarre, near the U.S. Embassy. HaitiLibre said the contingent, which includes special forces, is the largest sent by a single country to Haiti since the UN stabilization mission, MINUSTAH, left in 2017.

According to HaitiLibre, the contingent arrived with seven helicopters: five light MD 500E helicopters used for surveillance, reconnaissance and fire support, and two UH-60 Black Hawks for moving troops and supplies and for medical evacuations. The outlet said the light helicopters can carry machine guns and 70 mm rocket pods.

President Nayib Bukele has said his troops did not bring aerial bombs, to avoid heavy damage in crowded urban areas. HaitiLibre reported that the rockets are meant to be used only as a last resort, when forces on the ground are pinned down by fire from a specific building.