El Salvador Haiti deployment: Amnesty urges transparency

Amnesty International urged El Salvador and Haiti on Monday to publish the agreement governing the deployment of Salvadoran troops in Haiti and to explain how the forces are overseen.

The rights group said both governments should clarify the rules on use of force, accountability arrangements and ways for people to report possible violations without fear of reprisals.

About 2,000 troops have been sent to Haiti by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele since the mid-October disappearance of four Salvadoran personnel. Most of the Salvadoran soldiers are not part of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force.

Amnesty's Americas director Ana Piquer called on Bukele and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime to ensure that operations by Salvadoran forces comply with international human rights law. She also urged prompt, independent and impartial investigations into any allegations of human rights violations.

Bukele initially said the deployment was aimed at bringing home the missing personnel. He has since suggested a broader goal of eliminating Haiti's powerful gangs, after a campaign against gangs in El Salvador that has faced allegations of rights abuses.