Haiti stadium retaken from gangs, police say

Haitian security forces regained control Thursday of Sylvio Cator Stadium, the country's main stadium, after two years under gang control, Haitian police said.

The Haitian National Police said it took “full control” of the venue with the Task Force, a private security group serving the government, and then left the stadium under the guard of Salvadoran soldiers. Salvadoran state-run television said Salvadoran forces took up positions there on Thursday.

The operation is part of a deployment of about 2,000 soldiers ordered by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Bukele said the Salvadoran troops would set up an operational base in the stadium to push further into territory controlled by gangs, and said they would launch an offensive. He urged gang members to leave the area.

Bukele ordered the contingent to Haiti after an ambush in Port-au-Prince on October 18 left four Salvadoran soldiers missing. Those soldiers are part of the Gang Suppression Force, a UN-backed multinational group that distances itself from the separate Salvadoran rescue mission.

The 10,000-capacity stadium fell into gang hands in 2024. Violence forced Haiti's national football team to play World Cup qualifying matches in Curacao instead of at home.