Donald Trump says he told Bukele about the Haiti crisis: "You have to do what you have to do"

At Mar-a-Lago on Halloween, Donald Trump told reporters he had spoken with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, and backed Bukele’s handling of a Haiti crisis. Trump said Bukele had described a grave situation in Haiti and added that Salvadoran personnel had been killed; accounts conflict, with El Salvador calling four military technicians abducted after an Oct. 18 ambush near Port-au-Prince, Haiti saying they are missing, and a gang leader claiming they are dead. El Salvador has sent 2,000 troops, saying the aim is to bring the four back safely rather than mount an occupation. Haiti’s transitional government supports the move, while rights advocates and gang leaders warn of greater civilian harm; the U.N. says the operation is separate from the U.N.-backed force and must follow international law. The remarks show Trump’s backing for Bukele’s intervention.