Haitian police retake national stadium from gangs after two years

Haitian security forces regained control Thursday of the country's main stadium that had been under gang control for two years, forcing the national football team to play elsewhere.

The Haitian National Police said in a statement that it had taken "full control" of the venue with the Task Force, a private security group serving the government, after which it left the stadium under the guard of Salvadoran soldiers.

The operation is part of the deployment of some 2,000 soldiers ordered by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, who announced last Tuesday that his men had destroyed the "headquarters" of 400 Mawozo, one of Haiti's main gangs.

Bukele, who has gained attention for bringing Salvadoran gangs to heel but been accused of human rights violations, ordered the dispatch of the contingent to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers who went missing after an ambush on October 18 in Port-au-Prince.

The four soldiers are part of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), a multinational group backed by the UN that distances itself from the actions of the troops sent for the rescue mission.

The Haitian police added that after retaking the Sylvio Cator Stadium, the Salvadoran military took charge of security there.

Salvadoran state-run television said Salvadoran forces "took up position" in the stadium on Thursday.

In 2024, the 10,000-capacity stadium fell into the hands of gangs that control much of the country, the poorest in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The violence forced the Haitian national football team to play World Cup qualifying matches in Curaçao rather than at home.

The team, consisting virtually entirely of players who do not live in Haiti, won qualification to the World Cup in 2026 but were eliminated in the group stage.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)