Haitian security forces on Thursday regained control of the country’s main stadium that had been under gang control for two years, forcing the national soccer 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 at the service of the government, after which it left the stadium under the custody of Salvadoran soldiers. The operation is part of the deployment of some 2,000 soldiers ordered by the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who announced last Tuesday that his men had destroyed the “headquarters” of 400 Mawozo, one of the main gangs in Haiti. Read moreHaiti’s Prime Minister praises Bukele after Salvadoran troops helped destroy gang headquarters. Bukele, who has attracted attention for subduing Salvadoran gangs but has been accused of human rights violations, ordered the contingent to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers who disappeared 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. Read moreAmnesty urges El Salvador to reveal terms of troop deployment to Haiti Haitian police added that after retaking the Sylvio Cator Stadium, the Salvadoran army took charge of security there. Salvadoran state television said Salvadoran forces “took position” at the stadium on Thursday. In 2024, the 10,000-seat stadium fell into the hands of gangs that control much of the country, the poorest in Latin America and the Caribbean. The violence forced Haiti’s soccer team to play World Cup qualifying matches in Curaçao instead of at home. The team, made up almost entirely of players who do not live in Haiti, qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but was eliminated in the group stage. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)