January 9, 2006: The gangs, both political and drug related, have been growing stronger. The 8,000 UN peacekeepers, and a smaller number of police, are unable to control the streets. The drug gangs like this, as it makes it easier to use Haiti for drug smuggling operations.
January 7, 2006: The commander of the UN peacekeeping force, Brazilian Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, was found dead, an apparent suicide. Some Brazilian media reported it as an accident that put the bullet in the generals head.
January 1, 2006: Two foreign election workers have been kidnapped. The national elections have now been delayed a fourth time, until February (instead of January 8th).
December 31, 2005: Police estimate that, in the last ten months, 1,900 people have been kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnapping problem has been getting worse, with 400 grabbed in December. Cops blame drug and political gangs. Several towns and city neighborhoods have come under the control of gangs, providing bases for kidnappers to operate from.
