Brazil’s Vice President and Minister of Defense, José Alencar, submitted to the United Nations (UN) a second name for the position of Commander of the United Nations Peace Mission in Haiti: General Jannot Jansen da Silva Filho. The first indication was of General José Elito Siqueira.
Jansen is Vice Chief of the Army’s Department of Logistics in Brasilia.
The UN will choose between the two names, who will be in charge of the mission. José Alencar affirmed that both generals are in the same level and prepared to carry out an efficient job.
Alencar participated on the memorial service to honor General Urano Bacellar, who was found dead last Saturday, in the hotel he lived, in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also participated on the service.
The General’s body was taken to Rio de Janeiro for burial.
Suicide Confirmed
The preliminary report of the autopsy made by Brasília’s IML (Instituto Médico Legal – Coroner’s Office) confirmed initial reports that General Bacellar killed himself in Haiti. The report, which talks about "strong evidence of suicide" was signed by coroner Eduardo Reis.
Laerte Bessa, general-director of Brasília’s Civilian Police confirmed the information and said that the shot that killed the general was a point-blank, inside the mouth discharge. He also informed that the medical examiner had found traces of gunpowder on one of the general’s hands.
The final report will be release in about 10 days, according to Bessa. For that, the Coroner’s Office will also study X-rays and toxicologic data. This exam should answer if the Brazilian general was under the influence of drugs.