The United Nations says suicide is the official cause of death for the Brazilian general who commanded U.N. peacekeeping troops in Haiti.
The U.N. Mission in Haiti Thursday declared that Lieutenant-General Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar committed suicide. This finding was also the conclusion of the Brazilian investigation.
Bacellar was found dead of a gunshot wound Saturday in his hotel room in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
On Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended a ceremony in Brasilia honoring the general.
Brazil has nominated two people to replace Bacellar, General Jose Elito Carvalho de Siqueira and General Jeannot Jansen da Silva Filho.
Brazilian Army commander, general Francisco Albuquerque, however, has refused to accept the conclusion that Bacellar has killed himself.
According to Albuquerque, the Brazilian military working in Haiti face several difficulties since "no peace mission is an easy task," but they don’t have to deal with nothing too tough either.
The commander added that General Bacellar never presented any symptom suggesting that he had problems that could lead to suicide. General Albuquerque said Bacellar had all it takes to perform his role in Haiti and was doing it well.
"He was the best and that’s why I sent him there," commented Albuquerque soon after the body of Bacellar was buried in Rio de Janeiro.
And added: "As much as medicine has advanced no one can say that he knows the human mind. So let’s wait for a definitive report of his death."
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