Port-au-Prince, Haiti ? The Brazilian commander of U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti was found dead on the balcony of his hotel room Saturday in an apparent suicide, authorities said, a blow to the 9,000-strong force and efforts to restore democracy in Haiti.

U.N. officials and Haitian police swarmed the upscale Hotel Montana where 58-year-old Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, blood staining his white T-shirt, was slumped on a tile floor against the balcony.

The multinational force is attempting to restore democracy to this impoverished Caribbean island nation two years after a rebellion overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Peacekeepers from more than 40 countries have struggled to control gangs that still hold sway in sprawling slums.