The Brazilian government proposed to the United Nations on Monday that Gen. Jose Elito Carvalho de Siqueira be the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, to replace Lt. Gen. Urano Bacellar, who was found dead in Port-au-Prince last week.

De Siqueira is the former commander of an infantry division in the Tefe jungle, in Amazonas state, a former director of the army's registry and evaluation department and currently is a three-star general who commands the Army's sixth Military Region in the northeastern city of Salvador.

Brazil has been leading the international peacekeeping mission in Haiti since June 2004.

According to Brazil's defense ministry, the country has sent 1,496 soldiers to Haiti -- the largest single Brazilian contingent operating overseas since World War II.

The United Nations authorized the dispatch of Brazilian troops to Haiti after Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a rebellion in 2004.

The 57-year-old Bacellar was found dead from a gunshot wound on Saturday in his hotel room in Port-au-Prince. He was suspected to have committed suicide. But the Brazilian authorities have yet to confirm it.

Earlier on Monday, Brazilian Vice President Jose Alencar told the Radiobras news agency that Brazil was determined to remain at the helm of the multi-national mission despite the death of Bacellar, and the efforts are in line with the promise made by Foreign Minister Celso Amorim to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Alencar added that it is not yet the time to discuss withdrawing Brazilian troops from Haiti -- a suggestion made by some opposition supporters. Enditem