New contingent of Guatemala troops deploys to Haiti

More than 75 Guatemalan soldiers arrived in Port-au-Prince on Saturday to help Haiti's overwhelmed police force curb gang violence, one day after a first contingent, bringing their number to more than 150. 

The Latin American troops join the Kenyan-led multinational force that began deploying last June. The United Nations estimated that the gangs control about 85 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, and gang violence has not abated in the crisis-wracked Caribbean country since the multinational force arrived.

Attacks by armed groups have been escalating in multiple areas of the capital for more than a month. Authorities in Haiti's transitional government have called on the UN to transform the Kenyan-led force into a full-fledged peacekeeping mission.