Those developments, as well as the shooting of a former senator who recently criticized the military, were taken as further moves into isolation by rulers reacting to Sunday's United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing a U.S. invasion of Haiti.
The de facto government and its civilian allies are taking a tough stand against the United States, which insists that Haitian army commanders step aside and allow the return of the democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
On Monday, provisional President Emile Jonassaint declared a state of siege giving the regime the right to suspend constitutional protections and impose a curfew. It was still not clear Tuesday how far Jonassaint and the army would go in applying the state of siege.
The kidnappings in front of two U.S. in-country processing centers were seen as direct attacks on the United States.
"I would call it a relatively provocative move," said an American who works with an organization that had been assisting one of the victims.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman, Stanley Schrager, reported that early Monday morning thugs drove up and began attacking Haitians lined up outside the Rex Theater, where applicants fill out forms for refuge in the United States. Some of the refuge-seekers were beaten with clubs, Schrager said, and three were kidnapped.
Attempting to staunch domestic criticism, authorities Tuesday warned that they might expropriate facilities of Haitian news outlets.
"The media must remain calm and serene and avoid alarmist news," the de facto Ministry of Information said in a communiqu?.
Journalists have already been told they should not use the word "de facto" in describing the regime. Tuesday's warnings could have a chilling effect, particularly on radio stations, which are the main sources of news for the vast majority of Haitians.
Haitian radio has been daring in its reporting despite past harassment of journalists. Tuesday morning, for example, the politically moderate Radio Metropole broadcast an interview with the wife of former Senator Reynold Georges, reporting that Georges was shot in the back Monday. Marie-Helena Georges said her husband was approached by a group of men, some in military uniform. It is widely assumed that Georges, 47, was attacked for recent statements criticizing the army and de facto authorities.
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