New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- Police in Haiti announced Tuesday that they regained control of a critical telecommunications hub that heavily armed gangs had seized last week, briefly disrupting air traffic and internet connections.

The takeover was a rare success for Haitian authorities and a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police that have struggled to push back powerful gangs seeking full control of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The police operation at the Teleco site in the once peaceful community of Kenscoff began before dawn on Monday and lasted about two hours, according to Michel-Ange Louis Jeune, spokesperson for Haiti's National Police.

"This is a strong message that the new police chief sent," he said, referring to Andre Jonas Vladi...