futile attempt to return home

Mel Zelaya was planning his return to Honduras this afternoon, but once they arrived at Toncontin, the airport in the capital city, the runway was occupied by military vehicles and soldiers. The military was given orders to not allow any plane to land anywhere in the country, which might be carrying the ousted President, Mel Zelaya.

Before Mel’s arrival to the skies of Tegucigalpa, thousands of his supporters gathered around Toncontin to welcome him back. Unfortunately, things got a bit out of hand – supporters breaking down barricades and climbing fences. One young person, 19 year old, was shot in the head and died en route to the hospital. I have read reports of many other being injured. In an attempt to manage the crowds, troops in riot gear used tear gas on the crowds. CNN reports 3 dead after Zelaya supporters began to break through barricades in an attempt to remove the obstacles from the runway.

I have just read one of the Honduran newspapers online, and there it states that Zelaya’a plane was rerouted Managua, Nicaragua for a brief stop, and then continued on to San Salvador, El Salvador, our close neighbor, where the president hopes to meet with representatives of the Honduran Supreme Court.

Micheletti, the new president (depending on who you talk to), today made a statement saying that there are Nicaraguan troops moving towards the border of Honduras. However, the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has denied that this is true. In a statement he said "Brothers - Honduran soldiers, Honduran officials, I would like to assure you, I can swear to you before God that Nicaragua is not dispatching troops towards Honduran territory, and that we are not preparing any type of attack." That is slightly reassuring.

The new government has been putting into effect curfews nearly every night for the past week. For the next 2 days, the curfew is 6:30pm - 5:00am.

At this point, I haven’t heard anything reliable as to what happens from here. More to come tomorrow, I’m sure.

Please continue to pray for peace for this country…