Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, speaking to reporters on a visit to Lima, Peru, asserted that "Barack Obama is the president of the United States, but not the chief of the empire... To be chief of the empire, Obama has to put in order the CIA and the Pentagon, which behind his back are undertaking processes of destabilization of our peoples."

Coup-installed Honduran President Roberto Micheletti for the first time admitted Aug. 17 that forcing the deposed President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country, instead of arresting him, was a mistake. "There was an error by a certain sector," Micheletti said in an interview in Tegucigalpa. "It wasn't correct. We have to punish whoever allowed that to happen. The rest was framed within what the constitution requires." Micheletti nonetheless reiterated that the military was following the law in seizing Zelaya at his home early June 28. He also said that Honduras is now vulnerable to a military attack from its neighbors because the US has cut off military support. (Bloomberg, Aug. 17)

A leader in the movement opposed to re-opening the El Dorado goldmine in El Salvador is in stable condition after being shot eight times in the back and legs Aug. 13. Doctors at San Salvador's Rosales Hospital said it was "miraculous" that Ramiro Rivera survived the attack, which occurred in front of his home. Rivera identified one of two assailants, who was detained by police in Cabañas.

Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya clashed with soldiers and police in the capital Tegucigalpa in two days of unrest throughout the city Aug. 11 and 12. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of thousands and protesters responded by throwing stones in a confrontation near the congress building on the 12th. Zelaya's wife attended another protest that day in the industrial city of San Pedro Sula, which was also broken up by police firing gas canisters. (Reuters, Honduras Resists, Aug. 12)

Our July issue featured the story "Honduras: the Resistance So Far" from Weekly News Update on the Americas, on the popular mobilization against the first post-Cold War coup d'etat in Central America. Our multiple-choice July Extra Extra Credit Exit Poll was: "Was Obama in on the Honduran coup?" We received 16 votes. The results follow:

On Aug. 6 the three main Honduran labor federations held a march in Tegucigalpa marking the start of an open-ended general strike against the de facto government formed when a June 28 coup removed president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales from office. The strike was timed to coincide with eight coordinated marches by grassroots organizations that began on Aug. 5 with the goal of bringing tens of thousands of coup opponents from around the country to Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the second largest city, on Aug. 11. A delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) is scheduled to visit Honduras that day for discussions with de facto officials and others.

The five generals who lead the Honduran armed forces made a rare appearance on national television Aug. 4 to explain their role in the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. They repeated that they did not act to take sides in the political fight that has polarized the country, but out of obedience to the law, and that history would judge them as patriots. They denied that they acted in the interests of an "oligarchy." They said that Zelaya was acting on behalf of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, and had become a threat to democracy throughout the hemisphere. Said Gen. Miguel Ángel Garcia Padget: "Central America was not the objective of this communism disguised as democracy. This socialism, communism, chávismo, we could call it, was headed to the heart of the United States."

Several were wounded and more than 250 arrested July 30 in clashes between protesters and security forces at several locations around Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. Police and army troops used both rubber bullets and live rounds, and fired tear gas from helicopter. The worst violence occurred at El Durazno, on the northern outskirts, where protesters took over the highway and one was shot in the head. Demonstration leaders accused police of firing on peaceful protesters. TV footage showed some protesters armed with sticks and pick-axes. (NYT, Comun-Noticias, Honduras Resists, July 30)