Zelaya tries to return; Honduran military doesn’t let him
Violent Clashes in Honduras as Ex-President’s Return Blocked
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — An airborne drama that held Honduras in suspense for most of the day ended Sunday evening with the ousted president’s plane circling over the airport here in the capital, where soldiers and riot police officers blocked the runway and used tear gas and bullets to disperse supporters who had awaited what was supposed to have been his triumphal return.
As the plane carrying the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, swept in low and made two passes over the city, cheers erupted from the crowds below. An air force jet then streaked across the sky and Mr. Zelaya’s plane flew off to Nicaragua.
“The runway is blocked,” Mr. Zelaya said in an interview from the sky that was broadcast over loudspeakers to his supporters on the ground. “There is no way I can land.”
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Honduran army blocks runway to keep Zelaya out
Ousted President Manuel Zelaya enters Honduran airspace but says his plane was unable to land in Tegucigalpa. His supporters gathered at the airport clash with police; one child is reported killed.
Reporting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras — Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted a week ago in a military coup, failed Sunday in his attempt to return home to reclaim power, with Honduras’s de facto rulers placing army trucks on the airport runway to prevent his flight from landing.
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Honduran military prevents ousted leader’s landing; clash kills 1
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNN) — Deposed Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya said he was denied permission to land at Tegucigalpa’s airport Sunday evening after a deadly clash between Zelaya’s supporters and government troops.
Zelaya told the Venezuela-based news network Telesur that his jet was denied permission to land in Tegucigalpa, where military vehicles were arrayed on the runway. The aircraft was believed to be en route to San Salvador, the capital of neighboring El Salvador, after what Zelaya called a “fruitless” attempt to land.
