TFHO1: HONDURAS COUP SITREP #26 07/22/2009 AS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000636 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2019 TAGS: PGOV CASC MARR KDEM PHUM ASEC HO SUBJECT: TFHO1: HONDURAS COUP SITREP #26 07/22/2009 AS OF 12:00 LOCAL (14:00 EDT) REF: TEGUCIGALPA 633 AND OTHERS TEGUCIGALP 00000636 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reasons 1.4 (b and d) -------------- DEMONSTRATIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITY -------------- ¶1. (U) As of 09:36 local (11:36 EDT),approximately 200 Zelaya supporters congregated and proceeded to block traffic on the Boulevard Santa Fe in Tegucigalpa. The demonstrators talked about possibly disrupting the planned pro-Micheletti march scheduled for 10:00 local (12:00 EDT). As of 11:57 local (13:57 EDT),approximately 800 demonstrators had congregated and began marching to Comayaguela obstructing traffic. ¶2. (U) At 10:00 local (12:00 EDT),pro-Micheletti demonstrators began to congregate on Boulevard Suyapa with plans to march to the National Stadium. As of 10:40 local (12:40 EDT),the group numbered around 5,000 demonstrators. RSO contacts reported that Pro-Zelaya students were among the group with plans to disrupt the march. ¶3. (U) At 10:15 local (12:15 EDT) approximately 70 pro-Zelaya protestors representing a coalition of feminist groups gathered outside the Embassy's Consular section in a peaceful demonstration to deliver a letter addressed to President Obama regarding their desire to see the U.S. put more pressure on the de facto regime. ¶4. (U) Wednesday morning, July 22, Pro-Zelaya demonstrators blocked a portion of highway in Villanueva, a suburb of San Pedro Sula, disrupting traffic on the CA-5 highway between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. ¶5. (U) The curfew remains in effect, and is expected to cover 00:00-04:30 local (02:00-06:30 EDT) tonight. The new official police spokesman told POLOFF that 10 people were arrested for curfew violations last night. The Embassy Warden Message urges AmCits to consult television and radio announcements each night to determine the correct curfew hours. -------------- Infrastructure and Communications -------------- ¶6. (C) According to Esdras Lopez, the owner of pro-Zelaya Channel 36, the Honduran mobile communications firm TIGO canceled its advertising contract with his station on July 21, which follows the cancelation of his FICOSAH and Citibank contracts the previous week. Lopez claims that the de facto government is trying to shut down his and contends that the contract cancelations are likely political in nature. ¶7. (U) Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa remains open and has been operating since Tuesday afternoon, July 7. American, Continental and Delta flights continue operating as normal. San Pedro Sula airport remains open for international flights, and American, Continental and Delta Airlines continue to operate flights as usual to and from that destination. ¶8. (U) All land borders are open to both private and commercial traffic and functioning normally. ¶9. (U) There are no reports of abnormal public utility outages in the country. -------------- Consular and Embassy Operations -------------- ¶10. (U) The Embassy is open for normal business on Wednesday, TEGUCIGALP 00000636 002.2 OF 002 July 22. Barring any changes in the security situation, the Consular Section is open for regular consular services until further notice. ¶11. (U) The Consular Section continues to receive sporadic inquiries from AmCits regarding the political situation. The latest warden message was issued Friday afternoon, July 17. Post will circulate additional Warden Messages only in the event that the security situation changes. The Consular Section continues to regularly update ACS information on the Embassy website. ¶12. (SBU) The EAC met Monday, July 20 at 14:30 local (16:30 EDT) and determined that Post will maintain its current security posture. The next EAC meeting is TBD. LLORENS