The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which represents 656 unions worldwide with 4.5 million members, issued a call on July 17 for its members to carry out protests against Honduran shipping. The federation said it was expressing opposion to a June 28 military coup which replaced Honduran president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales with a de facto government. "We have to put real pressure on the Honduran military to allow the country to revert to democracy," ITF general secretary David Cockroft said.

Insisting there is no possibility of a coup d'état in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega is pushing forward on a "citizen power" agenda similar to the controversial project that led to the ouster of Manuel Zelaya in neighboring Honduras. Speaking before some 500,000 supporters July 19 at a rally to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, Ortega called for a constitutional referendum on scrapping presidential term limits.

Costa Rica-mediated talks on the political crisis in Honduras broke down without agreement July 19, with representatives of de facto President Roberto Micheletti rejecting proposals for a national reconciliation government led by ousted President Manuel Zelaya. "I'm very sorry, but the proposals that you have presented are unacceptable to the constitutional government of Honduras," said Carlos López, the head delegate for the Micheletti regime. Zelaya's representatives at the table said they would have have no further talks with the Micheletti delegation.

Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said July 18 he agreed with a proposal made by mediator Costa Rica to form a national unity government, and said he would return home from exile in the coming days. "We agree with it, but only as long as all the powers of the state are integrated into it," he told Radio Globo, adding that his return to Honduras could occur as soon as tomorrow. But the de facto government in Tegucigalpa has not relented of its threat to arrest him if he returns to the country. US officials reportedly warned that any attempt by Zelaya to return to Honduras could jeopardize the Costa Rica-mediated dialogue between his representatives and those of de facto leader Roberto Micheletti.

On July 8, DNA tests confirmed that a body found in a well in Cabañas department, El Salvador, on June 30 is that of prominent community activist Gustavo Marcelo Rivera. The body was found by community members who had organized a search for Rivera, missing since June 18. Witnesses reported that the body exhibited signs of torture techniques generally tied to targeted political assassinations. However, initial reports coming from the National Civilian Police (PNC) state that gang members were responsible for the murder.

Thousands of protesters again blocked major roads across Honduras July 16 to demand the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. In a telephone call broadcast to protesters, Zelaya said: "I call upon you to maintain the resistance. Do not desist for a moment, or else Honduras is doomed [derrumba]." Meanwhile in Costa Rica, President Oscar Arias is proposing a "government of national reconciliation" in the dialogue he is mediating between Zelaya and de facto President Roberto Micheletti. Arias said both sides have agreed to the notion of a unity government that would include members of all political parties and serve as a check on presidential powers—and to an amnesty, both for Zelaya and those who ousted him. (AFP, NYT, July 16)

Honduras' de facto President Roberto Micheletti told a report in Tegucigalpa July 15 that he is "willing to leave office if at some point that decision is needed to bring peace and tranquility to the country, but without, I stress, the return of former President Zelaya." The move comes as Zelaya supporters threatened to call widespread strikes to protest his ouster.

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) has filed a legal case with the Specialized Prosecutor for Organized Crime against the coup plotters and perpetrators. The complaint demands "that the investigation of these crimes proceed immediately, that the people responsible for their commission be identified... that orders for imprisonment be issued, and [that] the national police and Interpol be instructed regarding their immediate detention." (Rights Action, July 14)