Ousted President Manuel Zelaya attempted to return to Honduras July 5, but was denied permission to land the jet in Tegucigalpa, where military vehicles were arrayed on the runway. Soldiers lined barricades surrounding the airport, and police fired warning shots and tear gas at several thousand protesters who had vowed to protect the ousted president with a human cordon. Organizers said several people were wounded in the clashes.

The Latin American business blog Inka Kola News is running a translation of an interview with the new Honduran chancellor (foreign minister) Enrique Ortez, recently appointed by de facto president Roberto Micheletti, in which he disses world and regional leaders who reject his coup-installed government in contemptuously condescending terms—and refers to Barack Obama as a "little black man who knows nothing."

The de facto regime in Honduras announced plans late July 3 to withdraw from the Organization of American States following a visit from OAS secretary general José Miguel Insulza, who demanded the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. But the OAS—meeting in emergency session in Washington the next evening to consider suspending Honduras' membership—maintains that the coup-installed government of Roberto Micheletti isn't recognized by the body and therefore has no legal power to withdraw from it. OAS assistant secretary general Albert Ramdin told reporters that "only a legitimate government" can move to leave the OAS. (McClatchy Newspapers, July 4)

Social organizations in El Salvador have denounced the disappearance of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, a well-known anti-mining leader from the town of San Isidro, Cabañas department. Rivera is a local leader of the FMLN, the director of the San Isidro Community Center, and the legal representative of Amigos de San Isidro Cabañas (ASIC). He is a vocal opponent of El Dorado gold mine, a project of the Pacific Rim mining company that has been stalled due to disputes over permits. Pacific Rim recently sued El Salvador for $77 million under the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) after the government refused to grant a permit to open the mine.

José Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), gave a grim assessment July 2 of diplomatic efforts to restore the ousted president of Honduras, warning that it would be "very hard" to head off a more severe break with the nation and that he is prepared to call for sanctions. At a news conference in Panama, the ousted Manuel Zelaya insisted that he remains the legitimate president of Honduras, and called on his supporters to keep up their protests. "We may not have the institutions, but the street is ours," he said. "That's the people's place." He added that a "dictatorship has been established" in Honduras.

De facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti announced a suspension of civil rights for 72 hours the morning of July 1, in a decree approved by the National Congress. Freedom of assembly is restricted, and security forces are granted the power to detain citizens without charges and enter homes without a court order. The dusk-to-dawn curfew that has been in place since the June 28 coup has been extended for six more days.

Honduran Prosecutor General Luis Alberto Rubi said June 30 that ousted President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya would "immediately" be arrested if he returns to the country, where legal officials have accused him of 18 crimes including "treason" and "abuse of authority." Zelaya, meanwhile, vows to return on Thursday July 2—raising the prospect of an imminent showdown. The secretary general of the Organization of American States, José Miguel Insulza of Chile, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa have offered to accompany Zelaya on his return.

One day after Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted and deported by the army, thousands of protesters continue to mass at the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa—in an increasingly tense stand-off with hundreds of camouflage-clad soldiers carrying riot shields and automatic weapons. The New York Times reports June 29 that the protesters—many wearing masks and carrying wooden or metal sticks—yelled taunts at the soldiers across the fences ringing the compound and braced for an attack. Shots were heard in the Honduran capital late Sunday the 28th, after de facto President Roberto Micheletti imposed a nationwide 48-hour curfew—which protesters continue to defy. AFP reported Monday evening that police and army troops outside the presidential palace were using tear gas to scatter protesters, who fought back with rocks and bottles. More shots were heard, although no casualties have yet been reported.