TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS, AND MEXICO CITY — Honduran security forces Monday fired tear gas at angry protesters demanding the return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya, as leaders of the Western Hemisphere pressed for an end to Central America's first military coup in 16 years.
Troops in battle dress chased rock-throwing demonstrators through the downtown streets of Tegucigalpa, the capital, as a military helicopter whirred overhead. At least 30 people were injured, a Red Cross official said. One man reportedly died after being hit by a truck in an earlier incident.
Honduras found itself increasingly isolated a day after the army arrested Zelaya and deported him to Costa Rica. President Obama said allowing the coup to stand would set a "terrible precedent" that evokes "a dark past," and several Latin countries with leftist governments recalled their ambassadors from Tegucigalpa.
Honduras' de facto rulers also imposed a media blackout, preventing international newspapers from circulating and blocking access to Internet news sites and international cable television news networks.
Zelaya, a leftist whose efforts to change the constitution fueled opposition to his rule, appeared at a summit of regional heads of state in Managua, Nicaragua, and was invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly today.
"I want to return to my country," Zelaya said. "I am president of Honduras."
Zelaya said he would accept an offer by Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza to return to Honduras and would like to make the trip Thursday.
Despite nearly unanimous international condemnation of the coup, the man whom the Honduran Congress named to replace Zelaya remained defiant.
Roberto Micheletti said the Honduran Supreme Court backed the removal of Zelaya, whom it accused of violating the constitution. Micheletti said Zelaya had used his close ties to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez to drag Honduras to the radical left.
"Eighty to 90% of the Honduran population is happy with what happened," Micheletti told Honduran radio.
Honduras is, in fact, divided. Zelaya has a strong following among the Honduran poor, but he alienated Congress, the Supreme Court and much of institutional Honduras.
In the streets of Tegucigalpa, protests were growing. Several thousand Hondurans, including youths, teachers and workers, converged near the presidential palace early Monday, vowing to occupy the zone until Zelaya returned.
