El Salvador Transportation

Anti-government rebels in El Salvador declared their third national transportation stoppage of the year Wednesday, apparently in an effort to disrupt a weekend rally in support of President Jose Napoleon Duarte. The U.S.-backed military immediately said it would increase security on the nation's highways to protect those who choose to travel during the stoppage.

Long-dueling neighbors Honduras and El Salvador put their differences aside and agreed to build a "dry canal" highway to compete with the Panama Canal, officials said. Salvadoran and Honduran business leaders signed an accord to construct a $1-billion dry canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans with highways running between two ports. Honduran President Carlos Reina and Salvadoran President Armando Calderon Sol pledged to support the project and allow private firms to build it.

Salvadoran political exiles Tuesday criticized their guerrilla allies' decision to suspend cease-fire talks with the government over the killing of a human rights worker and called for the dialogue to resume as soon as possible. The armed rebels, meanwhile, launched their seventh nationwide traffic stoppage this year, paralyzing public transportation throughout the country.

Leftist guerrillas lifted their four-day transportation ban Monday as violence subsided after El Salvador's national elections over the weekend, when more than 30 people died. Rightist Alfredo Cristiani, elected president in the Sunday vote, confirmed that he will seek negotiations with the rebels after taking office, and the Defense Ministry promised to investigate several of the weekend deaths.

Leftist guerrillas lifted their four-day transportation ban Monday as violence subsided after El Salvador's national elections over the weekend, when more than 30 people died. Rightist Alfredo Cristiani, elected president in the Sunday vote, confirmed that he will seek negotiations with the rebels after taking office, and the Defense Ministry promised to investigate several of the weekend deaths.

Bus service in El Salvador came to a virtual standstill after leftist rebels called for a nationwide transportation ban and threatened drivers who took to the roads. Despite assurances from the military that transportation would be protected, a vast majority of bus and truck drivers chose to park their vehicles. Only a handful of buses, the main means of mass transit, circulated in the capital of San Salvador, a city of 1 million.

Long-dueling neighbors Honduras and El Salvador put their differences aside and agreed to build a "dry canal" highway to compete with the Panama Canal, officials said. Salvadoran and Honduran business leaders signed an accord to construct a $1-billion dry canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans with highways running between two ports. Honduran President Carlos Reina and Salvadoran President Armando Calderon Sol pledged to support the project and allow private firms to build it.

Bus service in El Salvador came to a virtual standstill after leftist rebels called for a nationwide transportation ban and threatened drivers who took to the roads. Despite assurances from the military that transportation would be protected, a vast majority of bus and truck drivers chose to park their vehicles. Only a handful of buses, the main means of mass transit, circulated in the capital of San Salvador, a city of 1 million.

Salvadoran political exiles Tuesday criticized their guerrilla allies' decision to suspend cease-fire talks with the government over the killing of a human rights worker and called for the dialogue to resume as soon as possible. The armed rebels, meanwhile, launched their seventh nationwide traffic stoppage this year, paralyzing public transportation throughout the country.

Anti-government rebels in El Salvador declared their third national transportation stoppage of the year Wednesday, apparently in an effort to disrupt a weekend rally in support of President Jose Napoleon Duarte. The U.S.-backed military immediately said it would increase security on the nation's highways to protect those who choose to travel during the stoppage.