Honduran Government Identifies Prominent Perpetrators of Violence in Protests in Tegucigalpa

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Honduran government announced that it has identified two individuals who participated in the violent protests in the capital on January 12.

Honduran authorities have determined that José Manuel Zelaya, a representative-elect to the National Congress from the LIBRE party and the nephew of Manuel Zelaya, the coordinator of the Libre Alliance and a former Honduran president, was among the protesters. Authorities also identified José Toscano Casco, a former candidate for representative from the Alianza Patriótica Hondureña.

During the protests January 12, demonstrators vandalized the Marriott Hotel, setting fires in the lobby and breaking windows. Two days prior, defeated presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla of the Libre Alliance asked his followers to join the protests in a Twitter post.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has called for an end to the violence and has asked the leaders of the Libre Alliance to meet with him. In a Facebook post on his official account, President Hernández called for "Salvador Nasralla and Manuel Zelaya and their followers to start a sincere and high level dialogue" aimed at quelling the protests and fostering economic growth in Honduras.

The president also said that his administration has been "working with different sectors of Honduran society to build a grand national agreement, so our nation will grow and all sectors will benefit."

Domestic and international business organizations have expressed concern about the protests. In a January 12 press release, the Federation of Private Organizations of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (Fedepricap) said that it "categorically rejects the acts of vandalism, destruction and looting arising from the demonstrations…actions that have scared away foreign and domestic investment, and occasioned a loss of work for Hondurans."

In a statement reported by Honduran media, Executive Director of the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce Rafael Medina called the protests "very regrettable" and said they have negatively impacted local workers.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in Honduras also asked for the violence to end. In a statement also reported by Honduran media, the agency said that "it condemns the acts of violence as incompatible with the right to peaceful demonstration."

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SOURCE Republic of Honduras