Honduran Government Laments Injuries to Police During Violent Election Protests

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Honduran government lamented injuries to dozens of police officers inflicted by supporters of defeated Libre Alliance presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla and former president Manuel Zelaya in Choluteca and other Honduran cities on January 6.

According to reporting by Honduran outlet Tiempo Digital, supporters of the Libre Alliance threw stones at police officers and set fires in the streets of several cities.

At least 96 police officers were treated for injuries after auxiliary protests in Choluteca turned violent, including one officer who lost an eye and another who suffered a fractured jaw.

During the protests, police captured José Gabriel Godínez Avelar,a member of the MS-13 gang wanted for setting fire to a police station last month, in the Aurora district of San Pedro Sula.

Protesters also burned an American flag and threw trash in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa. On December 22, the U.S. State Department offered its official congratulations to President Juan Orlando Hernández on his victory in the recent Honduran presidential election.

In a January 3 tweet, the LibreAlliance called for a "great mobilization" against President Hernández's victory on the streets of San Pedro Sula on January 6. Mr. Nasralla asked his Twitter followers to join the January 6 protests.

Leaders from across Honduras have criticized the violence. Speaking from his cathedral in Tegucigalpa yesterday, Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga said that "those who are proclaiming hatred are ruining the country" and their actions would lead to "anguish and death."

Last month, Honduran Secretary of the Council of Ministers Ebal Díaz said that the Libre Alliance had "signed a pact with a government in the south that has been linked to violence . . . with a lot of people who are involved with organized crime."

The recent spate of violence has hurt the Honduran economy. Last month, Rafael Medina, the Executive Director of the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce told the Honduran national television network that the Honduran economy lost between 1.4 and 1.5 billion lempiras -- more that $59 million -- in just two days of rioting, on November 30 and December 1.

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SOURCE Republic of Honduras