Thaindian News

Tegucigalpa, June 28 (DPA) Soldiers Sunday arrested Honduras President Manuel Zelaya and confiscated documents from the executive mansion, various radio stations here reported.
Though Zelaya’s whereabouts were unclear, some reports said he had been taken to an air force base. Others said that he had been forced abroad, based on speculation that his family was already waiting for him in Nicaragua.

Local media reported that military units had also occupied the executive mansion and confiscated materials that Zelaya had prepared for use in a referendum on public support for his policies that was scheduled for Sunday.

Zelaya has been locked in a power struggle with other state institutions over efforts that seem designed to extend his term in office and change parts of the constitution. Sunday’s referendum was to gauge public support for those proposals.

His efforts have met with resistance from various institutions. The supreme court and Congress have both opposed the referendum. He also ran into opposition from the army when General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez refused a presidential request to provide logistical support for the referendum.

That standoff led Zelaya to fire Vasquez Velasquez, a move that was ruled unconstitutional by the country’s supreme court Thursday.

On Friday, the Honduran military had deployed hundreds of soldiers across the capital of Tegucigalpa to maintain calm. Soldiers were told to keep potential troublemakers out of the capital, though those who did not seem to pose a threat were allowed regular access.

Under the current constitution, Zelaya cannot run for re-election in the presidential balloting Nov 29. Zelaya was elected in 2006 as a conservative, but later reversed his policies and now has scant support from leftist groups and trade unions.

The tension has caused international waves, with leaders of left-leaning Latin American leaders like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega weighing in to back Zelaya. Chavez has used similar referendums to change the constitution and extend his term in office.