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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001219 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM HO
SUBJECT: TFH01: ELECTIONS SITREP 1000 HOURS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Polls opened nationwide with some delays 
and voting has begun in a generally orderly fashion.   There 
has been a heavy turnout and voters are enthusiastic.  The 
atmosphere in the capital of Tegucigalpa is quiet and normal. 
 Embassy reporting teams deployed nationwide reported no 
security incidents.  End Summary. 
 
 
THE POLLS 
--------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Ambassador, accompanied by the DCM and USAID 
Director, visited thirty working class polling stations, 
among which his security detail was voting, as of 10:00 on 
November 29 and found poll workers to be following 
procedures.  The Ambassador reported that voter turnout was 
very heavy and voters were enthusiastic.  Embassy reporting 
teams deployed nationwide reported delays in the opening of 
polling centers ranging from ten to sixty minutes.  Embassy 
teams reported that the situations at their locations were 
quiet and voting was proceeding in an orderly fashion. 
Embassy team in San Pedro Sula/Villanueva reported that the 
polling center they were observing was to be located in a 
private school, but when the balloting material arrived at 
04:00 on November 29 the school director refused to allow the 
facility to be used because he does not support the 
elections.  Emboffs watched as polling center was peacefully 
re-located to a school about 100 meters away from the 
original site and the first vote was cast at 07:50. Students 
would not allow the Pedagogical University in Tegucigalpa to 
be used as a polling center and polling stations to be 
located there were transferred to two schools in Tegucigalpa. 
 Embassy watcher reported transfer process was not flawless 
and some voters encountered difficulty finding their 
stations.  Students at the Autonomous University of Honduras 
in Tegucigalpa also refused to allow the facility to be 
utilized as a voting center and the polling stations to be 
located there were transferred to an engineering institute. 
 
 
REGIONAL ISSUES 
--------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Nicaragua closed its border with Honduras at 06:00 on 
November 28 and it will remain closed until the morning of 
November 30. 
 
 
SECURITY 
-------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) At 09:00, the military received reports of road 
spikes ("megalitos") being thrown on the main road between 
Tegucigalpa and Choluteca. 
 
¶5. (SBU) An explosion occurred at Audio/Video near Hospital 
Escuela in the capital of Tegucigalpa around 23:00 on 
November 27; reportedly there were no injuries.  A bomb was 
launched from a motorcycle during the night of November 27 
against Radio America.  Police told Embassy employee on 
November 28 that they detained two Hondurans in connection 
with the attack against Radio America. According to the 
police, they said President Zelaya paid them USD 12000 to 
carry out the attack. 
 
¶6. (U) Three small bombs went off outside schools in the 
country's second largest city, San Pedro Sula, the early 
morning of November 27.  Three youths threw a molotov 
cocktail at or under a concrete bench about 100 yards away 
from the  Instituto Primero de Mayo school, a polling center, 
in San Pedro Sula at 15:00 on November 28.  There were no 
injuries. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Embassy received information regarding a possible 
threat against U.S. airlines flying into Tegucigalpa on 
election day.  The Embassy advised its employees not to fly 
those carriers on that date and issued a warden message. 
 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS 
------------ 
 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00001219  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Center for Women's Rights and Mary McCann, the 
Amcit wife of the Honduran executive director of NGO Red 
Comal, separately told Emboff on November 28 that 
approximately 45 members of the Honduran FBI, police, and 
military entered the office Red Comal around 13:00 on 
November 28 in Siquatepeque, located in the Francisco Morazan 
department and searched through the office.  McCann told 
Emboff that the police presented a search warrant allowing 
them to search for weapons and that they did not find any and 
that Red Comal staff reported that a policeman accused the 
NGO of hiding guerrillas and guns.  McCann said the security 
forces left the office at 17:30 on November 28 and 
confiscated four computers, money, and lists of participants 
at workshops run by the NGO, which they told NGO staff would 
be taken to the local Public Ministry office.  Embassy 
expressed its concern to the Special Prosecutor for Human 
Rights and the military on November 28. 
 
¶9. (U) Human rights NGO COFADEH reported to Emboff on 
November 28 that her organization received two reports of 
alleged human rights violations the evening of November 27. 
Unknown security forces allegedly shot two members of the 
anti-coup resistance movement on the road near the Armed 
Forces General Staff headquarters in Tegucigalpa on November 
¶27.  A member of the resistance movement was allegedly 
detained in the department of Lempira on November 27 and 
threatened by security forces into distributing election 
material.  COFADEH further reported on November 29 that the 
police leveled the homes of two resistance leaders in 
Gualala; no further details were available.  Embassy is 
following up to gather more information on these incidents 
 
¶10. (U) Human rights NGO CIPRODEH called Emboff at 21:00 on 
November 28 and reported that the military had encircled the 
"Guadalupe Carney" community near Trujillo in the Colon 
department, which recently won title to land in the area.  A 
member of a visiting human rights delegation from the U.S. 
called Emboff at 22:45 on November 28 and said she received 
similar reports.  Emboff unsuccessfully tried to call a 
contact in Guadalupe Carney on November 28.  Embassy is 
following up to gather more information on this report. 
 
LLORENS