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| Protesters torch US embassy doors in Honduras (PHOTOS, VIDEOS) | Protesters torch US embassy doors in Honduras (PHOTOS, VIDEOS) |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Several hooded demonstrators have set fire to the US Embassy in the capital of Honduras, as massive protests against education and healthcare privatization grip the Central American country. | Several hooded demonstrators have set fire to the US Embassy in the capital of Honduras, as massive protests against education and healthcare privatization grip the Central American country. |
| Footage from the scene in Tegucigalpa showed pillars of thick black smoke rising above the American diplomatic mission, after several tires were set ablaze right in front of the embassy’s doors. The protesters chanted "American trash, American trash" as the entrance burned. | Footage from the scene in Tegucigalpa showed pillars of thick black smoke rising above the American diplomatic mission, after several tires were set ablaze right in front of the embassy’s doors. The protesters chanted "American trash, American trash" as the entrance burned. |
| Firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene. Riots against government reforms seeking to privatize health and education services continued in the vicinity. The blaze has practically destroyed the entrance, without causing much damage to the solid concrete structure of the building. | Firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene. Riots against government reforms seeking to privatize health and education services continued in the vicinity. The blaze has practically destroyed the entrance, without causing much damage to the solid concrete structure of the building. |
| Organizers of Friday’s protests blamed “infiltrators of the government” for the damage to the embassy, AFP reports. No casualties have been reported in the incident at the embassy. Police were also reportedly absent from the vandalism scene and made no arrests. | Organizers of Friday’s protests blamed “infiltrators of the government” for the damage to the embassy, AFP reports. No casualties have been reported in the incident at the embassy. Police were also reportedly absent from the vandalism scene and made no arrests. |
| Ahead of Friday’s protests against the privatization of public services by the government of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, the US embassy issued a security alert instructing the family of American government employees to remain at home and monitor media updates. | |
| While it is not immediately clear why the protesters, led by health and education professionals, decided to target the American embassy, bilateral relation between the US and Honduras has been on the decline recently. After approximately 96,000 Honduran asylum seekers were caught at the US-Mexico border in just four months this year, the US government cut aid to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala as a punishment for their failure to stop the so-called migrant caravans. | |
| The torching of the US embassy came just after Hernandez, an ally of the US government, became the target of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) probe which is examining the president's alleged “large-scale drug-trafficking and money laundering activities” related to cocaine smuggling operations into the United States. | |
| If you like this story, share it with a friend! | If you like this story, share it with a friend! |