A demonstrator throws back tear gas canister fired by riot police during a protest against President Juan Orlando Hernandez government's plans to privatize healthcare and education, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Protesters torched the access gate to the U.S. Embassy in the Honduran capital on Friday during a second day of major protests against President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The protesters set fire to the entrance of the building in downtown ​​Tegucigalpa with about a dozen tires after dousing them with fuel, Reuters witnesses and fire services officials said. A fire department official said there were no damage to the embassy apart from the access gate.

The attack came on the second day of protests over decrees by Hernandez that his critics argue will lead to the privatization of public services.

The demonstrators were pushed toward the embassy after being dispersed from a nearby commercial zone by police nearby, though it was not immediately clear why they attacked the building.

The protesters chanted “American trash, American trash” outside the embassy, which was not being guarded at the time.

A court filing earlier this week showed that Hernandez had been investigated by U.S. authorities as part of a drug trafficking and money laundering probe linked to his brother. The president has not been charged with any crime.

Hernandez has faced stiff opposition in Honduras since he claimed a second term in a highly divisive election at the end of 2017 which was heavily criticized by international observers and which his opponents say he stole.

Hernandez, a conservative ally of the U.S. government, rode out protests against his re-election after he was recognized as the victor by countries including the United States. </s> Protesters have torched the access gate to the US Embassy in the Honduran capital during a second day of major protests against President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The protesters set fire to the entrance of the building in downtown Tegucigalpa with about a dozen tires after dousing them with fuel, fire services officials said.

A fire department official said there were no damage to the embassy apart from the access gate.

The attack came on the second day of protests over decrees by Hernandez that his critics argue will lead to the privatisation of public services.

The demonstrators were pushed toward the embassy after being dispersed from a nearby commercial zone by police nearby, though it was not immediately clear why they attacked the building.

The protesters chanted "American trash, American trash" outside the embassy, which was not being guarded at the time.

A court filing earlier this week showed that Hernandez had been investigated by US authorities as part of a drug trafficking and money laundering probe linked to his brother. The president has not been charged with any crime.

Hernandez has faced stiff opposition in Honduras since he claimed a second term in a highly divisive election at the end of 2017 which was heavily criticised by international observers and which his opponents say he stole.

Hernandez, a conservative ally of the US government, rode out protests against his re-election after he was recognised as the victor by countries including the United States. </s> Protesters torched the access gate to the U.S. Embassy in the Honduran capital on Friday during a second day of major protests against President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The protesters set fire to the entrance of the building in downtown ​​Tegucigalpa with about a dozen tires after dousing them with fuel, Reuters witnesses and fire services officials said. A fire department official said there were no damage to the embassy apart from the access gate.

The attack came on the second day of protests over decrees by Hernandez that his critics argue will lead to the privatization of public services.

The demonstrators were pushed toward the embassy after being dispersed from a nearby commercial zone by police nearby, though it was not immediately clear why they attacked the building.

The protesters chanted “American trash, American trash” outside the embassy, which was not being guarded at the time.

A court filing earlier this week showed that Hernandez had been investigated by U.S. authorities as part of a drug trafficking and money laundering probe linked to his brother. The president has not been charged with any crime. </s> Tegucigalpa: Masked protesters set fire to the gate of the US embassy in Honduras on Friday during massive demonstrations against public sector reforms in the country.

Thousands of doctors, teachers and students had taken to the streets to demand the government abandon plans to privatize the health and education sectors.

Firefighters came to extinguish the blaze, which destroyed the diplomatic mission's gate without damaging the main embassy building.

The US embassy issued a statement after the attack urging Hondurans to refrain from "acts of violence".

Police spokesman Jair Meza told local media that one of the suspects, a 23-year-old man, had been arrested.

Relatives of the suspect later went with a crowd to the police headquarters where they shouted demands for his freedom.

Demonstrators blamed "government infiltrators" for the damage to the embassy. </s> • The US Embassy in Honduras on Friday was reportedly set on fire by demostrators amid nationwide protests led by doctors and teachers.
• The day before, US Ambassador to Honduras Chargé Heide Fulton issued a statement urging Hondurans against acts of violence.
• The US Embassy had urged family members of US government employees to stay home on Friday due to the demonstrations.
• Images and video of what appeared to be a fire at the US embassy in the Honduran capital began to appear on social media on Friday afternoon.

Demonstrators reportedly set fire to the main entrance of the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Friday.

This came amid nationwide protests from teachers and doctors.

The day before, US Ambassador to Honduras Chargé Heide Fulton issued a statement urging Hondurans against acts of violence.

In a security alert on the embassy’s website, family members of US government employees in the country were instructed to stay home on Friday.

Read more: Trump’s tough border policies are actually helping the human smuggling business, experts say

“Doctors, teachers and other health professionals intend to continue their nationwide 48-hour general strike, accompanied by protests in the major cities in Honduras, to demand the repeal of two decrees related to education and health,” the alert stated. “Students, other activists, and workers from other economic sectors, e.g., bus and taxi drivers, intend to participate in support of these protests.”

Images and video of what appeared to be a fire at the US embassy in the Honduran capital began to appear on social media on Friday afternoon.

It’s not entirely clear why the US Embassy was targeted on Friday and the embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from INSIDER. </s> Demonstrators reportedly set fire to the main entrance of the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Friday.

This came amid nationwide protests from teachers and doctors.

The day before, US Ambassador to Honduras Chargé Heide Fulton issued a statement urging Hondurans against acts of violence.

In a security alert on the embassy's website, family members of US government employees in the country were instructed to stay home on Friday.

Read more: Trump's tough border policies are actually helping the human smuggling business, experts say

"Doctors, teachers and other health professionals intend to continue their nationwide 48-hour general strike, accompanied by protests in the major cities in Honduras, to demand the repeal of two decrees related to education and health," the alert stated. "Students, other activists, and workers from other economic sectors, e.g., bus and taxi drivers, intend to participate in support of these protests."

Images and video of what appeared to be a fire at the US embassy in the Honduran capital began to appear on social media on Friday afternoon.

It's not entirely clear why the US Embassy was targeted on Friday and the embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from INSIDER. </s> Supporters of defeated opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla accuse him of setting up a 'military dictatorship,' and insist that the election was stolen

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Juan Orlando Hernandez was sworn in as president of Honduras for a second term Saturday, January 27 amid protests that he fraudulently won the November election.

Hernandez took the oath at a special session of Congress at the National Stadium, with the bleachers packed with his supporters.

At the event, in which he vowed to "comply with and enforce the Constitution and law," the 49-year-old Hernandez said he was "committed to developing a process of reconciliation among all Hondurans."

Hernandez takes on his new mandate in the impoverished Central American country of nine million with diminished legitimacy due to the controversial election.

Supporters of defeated opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla accused him of setting up a "military dictatorship," and insist that the election was stolen.

Hernandez stood for re-election against Nasralla despite a constitutional ban on presidents serving more than one term.

He narrowly won after a three-week stretch of often-interrupted ballot counting that sparked accusations of fraud. (READ: Hondurans protest 'fraud' as vote count rolls on)

The leftist opposition staged protests that shook the country throughout the week, culminating in a mass rally in Tegucigalpa late Friday.

On Saturday, however, protesters could get only within 500 meters of the inauguration event.

The stadium was protected by several rings soldiers and police, who were pressed into duty from around the country.

In the capital's Miraflores neighborhood, protesters hurled rocks at a bus full of Hernandez supporters.

"The protests do not end today, this will be permanent," Nasralla told reporters, as he called for new elections.

Police later deployed armored vehicles and fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters.

About 10,000 protesters marched in Honduras's second city of San Pedro Sula to show their opposition to Hernandez's inauguration.

"The only way we can get this dictator out is to fight in the streets," opposition lawmaker Samuel Madrid, who participated in the march, told Agence France-Presse.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds jailed since Hernandez was declared the winner of the November 26 runoff election.

'No legitimacy'

"This is a government that has the seals of the state but has no legitimacy," said rights activist Berta Oliva.

"It imposes its authority in a savage way with soldiers in the street," she told AFP, describing the new government as a "dictatorship."

Political scientist Juan Ramon Medrano has said that the Honduran government "is showing signs of dictatorship." (READ: State of emergency in Honduras after post-vote violence)

"In Honduras, there is a political crisis" that the United States and the Organization of American States regional bloc "do not measure with the same yardstick as they measure Venezuela," he said.

Washington and the OAS have been highly critical of Venezuela's leftist regime.

Market analyst group Eurasia said the demonstrations "will likely diminish after Hernandez's inauguration."

"Still, Hernandez will begin his second term in a much weaker position given the social component, with his legitimacy in question," it said in a note ahead of the inauguration.

The OAS had proposed holding new elections after its observer mission expressed doubts about the outcome.

However, it recently said it intends to "work in the future with the elected authorities of Honduras."

Hernandez has implicit backing from the United States, which is pouring millions of dollars into Honduras and neighboring Guatemala and El Salvador to help improve security.

The three countries, collectively known as Central America's "Northern Triangle," are a significant source of undocumented migrants heading to the United States, and are also key in the fight against drug trafficking. – Rappler.com </s> 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.

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.

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! </s> No big deal, just protesters setting fire to the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras earlier today:

Luckily, the tire fire just scorched the outside of the building:

An arrest has been made over the attack:

In other Honduras news, it just came out via a court filing that the DEA had the president of Honduras under investigation since 2013:

His brother, Tony, was arrested and “offered immediate cooperation”:

So, Joe Biden and Barack Obama gave Honduras millions while the DEA was investigating him? From the Washington Post:

Following intensive negotiations between the Obama administration and the Northern Triangle presidents, Congress provided $750 million in 2016 to fund a whole-of-government effort to effect deep and lasting change in Central America. Because Central American governments had long been perceived — with good reason — as corrupt, inept and incapable of delivering basic services to their citizens, I supported Congress in tying the aid package to concrete commitments by regional governments to clean up their police, increase tax collection, fight corruption and create the opportunities necessary to convince would-be migrants to remain in their countries. </s> TEGUCIGALPA: Juan Orlando Hernandez was sworn in as president of Honduras for a second term Saturday amid protests that he fraudulently won the November election.

Hernandez took the oath at a special session of Congress at the National Stadium, with the bleachers packed with his supporters.

At the event, in which he vowed to "comply with and enforce the Constitution and law," the 49 year-old Hernandez said he was "committed to developing a process of reconciliation among all Hondurans."

Supporters of defeated opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla however accuse Hernandez of setting up a "military dictatorship," and insist that the election was stolen.

Hernandez stood for re-election against Nasralla despite a constitutional ban on presidents serving more than one term.

He narrowly won only after a three-week stretch of often-interrupted ballot counting that stoked tensions and sparked accusations of fraud.

The leftist opposition held protest actions that shook the country throughout the week, culminating in a mass rally in Tegucigalpa late Friday.

On Saturday, however, protesters could get only within 500 meters of the inauguration event.

The stadium was protected by several rings soldiers and police, who were pressed into duty from around the country.

In the Miraflores neighborhood protesters hurled rocks at a bus full of Hernandez supporters. Elsewhere, police used tear gas to break up protests.

"The protests do not end today, this will be permanent," Nasralla told reporters, as he called for new elections.

- Siege city -

 Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds jailed since Hernandez was declared the winner of the November 26 run-off election.

Late Friday Nasralla led a convoy of hundreds of honking vehicles carrying his flag-waving supporters through the streets of Tegucigalpa.

"I hope that the international community finally starts to realize and that sooner than later, within the next weeks, it will force the dictator to step down," Nasralla said during the demonstration.

Protesters chanted his name and called "out JOH," using Hernandez's initials.

"We came to tell JOH that we don't recognize him as our president," said one demonstrator, identifying herself only as Silvany.

Political scientist Juan Ramon Medrano said earlier that the Honduran government "is showing signs of dictatorship."

"In Honduras there is a political crisis" that the United States and the Organization of American States regional bloc "do not measure with the same yardstick as they measure Venezuela," he said.

Washington and the OAS have been highly critical of Venezuela's leftist regime.

Market analyst group Eurasia said the demonstrations "will likely diminish after Hernandez's inauguration."

"Still, Hernandez will begin his second term in a much weaker position given the social component, with his legitimacy in question," it said in a note ahead of the inauguration.

The OAS had proposed holding new elections after its observer mission expressed doubts about the outcome.

However it recently said it intends to "work in the future with the elected authorities of Honduras."

- US backing -

 Guatemalan political scientist Renso Rosal told AFP the Honduran political crisis could have wider regional repercussions.

The spark that set off the crisis was Hernandez's "unconstitutional action in seeking reelection."

Hernandez has implicit backing from the United States, which is pouring millions of dollars into Honduras and neighboring Guatemala and El Salvador to help improve security.

The three countries, collectively known as Central America's "Northern Triangle," are an significant source of undocumented migrants heading to the United States, and are also key in the fight against drug trafficking.

On the eve of the Hernandez's inauguration it emerged that his newly appointed police chief, Jose David Aguilar Moran, would be investigated by a government commission after reports that he had helped a drug cartel ship cocaine to the United States in 2013.

Commission head Omar Rivera told reporters Aguilar Moran and two subordinates would undergo a "re-evaluation process" following the news reports alleging their involvement in helping drug traffickers.
Dozens of masked protesters set fire to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Tegucigalpa, amid a second day of mass anti-government protests in Honduras.