Ousted former Honduran President Mel Zelaya attempted to return to Honduras today on an airplane donated by Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, but the Honduran government literally blocked the runway at Tegucigalpa with trucks, preventing the plane from landing.
Having flown more than once into Tegucigalpa's lone, short runway, I can tell you it is no casual undertaking to land there in the best of conditions. The airport has a reputation as one of the most treacherous in Latin America due to a difficult approach.The pilot of his Venezuelan plane circled around the airport and decided that landing is "totally impossible" because of the trucks in the way.
Groups of police and soldiers also are stationed around the runway and the perimeter of the airfield, facing off against thousands of Zelaya supporters outside.
Zelaya says he'll announce later where they'll land. A crew of the Venezuelan network Telesur is on the plane. He told them Sunday that the pilots won't risk a crash, and vowed to try again on Monday or Tuesday.
I wrote about it here.
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