Travel alert issued for Honduras requests U.S citizens defer travel until further notice

July 3, 4:02 PMSeattle North American Travel ExaminerStephanie Jolly

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Opponents of ousted President Manuel Zelaya protest outside the presidential residence
in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  The U.S has now issued a travel alert requesting American
citizens defer all travel to Honduras until the political situation calms down. 
AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills

After several days of travel notices released from the U.S Embassy in Tegucigalpa, an official travel alert has now been issued from the U.S Department of State advising against American citizens traveling to the Latin American country until the political situation dies down.  Last week, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from his home and exiled to Costa Rica by military forces, and an interim president has been sworn in by the Honduran Congress.

Since the event, which has been reported as both a military coup and a legal impeachment of a government official, protests, road blockades and demonstrations have called into question the safety of travelers to the region, promting officals to advise that "American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras until further notice."  That advisory will expire on July 29.

Independent reports out of Honduras have been conflicting as to whether power outages have occured throughout the capital city and regarding the current level of access locals have to foreign news reports on television and radio.  A government inforced curfew has been in affect since June 29 between the hours of 9:00pm and 6:00am and all citizens currently in Honduras are urged to abide by the curfew, avoid large public gatherings and road-blocks and remain close to their homes.

Land borders between Honduras and bordering nations of Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua had been closed to commercial traffic on July 1, but have reopened.  Private vehicles and tour busses have been allowed to pass.  Airports in Honduras remain open, although several domestic air-carriers have issued travel waivers so that passengers may change their travel dates with no penalties or fees.  A list of current airline policies can be found in the article  Airlines waive re-booking fees on flights schelduled to Honduras.