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Thousands Protest Against Honduran President After Drug Link Surfaces

Reuters

   TEGUCIGALPA - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the
   capital on Tuesday to urge Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to
   step down, just days after he was forced to deny taking money from drug
   gangs to secure his election in 2013.

   The premises of at least three businesses in the city were set on fire
   after protests turned violent, officials said, and riot police clashed
   with demonstrators while attempting to disperse the crowd with tear gas
   and water cannons.

   "The narco must go, JOH must go!" protesters chanted, using the
   president's initials, as they marched through central Tegucigalpa
   toward Congress.

   A court filing was published late last week in which U.S. prosecutors
   alleged that Hernandez's 2013 presidential bid had been partly funded
   by money from drug traffickers.

   The document filed to the U.S. Southern District court of New York said
   the Hernandez campaign received $1.5 million from "drug proceeds" that
   were used to bribe local officials in exchange for protection and the
   completion of public works.

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