Thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated yesterday Saturday in the streets of the Honduran capital and in front of the presidency against the president of the left, accusing Xiomara Castro of wanting the imposition of “communism” in the Central American state.

“The government is not doing what it promised (…) and Xiomara Castro, who is unfortunately led and treated by international communism, is engaged in the promotion of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua,” threw Salvador Nasrallah, once an ally of the president.

Mr. Nasrallah, leader of the Party of Salvation of Honduras (Partido Salvador de Honduras, PSH), was an ally of Ms. Castro until the latter took power in 2022. Since then, he has distanced himself.

Right-wing parties and opposition organizations on Wednesday formed the so-called Citizens’ Opposition Bloc (BOC) to protest what they called “abuse of executive power” and demand solutions to rising prices, unemployment, the ongoing mass immigration and insecurity in the country, one of the poorest in the region.

In addition to Mr. Nasrallah, the alliance also includes leaders of the National Party (PN, right), in power for twelve years after the overthrow of former President Manuel Zelaya – Mrs. Castro’s husband – in a 2009 military coup, which had supported by the right and a large part of the business world, after the rapprochement of the then head of state with Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.

The general e.a. Romeo Vazquez, the leader of the 2009 military coup, who has publicly proposed ending Ms Castro’s rule by a similar method, also took part in yesterday’s demonstration.

After the announcement of the formation of the alliance, Mrs. Castro reacted by declaring the day before Friday: “They will not return, the people will not allow it.”

Some members of the Liberal Party took part in the demonstration, although the leadership of the faction had forbidden it.

The opposition accuses the ruling Freedom and Restoration party (LIBRE, left) of wanting to impose “communism” by abusing power by approving laws without having the necessary votes in Congress. Now Mrs. Castro’s opponents count 128 seats in parliament, compared to LIBRE’s 50.

The Freedom and Reconstruction party won the 2021 election in part thanks to an alliance with Mr. Nasrallah, who was then pushing for the ouster of President Juan Orlando Hernandez (PN), whom the US suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.

In April 2022, three weeks after Mrs. Castro took power, Mr. Hernandez surrendered to American justice. His brother ‘Tony’, found guilty of cocaine trafficking by a New York court, was sentenced to serve a life sentence in the US.

Those who demonstrated yesterday have “hands stained with blood and nostrils full of cocaine,” said Gilberto Ríos, leader of LIBRE, when addressing journalists. He was referring to the 2009 military coup and the involvement of top PN officials in drug trafficking.