In Honduras, hopes for the immediate return of the elected President Manuel Zelaya are fading after one of the most violent government crackdowns since last month’s coup. Several protesters were wounded and more than 150 arrested Thursday at four separate rallies. One protester is in critical condition after being shot in the head at a demonstration in the capital Tegucigalpa. Protester Juan Barahona called for more dissent in the wake of the coup regime’s growing international isolation.

Juan Barahona: “We think what is missing is much greater internal pressure. We think at the international level, we’ve won the battle. But we need much more force and much more internal pressure to erode the coup.”

The injured protesters include independent presidential candidate Carlos Reyes, who suffered a head wound and a fractured arm. The coup regime, meanwhile, renewed its opposition to Zelaya’s return one day after indicating it would ease its stance. The head of the coup government, Roberto Micheletti, had said he would back a Costa Rican plan for Zelaya’s return but first needed the support of the Honduran business elite. Zelaya, meanwhile, met with US officials in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, where he urged increased pressure on the coup regime.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya: “We have asked the countries of Latin America, the United States and Europe to strengthen and energize the measures that can be taken to reverse this process and the negative effects of the coup that have shamed and humiliated humanity itself.”