In Honduras, the ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya remains holed up inside the Brazilian embassy in a standoff with the coup regime. On Tuesday, riot police dispersed a crowd of thousands who had gathered to support Zelaya after his defiant return from nearly three months in exile. Police fired tear gas and deployed water cannons to remove the crowd. One protester said he was brutally assaulted.

Protester: “I was hit on the head with a stick with nails. I wasn’t killed, thank God. The riot police grabbed me and acted like gorillas.”

Over 100 people were arrested or injured in the police crackdown. The Brazilian government, meanwhile, is calling for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to address the Honduran crisis. Brazilian President Lula da Silva warned the coup regime against raiding the embassy.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva: “Brazil only did what any democratic country would do: when a citizen asks for asylum at our embassy, Brazil guarantees he stays there. It’s a right, I would say, international, and we expect the coup leaders not to touch the Brazilian embassy.”

The coup regime, meanwhile, said it would agree to negotiations with Zelaya, but again ruled out allowing his return to office or dropping its intent to arrest him.