Honduran security forces early Thursday arrested 16 Americans who demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy and at a U.S. air base to protest Washington's policy in Central America. Maj. Manuel Urbina, spokesman for the Public Security Forces, said four Americans who protested in front of the embassy were being held at the Casamata prison in the capital. Another 12 who staged a one-hour protest at the U.S. air base in Palmerola, about 40 miles northwest of the capital were being held at a police jail in Comayagua, four miles away, Urbina said. He said the arrests were made without resistance and the Americans would probably be expelled. U.S. officials in Honduras could not be reached immediately for comment. Urbina said none of the demonstrators carried passports or identification. In Guatemala City, four Americans threw blood on the steps of the U.S. Embassy Wednesday and chained themselves to the gates of the compound in a protest against U.S. policy in Central America. The protests were organized by a group called Project Independence and held one day before Central American countries celebrate the anniversary of their independence from Spain in 1821. John Mateyko, a spokesman for the group in Washington, said the protest was ``religious-based and non-violent'' against what he called ``the immoral and dangerous policy'' of the Reagan administration in Central America. Mateyko identified the four demonstrators in Tegucigalpa as John Bach, 41, of Hartford, Conn.; Teri Allen, 30, of Hartford; Patricia McCallum, 47, of Cambridge, Mass., and Mark Fryer, 31, of West Creek, Pa. The names of those being held in Camayagua were not immediately available. Mateyko identified the demonstrators in Guatemala City as Charley Litky, 57, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner for his service as a Roman Catholic priest in Vietnam, and Sara Story, 26, both of Washington, D.C.; Dale Ashera-Davis, 34, of Baltimore, Md.; and John Schuchardt, 49, of Leverett, Mass. ``At this time of remembering Central American independence from Spain we've come to join with Central Americans in declaring its independence from U.S. domination,'' a declaration read by the group said. ``In eight years neither (President) Reagan or (Vice President George) Bush seems to have figured out that that's all these people want,'' it said. The demonstrators, who threw blood on the embassy steps before chaining themselves to the gates, were demanding an audience with the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, James Michel. By Wednesday evening, the four were still chained to the embassy gates as Guatemalan National Police officers looked on.
