Riot troops broke up the second anti-American demonstration in this capital in as many weeks, hurling tear gas grenades and firing into the air to stop about 200 protesters headed for the U.S. Embassy. At least one person was arrested. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The protesters, chanting ``Embassy, embassy!'' had been part of a crowd of about 2,000 people who marched peacefully to the National Congress earlier Thursday to demonstrate against the Honduran government and U.S. policy in the Central American country. Five people were killed during a riot April 7 in which about 2,000 demonstrators sacked and burned the U.S. Consulate and offices of the U.S. Information Service. Those protesters were angered over the deportation to the United States of a Honduran man accused of drug trafficking. About 50 riot police and army troops threw tear gas grenades into the 200 demonstrators as they advanced on the U.S. diplomatic mission Thursday night. The tear gas dispersed the protesters momentarily, but they regrouped, cutting off a small contingent of what appeared to be young and ill-trained troops who shot long bursts of fire from their M-16s into the air. The sound of shots sparked panic in the neighborhood. Some demonstrators taunted the troops and threw stones at the soldiers, who at intervals advanced behind metal shields. During the milelong march earlier Thursday, protesters chanted slogans calling for the expulsion of the approximately 1,100 U.S. troops based in Honduras, the removal of U.S.-backed Nicaraguan rebels from Honduras and the defense of the Honduran Constitution. They condemned the government of President Jose Azcona Hoyo and what they called his subservience to Washington. Honduras is the United States' staunchest ally in Central America. ``Yankee garbage, out of Honduras!'' and ``If the Yankees don't get out, in Honduras they will die!'' shouted the demonstrators. The marchers, most of them students, walked to the National Congress, where they listened to speeches condemning Azcona and the United States. About 500 demonstrators proceeded from there to the nearby Central Penitentiary, where they shouted for the release of inmates they consider political prisoners. A group then tried to go to the U.S. Embassy. One of the issues the marchers protested was the forced extradition of Juan Ramon Matta. Honduran police, working with U.S. agents, arrested Matta at his Tegucigalpa home on April 5 and had him flown to the United States. The Honduran Constitution prohibits the extradition of Honduran citizens. Matta is in federal prison in Marion, Ill., awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges. Matta is also wanted for questioning in the 1985 torture-slaying in Mexico of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Camarena Salazar. The U.S. Embassy estimates damage to the consulate building in the April 7 riot at between $4 million and $6 million and has asked for reimbursement from the Honduran government.
