Supporters of ousted Honduran president continue gathering near border

EL PARAISO, Honduras, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of supporters of deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya defied a daytime curfew to continue gathering near the border with Nicaragua on Saturday as a Honduran man was found dead on a road close to Nicaragua.

Interim leader Roberto Micheletti extended a curfew along the border region from 18 to 30 hours ending at 6:00 pm Saturday (0000 GMT Sunday) after Zelaya, surrounded by a throng of supporters, stepped into Honduras briefly before returning to Nicaragua.

Along with his media entourage, Zelaya crossed the border into Honduras on Friday and stayed in the neutral zone for about one hour and a half before stepping back to Nicaragua.

He has also asked his supporters to "stand firm" as they set camps on the frontier to welcome the president.

His "symbolic entry" was criticized by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as "reckless".

Zelaya's wife Xiomara Castro and his mother, along with 100 supporters, were stopped on Saturday at a roadblock on a highway leading to the border and the police and soldiers would not let her and others pass.

Zelaya's mother said that there are demonstrations across the country, which have been repressed by the interim government.

"As mother of the constitutional president of Honduras, I feel proud to have a son with the honor, strength and desire to fight for the people of Honduras", she said.

Meanwhile, a dead body of one of the protestors, detained by security forces Friday, was found next to a coffee field.

There is no official statement from the Honduran side on the cause of his death, but witnesses on Friday saw police arresting the man after he participated in pro-Zelaya demonstrations.

"They left his body to provoke fear", said one of Zelaya's supporters. 鈥淭hey are using the same tactics they tried in the 1980s," he added.

A delegation of U.S. lawmakers led by Florida Republican Congressman Connie Mack was due to arrive Saturday on a fact-finding mission in Honduras.

Mack's office said he would be in the country through Sunday "to meet with key leaders and officials to discuss the ongoing crisis."

Zelaya was ousted and forced into exile on June 28 in a military coup, which was widely condemned by the international community.