During demonstrations on Monday, 26-year-old Cristian Funez was shot and killed in San Pedro Sula, northern Honduras.
According to the several witnesses accounts, Funez was fatally wounded by a bullet discharged by military personnel. Local reports indicate that there have been three deaths – at the hands of military and police officials – in the region, so far.
A new wave of violence broke out late Sunday across the country and continued into Monday morning. Local media reported that police officers were observed hurling tear gas canisters at protesters in the capital, Tegucigalpa.
Represión en las calles de #HondurasResiste, las protestas se mantienen tras declaratoria presidencial https://t.co/MDZX0y20z3 pic.twitter.com/oRGz9qNLRF
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) December 18, 2017
Hondurans are generally displeased with the announcement, by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), that Juan Orlando Hernandez won the recently completed elections with 42.95 percent of the vote.
In a press conference on Sunday, an international observer representative disclosed that there had been several irregularities in the Nov. 26 Honduran polls.
Halfway through the count the opposition Alliance candidate, Salvador Nasralla, led Hernandez by five percentage points. Following a lengthy multi-day delay by the TSE, Hernandez edged ahead with a narrow gap between himself and Nasralla.
Honduras: esta noche continúa el bloqueo de calles en Tegucigalpa, mientras se reportan disparos en colonias sampedranas. pic.twitter.com/W89NPLtMhP
— Gilda Silvestrucci (@GildateleSUR) December 19, 2017
On Dec. 17, the TSE declared Juan Orlando Hernandez president-elect – eliciting wide-scale protests and many citing elections fraud.
More than 15 people have been reported dead, several injured and another 1,500 detained.