Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya travels to Mexico for heart treatment

Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya traveled to Mexico for medical evaluations after undergoing emergency surgery for a serious heart condition. The left-wing leader said he is now stable and recovering.

Zelaya told local broadcaster HCH that he nearly “had a heart attack” before the operation. He said he later experienced no current emergency, but remains under recovery and will undergo specialized examinations in Mexico.

The episode began when Zelaya felt pressure in his chest on Wednesday and then started struggling to breathe. His personal doctor ordered tests, which detected an arrhythmia. A cardiac ultrasound then found a significant accumulation of fluid around the heart, requiring urgent surgery to remove it.

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I nearly had a heart attack.

Zelaya initially refused the operation, he said, but accepted after doctors explained the risks of not proceeding. The surgery lasted several hours. He arrived at Toncontín airport in Tegucigalpa by car, accompanied by his wife, former President Xiomara Castro, and their children.

Zelaya served as president from 2006 to 2009 before soldiers removed him from his home in his pajamas in a coup, forcing him into exile in the Dominican Republic. He returned to Honduras in 2011 after an agreement mediated by Colombia and Venezuela and later founded the Liberty and Refoundation Party, known as Libre. His wife won the presidency for the party in 2022, and Libre is now in opposition to the government of right-wing leader Nasry Asfura.

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I do not have any emergency at this moment.