This summer on June the 28th the president of Honduras Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a bloodless military coup. The self-confessed fan of famous left-wing leader Hugo Chavez was in his house when it was stormed by the military who told him in no uncertain terms to get out or he’ll be shot. The military said he was guilty of an illegal power grab by trying to change the constitution to allow him an extra term in government.

The panic that followed was outstanding. Every nation withdrew their diplomats from inside Honduras .Zelaya tried to get back in, but like a scene from Hollywood, his plane was blocked at the airport. Protests for and against Zelaya lead to riots inside the country. The United Nations condemned the ousting and the world bank withdrew their financial support for the poor Hondurans. Zelaya was in exile he tried to get into just about every Central and South American country causing mass protests and riots in Chile. Eventually he turned up in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa begging to be let back in, which is still being denied.

In Europe were not to accustomed to the art of the military takeover so what type of country lets this happen?. Honduras has a population of 7.2 million just a bit more than London and is a tremendously culturally diverse place. Although roughly 90% of the country is ‘mestizo’ (a mix between the spainish invaders and the indigenous tribes) you have Black communities on the Caribbean coast known as the ‘Garifuna’ who have their own unique culture and language that derives partly from a mix of African dialects, Spanish, and some English taught to them by British pirates who were hell-bent on looting Spanish settlements and ships in the Caribbean and needed the backing of the slave population.

By far the biggest indigenous group in Honduras is the ‘Lenca’ who mainly live in the central and western parts of the country. They were believed to have migrated from Venezuela and Columbia around 3000 years ago. They believe in the healing powers of shamans and some of their early practices included human sacrifice.

Human sacrifice may have petered out but killing is still a pastime for some locals. Cue ‘Mara Salvatruta’ or ‘MS 13’and ‘18th Street’. Identified by the CIA as its greatest threat to national security these gangs are the real deal. Started in the USA by immigrants from Central America these two gangs fought for territory and respect in Los Angeles. When the US started to deport the gangs back to their countries of origin instead of breaking up the gangs never disbanded.

The result? A network of rival gangs from Guatemala to Panama and deaths each year in the tens of thousands. Honduras passed tough anti-gang laws in 2004 making it illegal even to be associated with a gang, but you wouldn’t know this as you travel the streets of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula the graffiti on the walls is clear who thinks they are in control. In 2004 in Tegucigalpa MS-13 members boarded a public bus and immediately executed 28 people including 7 small children. The gangs are fighting over control of drugs and territory and have executed high government officials to achieve their aims. So the next time you moan about the little kids that hang about outside the sweet shop swearing thank god you don’t have to deal with this lot

But as these gangs threaten to tear Honduras apart the unifying power of sport is trying to bring the country together. Futbol or Football to us reigns supreme over all other sports here. They have only qualified for a world cup only once in 1982 so qualification for the FIFA world cup in South Africa 2010 created wild celebrations on the streets of Tegucigalpa and the stars of the national team were thrown a spectacular three day party forcing Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Wilson Palacios to arrive home a day late missing a premiership fixture, by orders of the military, you can’t really argue with that now can you?. The domestic competition is not much of spectacle though with only three football stadiums and ten domestic clubs the average Honduran will typically have an affiliation to a Mexican team as well as a Honduran team.

Here in the UK we pride ourselves on our football teams and divisions are taken very seriously, but we can safely say no England v Scotland game has ended quite like this. In 1970 Honduras fought a war with El Salvador known as the ‘Football war’. The two national teams played each other in qualifiers for the 1970 Mexico world cup. With both teams winning their home legs, after the game in the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador a small number of Hondurans rioted. This combined with border disputes and tensions over El Salvadoran immigration to Honduras resulted in El Salvador attacking strategic points inside Honduras. Honduras hit back and in total just under 5,000 people got killed in the short war. The stand-off didn’t really cease until the end of military rule in 1980 when Honduras and El Salvador made peace and settled their border disputes.

Honduras also has its share of paradise, The Bay Islands. Consisting of Roatan and Utila the islands are a favourite with divers because of the range of marine wildlife and the cheap diving qualifications you can get. The Islands are paradise, Roatan has a heady mix of white sandy beaches and relaxed beach bars. Utila is a diving heaven with the chance to see whale sharks in the summer. This has led to foreign investors and prospectors mainly from the USA to invest in the tiny Islands providing Honduras with a steady economy through tourism and investment.

Like all the countries in Central America Uncle Sam is never far away from the action. The US is Honduras’ biggest trading partner taking millions of tons of coffee and Bananas of them each year. In the internal dispute between Zelaya and the military Barack Obama has been decidedly quiet although his influence in this matter will be desperately needed. Short term a qualification for a world cup is critical for the mood of the country but Obama needs to step in and take hold of the situation before Hugo Chavez does. Chavez’s populist approach may be nothing more than hot air but in a country like Honduras politics changes fast.