Army Junta Deports Honduras President

The Honduran army yesterday overthrew the government of President Ramon Villeda Morales and exiled him to neighboring Costa Rica.

The coup against Villeda, an ardent supporter of the Alliance for Progress program, was staged just 10 days before a national presidential election had been scheduled.

The President's son, Alejandro Villeda Bermudez '66, said he thought the army had been attempting to forestall the national elections and establish a more conservative government. He said he hoped the U.S. government would cut off aid and withdraw diplomatic recognition from the military regime.

The Associated Press reported from Honduras yesterday that heavy fighting had raged all morning in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. 20 civil guardsmen loyal to Villeda were reported to have been killed, while the army rebels claimed to have suffered just two casualties.

Villeda Bermudes said his father was spending the night in the Costa Rican port city of Puntarenas and would be in San Jose by this afternoon: