Watched by police in full riot gear, several hundred protesters congregated at entry points to Tegucigalpa, blocking the southern and northern road entrances. The protesters' leaders had threatened to try to blockade the capital and at least one other major city in the poor Central American state.
Police also reported protest roadblocks at Comayagua in the center of the country, and at Copan in the west, both commercial highways that carry exports and imports to and from neighboring El Salvador.
Caretaker President Roberto Micheletti's administration, installed by Honduras' Congress after the June 28 coup that toppled Zelaya, stepped up security around the country and reimposed a night curfew late on Wednesday after leading pro-Zelaya activists vowed nationwide demonstrations.
The renewed protests, following a call by Zelaya for "popular insurrection" to back his reinstatement, came two days before Costa Rican President Oscar Arias was due to host talks in his country between the rival sides in the Honduran crisis.
The coup and impasse in Honduras has posed a foreign policy test for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has sought to improve ties with Latin America. He has quickly condemned Zelaya's ouster as illegal but faces calls from Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez, a vocal ally of Zelaya, to increase pressure on Micheletti to restore the deposed president.
About 300 pro-Zelaya protesters, many in red T-shirts and scarves and some wearing the cowboy hats that are common in rural Honduras, congregated by the northern highway into Tegucigalpa. "If we have to paralyze the country, we will," said Yadira Marroquin, 44, a hospital worker.
Pro-Zelaya demonstrations also took place at eastern and southern access points to the capital. Protesters blocked the southern entry highway with vehicles, witnesses said.
U.S.-backed mediator Arias is trying to broker a settlement between Zelaya, who demands that Micheletti comply with international calls for his immediate reinstatement, and the interim president.
Micheletti, who says the army lawfully removed Zelaya because he violated the constitution by seeking to lift limits on presidential terms, has ruled out Zelaya's restoration.
Juan Barahona, leader of the National Front for Resistance Against the Coup which is campaigning for Zelaya's return, said earlier his supporters would try to block highways into Tegucigalpa and the other main city, San Pedro Sula.
"We're going to hold two big demonstrations, taking over the roads to strike at the economy of the coup-supporting businessmen," he told Reuters by telephone.
Hector Ivan Mejia, spokesman for the Security Ministry of the interim administration, said security was being increased at strategic points across the Central American country, an exporter of bananas, coffee and textiles.
The country's coffee harvest is largely over, with the bulk of exports shipped, meaning road blockades would not affect coffee exports. The next harvest begins in October.
Since the coup last month, supporters of Zelaya have staged almost daily protests calling for his return but have not seriously threatened the interim government.
Offer to Step Down
Micheletti late on Wednesday repeated an offer to step down to promote a peaceful solution, but only on condition that Zelaya did not return to office.
Foreign governments fear that if Saturday's mediation talks in the Costa Rican capital fail, what is already the worst political crisis in Central America since the Cold War could escalate into wider tensions and confrontation.
In Bolivia, leftist Latin American presidents met with Zelaya's foreign minister on Thursday to show support.
"This coup won't last. This coup will fail," Bolivian President Evo Morales said alongside Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas and allies that included Chavez and the presidents of Ecuador and Paraguay, Rafael Correa and Fernando Lugo.
The Organization of American States, which suspended Honduras from membership on July 4, said on Wednesday it would keep up pressure on the coup leaders, while supporting dialogue to end the crisis.
Zelaya, who says the coup was a power grab by rich political elites who oppose him, has said Saturday's talks are the last chance for the interim government to reinstate him immediately.
Arias has invited delegations representing Zelaya and Micheletti to the talks. But a spokesman for Arias said on Wednesday it was not envisaged the two leaders would take part personally. They declined to meet face-to-face in initial discussions last week.