Nicaragua says Honduras 'kidnapped' a diplomat

Nicaragua accused Honduras of ''kidnapping'' one of its diplomats and humiliating its ambassador in the latest twist in increasingly hostile relations between the two Central American neighbors.

Francisco Hurtado Lopez, an inspector at Nicaragua's embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, said security agents detained him as he prepared to board a flight to Managua with Ambassador Guillermo Suarez Rivas.

''They kicked me and threatened to kill me,'' Mr. Hurtado Lopez said in Managua. He said he was held by Honduran police for four hours before being allowed to leave.

Hurtado Lopez was freed after Mr. Suarez Rivas presented a demand for his release to the Honduran Foreign Relations Ministry, officials said. Nicaragua later sent a diplomatic protest to Honduras.

Honduran officials did not immediately respond to the complaint.