Honduran police and soldiers raided a building Wednesday that was occupied by farm activists and supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Fifty-four people were detained.

The raid in the capital, Tegucigalpa, came despite overtures by the interim Honduran government that it would back down from Sunday's decree suspending some constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties.

Police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said the raid of the National Agrarian Institute was meant to recover control of the building, which contained land title records.

Detained farmer Jose Irene Murillo, 69, said he feared "they are going to destroy the records of the small farmers, because the big landowners want the land."

On Sunday, the interim government issued a decree banning unauthorized gatherings and giving police the right to arrest people without warrants.

Interim President Roberto Micheletti said Monday that he would reconsider the decree, and the Honduran Congress has vowed to lift or modify the decree if the president does not.

Honduran soldiers ousted the left-leaning Zelaya in a June 28 coup amid a dispute over modifying the constitution.

Zelaya slipped back into Honduras last week and is holed up in the Brazilian Embassy with about 60 family members and supporters.

Zelaya has said he is encouraged by a plan proposed by an influential business chamber that would see him reinstated.

Honduras has a presidential vote scheduled for Nov. 29. The vote was planned before the ouster of Zelaya, whose term expires in January.

with files from The Associated Press