Fearing Bloodshed, Zelaya Leaves Honduras

Ousted leader announces return on TV, but interim government denies it

(NEWSER) - Manuel Zelaya is back in Honduras, the ousted president told a Honduran TV station today, prompting thousands of his supporters to gather outside the UN building in the capital to celebrate. “I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue,” Zelaya declared. The US State Department confirmed Zelaya’s return, though the country’s current de facto ruler denied it. More»

(NEWSER) - Manuel Zelaya intends to cross from Nicaragua into Honduras today or tomorrow, a move that could land him in prison or worse, the Miami Herald reports. Honduras has stepped up its border security, with interim president Roberto Micheletti promising that the deposed leader will be arrested on sight and charged with treason and abuse of power. Aides say Zelaya will come by land, surrounded by supporters. More»

Central American nation isolated as OAS sets ultimatum

(NEWSER) - As thousands of Hondurans protested yesterday in dueling rallies backing both ousted President Manuel Zelaya and the military-backed government that came to power last weekend, the Central American nation grows further isolated, reports the AP. The Pentagon yesterday suspended joint US-Honduran military operations and the World Bank said it was freezing loans. France, Spain, and other nations have recalled their ambassadors, and Honduras' three neighbors have suspended trade. More»

Condemnation of Honduran coup parries accusations of US complicity

(NEWSER) - President Obama confounded Hugo Chávez’s attempts to implicate Washington in the Honduran coup by calling for President Manuel Zelaya’s reinstatement, Simon Romero writes for the New York Times. When the coup was announced, Chávez immediately suggested that the US was financing Zelaya’s opponents or, as happened during a coup against Chávez himself in 2002, knew of the coming putsch and did nothing to stop it. More»

President installed by coup says only invasion will depose him

(NEWSER) - If its deposed president isn’t reinstated within 72 hours, Honduras will be kicked out of the Organization of American States, the group’s secretary-general said today, in the latest sign of Manuel Zelaya’s overwhelming international support. Zelaya spoke before the UN yesterday, and the General Assembly voted by acclamation to demand his restoration. But his newly installed replacement, Roberto Micheletti, says only an invasion will unseat him. More»