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Honduran lawmakers are due to decide on Dec. 2 whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya and let him finish his term until a newly elected leader takes office in January. Zelaya was exiled by soldiers in a June 28 coup but has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since sneaking back into Honduras in September. After he pulled out of a deal to decide his return, Zelaya's future looks even more uncertain. Here are some possible scenarios for Zelaya's prospects: CONGRESS VOTES TO REINSTATE ZELAYA Zelaya's opponents control the Honduran Congress, which voted to strip him of his...

Honduras' interim president Roberto Micheletti will step down temporarily from his post for a week during the country's coming national elections, the Wall Street Journal has learned. The move, while largely symbolic, is an effort by the interim government to boost international legitimacy for the Nov. 29 vote, which the government hopes will put an end to a political crisis that began with the June 28 ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. In a speech to be delivered Thursday, Mr. Micheletti is expected to say he will hand the reins of government to his council of ministers – basically, the cabinet...

TEGUCIGALPA — A top US envoy said Wednesday that Honduran elections were key to resolving the crisis set off by the June 28 coup, despite the rejection of the polls by ousted leader Manuel Zelaya. "The elections are an important part of the solution in order to advance," said US deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere Craig Kelly, in comments to journalists 11 days before the presidential polls. Zelaya, who has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy since his surprise return home on September 21, has called on his supporters to boycott the polls after the latest crisis...

Zelayistas and journalists are deserting the sinking ship of the Brazilian Embassy. Yesterday, Salvadoran Padre Andrés Tamayo left. Deserters are escorted away by police and, I believe, are examined by doctors prior to release, which seems a wise move so that false accusations of ill effects from death rays, toxic gases, mind control radiation and whatever else they dream up cannot be claimed later. In one photo of a Zelaya follower telling a doctor about his symptoms, a Brazilian blogger notes with humor the skepticism in the face of a journalist (in the blue shirt) standing by watching. The fact...

Honduran lawmakers will not decide whether to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya until after upcoming presidential elections, the congressional leader said Tuesday, a decision that could undermine international support for the vote. Congress will meet Dec. 2 — three days after the Nov. 29 election — to decide whether Zelaya should be returned the presidency to finish his constitutional term, which ends in January, congressional president Jose Alfredo Saavedra told local HRN radio station. Several Latin American countries have warned they will not recognize the outcome of the election unless Zelaya is restored beforehand. But the United States has not...

Ex-president Zelaya is still holed up in the Brazilian Embassy and surrounded by police armed with an arrest warrant against him if he steps outside of Brazil’s protection. However, he makes frequent statements to the press via phone. Yesterday, his complaints against the U.S. took a more personal tone. In an interview with local station Radio Globo he said that Lincoln “. . . gave an example to the American people that this [Obama’s] government doesn’t want to follow. These are not true heirs of Lincoln.” Although State Department spokesman Ian Kelly denied yesterday that U.S. policy towards Honduras had...

QUESTION: On Honduras, Senator Kerry’s – one of his spokespersons recently said that when Thomas Shannon said that the U.S. would recognize the winner of the November 29th elections, even if Zelaya was not to be put back into power beforehand, that that was undermining the deal that had been reached? Can you respond to that? MR. KELLY: Well, on Honduras, we, of course, are continuing to call on both sides to begin implementing the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord. One of the key parts of that is setting up a government of unity and reconciliation, and we feel that once that...

In a victory for democracy in Honduras and common sense in foreign affairs, the Administration has backed off its insistence that Zelaya be returned to power: Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican known for his efforts to block influence domestic immigration and health-care issues, has scored a foreign-policy coup by helping to compel the Obama administration to shift its stance on strife-ridden Honduras. After demanding for months that deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya be restored to power, senior State Department officials now say they'll accept the outcome of Nov. 29 elections in the Central American country even if Zelaya...

Honduras — Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya insisted late Saturday that he will not accept any deal to restore him to office if it means he must recognize elections later this month. In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, Zelaya also repeated his accusation that Washington reversed its stance on whether the Nov. 29 vote should be considered legitimate if he was not in office. "As the elected president of the Honduran people, I reaffirm my position that starting today, no matter what, I will not accept any agreement on returning to the presidency of the republic to cover...

The interim leadership in Honduras has vowed to use all security measures at its disposal to ensure a safe election this month. Leader Roberto Micheletti, installed after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a June coup, has said he expects November 29 elections to bring an end to the worst political upheaval in Central America in decades. He vowed to bring the full weight of security forces to bear on the abridged campaign season and the election itself. 'People should know that we are here to provide security,' said armed forces chief General Romeo Vasquez on Saturday. 'We have put...

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya insisted late Saturday that he will not accept any deal to restore him to office if it means he must recognize elections later this month. In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, Zelaya also repeated his accusation that Washington reversed its stance on whether the Nov. 29 vote should be considered legitimate if he was not in office. "As the elected president of the Honduran people, I reaffirm my position that starting today, no matter what, I will not accept any agreement on returning to the presidency of the republic to cover up this...

Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican known for his efforts to block influence domestic immigration and health-care issues, has scored a foreign-policy coup by helping to compel the Obama administration to shift its stance on strife-ridden Honduras. After demanding for months that deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya be restored to power, senior State Department officials now say they'll accept the outcome of Nov. 29 elections in the Central American country even if Zelaya doesn't reclaim his post. "We support the elections process there," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Thursday. "We have provided technical assistance. ... These elections will...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Assailants fired an anti-tank grenade toward the building housing ballots for the upcoming Honduran presidential elections, which are taking place under the shadow of a four-month crisis caused by a coup, police said Friday. The grenade overshot the target, exploding 550 yards (500 meters) from the building in the capital of Tegucigalpa, police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said. Residents in several neighborhoods heard the explosion Thursday night, but there were no damages. Police believe the building housing election material was the intended target because the surrounding buildings are mostly residential. They said the Russian-made, rocket-propelled grenade was likely...

What caused the US department of state to change their mind on the Honduran elections after months of saying that they would not recognize the Honduran election process leaving everyone in the world aghast at how the US could not recognize a free election...read on you will enjoy learning how DeMint became a hero and beat Hillary at her own political hardball.

The U.S. drops its support for Honduran former president Manuel Zelaya. Hugo Chávez says nothing, a development in itself. The October 30 Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord (translated here), under which the United States and other nations are to recognize the results of the November 29 Honduran elections, was hailed by the U.S. government and by the Organization of American States (OAS) as “as bringing an end to a months-long political crisis.” It seems to have fizzled because former President Manuel Zelaya insisted that he be reinstated before the unity government took office. Under the accord, the unity government took office, as...

And finally, before taking your questions, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Craig Kelly has arrived in Tegucigalpa today to continue working with the parties and the verification commission. He’ll be there today and tomorrow, focused on trying to move the process forward towards a free and fair election and the seating of a new government in Honduras at the end of this month. And with that, Bob. QUESTION: Would the Kelly visit include a delivery of a direct message from President Obama about the situation? MR. CROWLEY: If he has – if he’s carrying such a message, we’ll let him deliver...

The U.S. drops its support for Honduran former president Manuel Zelaya. Hugo Chávez says nothing, a development in itself.The October 30 Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord (translated here), under which the United States and other nations are to recognize the results of the November 29 Honduran elections, was hailed by the U.S. government and by the Organization of American States (OAS) as “as bringing an end to a months-long political crisis.” It seems to have fizzled because former President Manuel Zelaya insisted that he be reinstated before the unity government took office. Under the accord, the unity government took office, as scheduled,...

WHARTON -- An undocumented Honduran immigrant, whose bail became the subject of a New Jersey Supreme Court case earlier this year, pleaded guilty today to sexually-assaulting a 8-year-old girl.   Manuel Fajardo-Santos, 31, admitted today to sexually assaulting his girlfriend's younger sister in Wharton on Aug. 24, 2008 after returning home from a party. Superior Court Judge John Dangler set sentencing for Jan. 29.Under a plea arrangement, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office will seek a sentence of seven years in state prison, with a minimum 85-percent parole ineligible, while public defender Michael Fletcher will argue for a five-year sentence.   A detainer...

For months Honduras has faced a political crisis. In June, its president, Manuel Zelaya, attempted to subvert the country's constitution and was removed from office. He has since pushed to return to power...On Oct. 30, it appeared the crisis might come to a close when representatives of Zelaya signed an agreement with representatives of Micheletti to create a reconciliation government to oversee the country until the next president is seated (among other provisions). But in recent days, that agreement...fell apart. It's more accurate to say Zelaya moved to destroy the accord. It called for him to propose members of the...

With nearly a year in office, we now know without doubt exactly where our own president stands on vital national security matters. He has a track record and has shown his true colors over and over again. In Honduras, he picked the side of the dictator-wannabe without hesitation. He has used every diplomatic weapon at his disposal to destroy the constitutional democracy in Honduras, even cutting off financial aid and blocking diplomatic visas. He went the full gamut of meddling there and made no bones about it. He moved to cancel long-planned missile defense shields for Poland and the Czech...

The Obama administration has worked hard, if somewhat episodically, to try to resolve the political crisis in Honduras. Last week, it looked as if the administration had pulled it off. The deal is now unraveling because of the obstinacy of Honduras's ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, and the man who ousted him, Roberto Micheletti. But we fear Washington also miscalculated that obstinacy. The agreement was brokered by Costa Rica's president, Óscar Arias, with some strong last-minute arm-twisting from Washington. It was a good one. Mr. Zelaya would be allowed to finish out his term, which ends in January. But he would...

Gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying Honduras' top prosecutor, but neither he nor his bodyguards were harmed, police said Sunday. Police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi was riding on a northern highway when assailants opened fire Saturday night. Cerrato said no one was hurt. One car was damaged. He did not give a motive for the attack or say whether it was related to Honduras' four-month political crisis. But he speculated the attack could be an attempt to "provoke unease in the country." After the June coup, it was Rubi who filed criminal charges against ousted President...

Just barely meeting the November 5 deadline, Honduran President Roberto Micheletti reported to the country in a national broadcast that the cabinet of unity and reconciliation had been formed, despite the fact that Manuel Zelaya refused to provide any nominations for the new cabinet. Surrounded by dozens of smiling members of political parties and civic groups, Micheletti appeared pleased and concluded his speech with 'Viva Honduras!' three minutes before midnight. During his speech, Micheletti explained that at the beginning of the week, nominations were requested from the principal political parties, the presidential candidates, sectors of the civil society, and Manuel...

Honduras’ deposed would-be “strongman,” Manuel Zelaya called on US President Obama to send troops to help him regain control of the Honduran government. Zelaya was president of Honduras until he was removed from office earlier this year by joint action of the country’s supreme court and legislature. “Micheletti has pissed on the agreement we made to restore my power,” Zelaya angrily alleged. “He is going ahead with the scheduled elections without my approval. He has refused to include my proposed constitutional amendment to extend my term of office. A new government will be formed without my consent.” Acting President Roberto...

Honduras, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he has pulled out of a deal struck to end the country's political crisis. Speaking to local radio Friday, Zelaya said the deal with the interim government led by President Roberto Micheletti was off as far as he was concerned, The Wall Street Journal reported. "This deal is dead. The other side has failed to uphold their end," Zelaya reportedly said. Under the terms of the deal, a government of national unity would be created and the Honduran Congress would be allowed to determine if Zelaya could return to...

It is not often that decency and perseverance overcome the ministrations of unctuous leftist frauds and their masters at the UN,OAS and US State Department. All the world was allied against those in Honduras attempting to maintain a fragile republic and adhere to its Constitution. (Americans would do well to take note as we may soon have to defend our own Constitution from the same bunch.) Nevertheless, the news from Honduras is good. Briefly, on June 28th of this year Manuel Zelaya was deposed by the order of the Supreme Court of Honduras. Among other things, he specifically violated the...

When the U.S. last week finally brokered a deal between ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the man who replaced him following the June 28 coup, de facto President Roberto Micheletti, observers wondered how the Obama Administration had won Micheletti's agreement. That's because the pact allowed for Zelaya to be restored to office before Honduras' Nov. 29 presidential election - a prospect Micheletti had fiercely opposed. But as the dust settles, the more common question this week is, What was Zelaya thinking when he signed this accord? The Oct. 30 agreement, in fact, leaves it to the Honduran congress to...

WASHINGTON - An outspoken critic of the Obama administration's handling of the crisis in Honduras dropped his opposition to two State Department nominees late Thursday, saying the administration has reversed course. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said on the Senate floor that he'd spoken with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who told him that the administration would recognize the election Nov. 29 in Honduras "regardless of whether former President Manuel Zelaya is returned to office." "I am happy to report the Obama administration has finally reversed its misguided Honduran policy and will fully recognize the Nov. 29 elections," DeMint said, noting...

And then I'd like to read a statement on Honduras. Last week, Honduran negotiators came to an accord that spells out a step-by-step process for Honduras to reestablish democratic and constitutional order and move toward national elections with the support of the international community. In the wake of the Verification Commission visit November 3 and 4, the two sides made significant progress toward the formation of a unity government. For that reason, we were particularly disappointed by the unilateral statements made last night, which do not serve the spirit of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord. We urge both sides to act...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Friday that a U.S.-brokered pact failed to end a four-month political crisis after a deadline for forming a unity government passed. "The accord is dead," Zelaya told Radio Globo from from the Brazilian Embassy where he has been hold up under threat of arrest. "There is no sense in deceiving Hondurans." Forged last week with the help of U.S. diplomats, the pact gave the two sides until midnight Thursday to install a government with supporters of Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, who was named interim president by Congress after Zelaya was ousted...

Bomb explodes in downtown Tegucigalpa Municipal police arrived on the scene to investigate what happened 05.11.09 - Updated: 05.11.09 01:42 pm - Agustin Lagos: agustin.lagos @ elheraldo.hn Current Rating: Votes: 0 1 comments Print Send Tegucigalpa, Honduras . A homemade bomb exploded this morning in public restrooms in Central Park in the Honduran capital. The blast was felt several feet around, but no injuries were reported. "He was just explosive, was more than anything to affect people psychologically," said an unidentified official on Radio America. "If I had more explosives and had been people inside (the bathrooms), the consequences would...

Local radio station Radio America and Channel 10 of Honduras report a terrorist attack onto radio station HRN. The attack was perpetrated by several men using fragmentation granades, but one granade bounced back to the attacker and exploded on his body, said moments ago a correspondent of the same radio.

TEGUCIGALPA — Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is asking the Obama Administration to explain why, after pressing for his reinstatement, U.S. officials say they will recognize upcoming Honduran elections even if he isn't returned to power first. In a letter sent to the U.S. State Department on Wednesday, Zelaya asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "to clarify to the Honduran people if the position condemning the coup d'etat has been changed or modified." His request came after Washington's top envoy to Latin America, Thomas Shannon, told CNN en Espanol that the U.S. will recognize the Nov. 29 elections even if the...

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran lawmakers on Tuesday put off a vote on whether to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya and asked the Supreme Court for its view, bucking outside pressure to quickly end a four-month political crisis. Their inaction leaves the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti in place and risks losing international support for a Nov. 29 presidential election, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid to the poor coffee- and textile-producing nation. A board of 13 top lawmakers met and decided not to call a special session of Congress, currently in recess, until they receive...

Tegucigalpa, Nov 3, 2009 / 07:26 pm (CNA).- A new law has taken effect in Honduras prohibiting the consumption and marketing of the morning-after pill in the Central American country. The law was passed by the Honduran Congress at the beginning of the year with backing from the Medical College of Honduras, which pointed out that the pill has an abortifacient effect making it unconstitutional. The Honduran Congress argued that the drug would “gravely endanger the health of the Honduran population, especially women who are able to get pregnant.” Lawmakers pointed to a 2008 report by the Medical College of...

Undermine our allies. Embolden our enemies. Diminish our country. If anyone doubted those nine words summed up the Obama Doctrine, look at what the president's team perpetrated last week in Honduras. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon and Dan Restrepo, the National Security Council's senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, visited the Honduran capital in Tegucigalpa on Wednesday to compel the country's recalcitrant democrats to make a deal with the man the latter had lawfully removed from the presidency on June 28. It remains to be seen whether, pursuant to this deal, former President Manuel Zelaya will be restored to...

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) labeled General Stanley McChrystal’s proposal to send 40,000 additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan “ill-considered.” “This kind of blind blustering and saber-rattling might have sold in the Bush era, but it’s a new day under Democratic leadership,” Kerry boasted. “A more cautious and deliberate approach must guide us.” In support of his position, the Senator cited a resolution passed unanimously by the Berkeley City Council calling for “an end to the United States’ barbarous ravaging of Afghanistan with cowardly remote attacks.” “At least the so-called jihadis have the...

Zelaya threatened to kick the board if not immediately restored Micheletti's supporters are in no hurry to convene Congress to rule on the restitution of the deposed president 9 votes 147 reviews Decrease font fuenteAumentar Will print email JOAQUIM IBARZ | MEXICO (CORRESPONDENT) | 01/11/2009 | Updated at 19:15 pm | International We are where we were. As feared the most skeptical, the agreement just last Friday, is far from solving the crisis in Honduras. Whatever their commitments, each of the parties interpreted the agreement at its convenience. The de facto government supporters are in no hurry to convene Congress...

Honduras signs a deal that means international recognition of the November 29 elections. If there is one person in Honduras who is more despised these days than deposed president Manuel Zelaya it is a foreigner who goes by the name of Hugo. We refer here not to the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez but to U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens.

The chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees—Representative Howard Berman (D-Calif) and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass), respectively—are demanding the librarians at the Law Library of Congress to suppress a report on the Honduran crisis. The problem with the report is that it concludes that the removal of former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was carried out in accordance with that country’s constitution. “This report directly contradicts the President’s position on this crisis,” Berman pointed out. “It creates an air of confusion regarding US policy on this matter. On matters of foreign policy, this nation must speak with one voice...

Lawmakers will wait until Tuesday to consider a U.S.-brokered agreement that could return deposed President Manuel Zelaya to power, despite diplomats' pleas to not delay an end to the country's 4-month-old political crisis. Monday is a holiday in Honduras, and many legislators are busy campaigning for Nov. 29 elections that will also elect a successor to Zelaya. Nonetheless, Zelaya said Saturday that he hopes he will be back in office by Thursday, the deadline for the two sides to establish a power-sharing government. "By Thursday, the government of national unity should be installed," he said in a meeting broadcast by...

The big news in Honduras is that the good guys seem to have won a four-month political standoff over the exile of former President Manuel Zelaya. Current President Roberto Micheletti agreed yesterday to submit Mr. Zelaya's request for reinstatement as president to the Supreme Court and Congress, and in return the U.S. will withdraw its sanctions and recognize next month's presidential elections. Mr. Zelaya, whose term would have expired in January, isn't likely to be reinstated, given that the court has twice ruled against his right to remain in office. The Honduran Congress, which voted in June to remove Mr....

A deal to end the political standoff in Honduras has been thrown into doubt after a negotiator for the de facto government suggested that Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president, will not be returned to power. The comments by Arturo Corrales prompted confusion on Saturday as it had been thought Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, Honduras's de facto leader, had reached a deal. The two sides have been at odds for four months over whether Zelaya should be reinstated before presidential elections due to be held in November. It was thought that, through the deal, Zelaya could be returned to power before...

Diplomacy: The restoration of a president with dictatorial dreams in Honduras is being touted by the administration as a triumph of "dialogue." In truth, it's just old-fashioned yanqui interventionism. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed Thursday night's agreement in Tegucigalpa as "a restoration of the constitutional order," and praised it highly. "I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue." What worked here, though, wasn't dialogue, but U.S. diplomatic muscle. A last-minute mission from Assistant Secretary of State...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Deposed President Manuel Zelaya and his opponents have agreed to a U.S.-brokered deal that he said will return him to power four months after a coup shook faith in Latin America's young democracies. The power-sharing agreement reached late Thursday calls for Congress to decide whether to reinstate the leftist Zelaya. While the legislature backed his June 28 ouster, congressional leaders have since said they won't stand in the way of an agreement that ends Honduras' diplomatic isolation and legitimizes presidential elections planned for Nov. 29. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said Friday that the two...

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Honduras' de facto government has accepted a U.S.-driven deal that opens the door for the return to power of President Manuel Zelaya, toppled in a military coup four months ago. The breakthrough late on Thursday followed renewed pressure from senior U.S. officials who traveled to Honduras this week for a last-ditch effort to end a crisis that has given U.S. President Barack Obama a foreign policy headache. "It is a triumph for Honduran democracy," the leftist Zelaya said after the rival sides agreed to a deal that he said should see him restored to office in the...

MEXICO CITY — A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end on Friday after the de facto government agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office. The government of Roberto Micheletti, which had refused to let Mr. Zelaya return, signed an agreement with Mr. Zelaya’s negotiators late Thursday that would pave the way for the Honduran Congress to restore the ousted president and allow him to serve out the remaining three months of his term. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed on Friday that Mr. Zelaya...

Honduras' interim government has buckled under international pressure and agreed to allow the return to power of Manuel Zelaya, the ousted President who was toppled in a military coup four months ago. The breakthrough followed renewed pressure from senior US. officials who traveled to Honduras this week for a last-ditch effort to end the crisis. "It is a triumph for Honduran democracy," said Mr Zelaya after the rival sides agreed to a deal that could see him reinstated as President in the coming days. Earlier, Roberto Micheletti, the president of the interim government that took power after the coup on...

Concludes political crisis in Honduras The signing was delayed for several hours after the delegation of the deposed Manuel Zelaya gave its approval long - Updated: 30.10.09 12:50 am - Writing: Current Rating: 4 votes: 3 3 Comments Print Send Tegucigalpa, Honduras . Representatives of the government of deposed Roberto Micheletti Manuel Zelaya signed late Thursday in this capital an agreement to end the political crisis that took to Honduras in the air for 124 days. The agreement was signed under heavy pressure from the U.S. government decided to send his top heavy artillery led by the undersecretary of state...

A month ago, the Law Library of Congress reviewed the removal of Manuel Zelaya from his post as President of Honduras, an act that the Obama administration called a “coup” and demanded reversed for its illegality. To the embarrassment of the White House and State Department, the Congressional body determined that Honduras acted lawfully in removing Zelaya for his crimes against their constitution, although they determined that his exile broke Honduran law. Now John Kerry wants the Law Library to retract its findings, apparently trying to rewrite history to hide the facts of the case: