U.S. Says Zelaya Only President of Honduras

Agence France Presse

The United States considers President Manuel Zelaya to be the only constitutional president of Honduras despite his forced ouster from the country, an official said Sunday.

"Honduran President Manuel Zelaya speaks during a press conference at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, 20 kilometers north of San Jose. The United States considers Zelaya to be the only constitutional president of Honduras despite his forced ouster from the country, an official said Sunday."

"We recognize Zelaya as the duly elected and constitutional president of Honduras. We see no other," the Obama administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

U.S. President Barack Obama said earlier he was "deeply concerned" over reports that Honduran troops ousted Zelaya and flew him out of the country to regional neighbor Costa Rica.

"I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms (and) the rule of law," he said, adding that "any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference."

The United States has been in touch with Zelaya since the upheaval, the official said, adding that Washington had also been in contact with the Honduran armed forces and other institutions.

Earlier Sunday, Honduran forces were taking calls from the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa, but were no longer doing so later in the day, he added.

The US embassy has urged Americans in Honduras to "be careful in their movements," he added. "Given the nature of this event and given the potential for conflict, we would urge great caution."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement that Zelaya's ouster "violates the precepts of the Inter-American Democratic charter and should be condemned by all."

The U.S. diplomacy chief called on Honduras to uphold "the very principles of democracy" that were reaffirmed during an Organization of American States (OAS) meeting hosted by Honduras earlier in June. The regional body was holding an emergency meeting Sunday at its headquarters in Washington.

The OAS Permanent Council was working on a consensus resolution "that will condemn the efforts to depose President Zelaya of Honduras, calling for his return to Honduras and for a full restoration of democratic order," the administration official said.

Another top U.S. official said: "this is not a process that should be interfered with bilaterally by any country in the Americas," responding to accusations by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that the United States was meddling in the political crisis in Honduras.

"Ultimately the answer is going to arise from a resolution of the political tensions that led us to this moment," the official said.

The drama, which ended a bitter power struggle with the military over Zelaya's bid to secure a second term saw parliament swiftly voting in a new leader. Some 200 troops had swooped on Zelaya's home at about dawn and flown him out of the country.

A leading Honduran government official, Armando Sarmiento, told AFP that at least eight cabinet members were also detained including Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas.

Washington's ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Hugo Llorens, has called for the release of all those detained "immediately."

Zelaya's planned referendum had been ruled illegal by the country's top court and was opposed by the military, but the president said he planned to press ahead with it anyway and ballot boxes had already been distributed.

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