Honduran People

Talks to resolve the crisis in Honduras after a coup began with both sides holding closed-door meetings with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias in San Jose. Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya left Arias' home shortly before the arrival of the man who replaced him, Roberto Micheletti. Zelaya called for "the reestablishment of the state of law, democracy and the return of the president elected by the Honduran people." Micheletti insists that Zelaya was legitimately removed from office for allegedly violating the constitution.

When President Obama attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago last April, he promised a new beginning in the United States' historically fraught relations with Latin America. Since then, however, Latin Americans have seen more continuity than change, whether it's the failure to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, the new agreement to expand the use of military bases in Colombia or the handling of the recent coup in Honduras. In fact, the bungling of the Honduran crisis has further damaged U.S. credibility and caused a rift with strategic partners in South America.

When Honduran soldiers entered democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya's bedroom and packed him off in his pajamas at gunpoint to exile this summer, the politicians and industrialists who backed the ouster had confidence that President Obama wouldn't touch them. Even though the United States maintains 600 troops in Honduras, they thought they could pull off the first successful military coup in Latin America since the end of the Cold War. So far, they're right: The Honduran junta's intransigence in negotiations to restore democracy has been rewarded with U.S. complacency, setting an extremely dangerous precedent for other areas of the world.

Reporting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Mexico City -- The de facto rulers of Honduras will observe more than elections Sunday: They staged the first military-backed coup in Central America in 16 years -- and got away with it. Months of international efforts failed to reinstate President Manuel Zelaya, ousted June 28 and deported to Costa Rica. Instead, the most powerful outside mediator, the United States, agreed to recognize the outcome of Sunday's vote for a new president. Several other countries will not, saying that a "free and fair" vote cannot be held under the watch of a de facto government.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a military-backed coup four months ago, said today that a U.S.-brokered deal to end his nation's political crisis has collapsed. Zelaya pronounced the week-old agreement a "dead letter" after de facto rulers formed a new "reconciliation government" without Zelaya's participation, as the deal had required. "The accord is a dead letter," Zelaya said on a Honduran radio station. "There is no sense in continuing to fool the Honduran people."

Talks to resolve the coup crisis in Honduras collapsed Sunday after the de facto government refused a mediator's proposal to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The failure of negotiations under the direction of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias dashed the most promising diplomatic effort aimed at ending the crisis and raised the specter of more violence. "What is the alternative to dialogue?" a disappointed Arias said in San Jose, the Costa Rican capital. "Possibly . . .

When President Obama attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago last April, he promised a new beginning in the United States' historically fraught relations with Latin America. Since then, however, Latin Americans have seen more continuity than change, whether it's the failure to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, the new agreement to expand the use of military bases in Colombia or the handling of the recent coup in Honduras. In fact, the bungling of the Honduran crisis has further damaged U.S. credibility and caused a rift with strategic partners in South America.

Reporting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Mexico City -- The de facto rulers of Honduras will observe more than elections Sunday: They staged the first military-backed coup in Central America in 16 years -- and got away with it. Months of international efforts failed to reinstate President Manuel Zelaya, ousted June 28 and deported to Costa Rica. Instead, the most powerful outside mediator, the United States, agreed to recognize the outcome of Sunday's vote for a new president. Several other countries will not, saying that a "free and fair" vote cannot be held under the watch of a de facto government.

Reporting from Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- The de facto Honduran government has silenced two dissident broadcasters, part of a crackdown on civil liberties aimed at undermining support for ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Soldiers and police before dawn today raided Radio Globo, a national broadcaster sympathetic to Zelaya. Late Sunday, Channel 36 television was yanked from the air. The two stations frequently carry interviews with Zelaya and his supporters -- voices given short shrift in most other Honduran media.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton terminated more than $30 million in aid to Honduras on Thursday in an effort to increase pressure on the country's de facto government to restore democratic rule after a coup in June. The State Department, which had earlier suspended the aid, said it could cut off as much as $200 million more unless ousted President Manuel Zelaya and his democratically elected government are reinstated. State Department officials said they also might not recognize the presidential election that the interim government has scheduled for November.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a military-backed coup four months ago, said today that a U.S.-brokered deal to end his nation's political crisis has collapsed. Zelaya pronounced the week-old agreement a "dead letter" after de facto rulers formed a new "reconciliation government" without Zelaya's participation, as the deal had required. "The accord is a dead letter," Zelaya said on a Honduran radio station. "There is no sense in continuing to fool the Honduran people."

Reporting from Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- The de facto Honduran government has silenced two dissident broadcasters, part of a crackdown on civil liberties aimed at undermining support for ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Soldiers and police before dawn today raided Radio Globo, a national broadcaster sympathetic to Zelaya. Late Sunday, Channel 36 television was yanked from the air. The two stations frequently carry interviews with Zelaya and his supporters -- voices given short shrift in most other Honduran media.

When Honduran soldiers entered democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya's bedroom and packed him off in his pajamas at gunpoint to exile this summer, the politicians and industrialists who backed the ouster had confidence that President Obama wouldn't touch them. Even though the United States maintains 600 troops in Honduras, they thought they could pull off the first successful military coup in Latin America since the end of the Cold War. So far, they're right: The Honduran junta's intransigence in negotiations to restore democracy has been rewarded with U.S. complacency, setting an extremely dangerous precedent for other areas of the world.

Talks to resolve the coup crisis in Honduras collapsed Sunday after the de facto government refused a mediator's proposal to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The failure of negotiations under the direction of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias dashed the most promising diplomatic effort aimed at ending the crisis and raised the specter of more violence. "What is the alternative to dialogue?" a disappointed Arias said in San Jose, the Costa Rican capital. "Possibly . . .

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya said the Honduran people "have the right to insurrection" against the interim government that forced him out of the country. The remarks appeared to pave the way for a further escalation of the conflict in Honduras, where Zelaya's supporters have staged massive marches demanding his return and one person has been killed in clashes. Speaking at a news conference in Guatemala City, Zelaya said that Hondurans had the right to demonstrate, strike and even rise up against the government of Roberto Micheletti, who was named by Congress to replace Zelaya.

The past couple of years have done little to undermine the faith Ramon Maradiaga has in his ability and that of his players. In that time, Honduras' soccer coach has qualified his country for the Sydney Olympic Games, guided it to an astonishing third-place finish in the Copa America in Colombia--with victories over former world champions Brazil and Uruguay--and now has it poised to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in two decades. But there's a catch.