President Manuel Zelaya

Honduran forces toting batons and tear gas today dispersed supporters of deposed President Manuel Zelaya, as he holed up for a second day in an embassy in that nation's capital, Tegucigalpa. Tegucigalpa was largely shut down and its airport closed amid a continuing curfew imposed Monday by the interim government after Zelaya slipped back into Honduras and took shelter at the Brazilian embassy. There were no immediate reports of injuries after helmeted Honduran troops surrounded the embassy and fired tear gas in order to scatter pro-Zelaya demonstrators.

The United States is expanding its military presence in Honduras on a spectacular scale. The Associated Press reported this month in an investigative article that Washington in 2011 authorized $1.3 billion for U.S. military electronics in Honduras. This is happening while the post-coup regime of Honduran President Porfirio Lobo is more out of control than ever, especially since the Honduran Congress staged a "technical coup" in December. But as the Obama administration deepens its partnership with Honduras, ostensibly to fight the drug war, Democrats in Congress are increasingly rebelling.

The United States is expanding its military presence in Honduras on a spectacular scale. The Associated Press reported this month in an investigative article that Washington in 2011 authorized $1.3 billion for U.S. military electronics in Honduras. This is happening while the post-coup regime of Honduran President Porfirio Lobo is more out of control than ever, especially since the Honduran Congress staged a "technical coup" in December. But as the Obama administration deepens its partnership with Honduras, ostensibly to fight the drug war, Democrats in Congress are increasingly rebelling.

Is Honduras ready for a return to the community of nations? It has been almost two years since the forced removal of then-President Manuel Zelaya at the hands of the Honduran military. On June 1, the Organization of American States said yes, when it lifted the suspension of Honduras from the organization by a vote of 32 countries in favor and one against. Still, the question on everyone's mind remains: Was there a coup d'état in 2009? Perhaps the better question to ask is: How can similar instability be avoided in the future in Honduras and elsewhere in the region?

Honduras, the tiny Central American nation, had a change of leaders on June 28. The country's military arrested President Manuel Zelaya -- in his pajamas, he says -- and put him on a plane bound for Costa Rica. A new president, Roberto Micheletti, was appointed. Led by Cuba and Venezuela (Sudan and North Korea were not immediately available), the international community swiftly condemned this "coup."

Is Honduras ready for a return to the community of nations? It has been almost two years since the forced removal of then-President Manuel Zelaya at the hands of the Honduran military. On June 1, the Organization of American States said yes, when it lifted the suspension of Honduras from the organization by a vote of 32 countries in favor and one against. Still, the question on everyone's mind remains: Was there a coup d'état in 2009? Perhaps the better question to ask is: How can similar instability be avoided in the future in Honduras and elsewhere in the region?

Reporting from Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- Hondurans voted Sunday for a new president, many hoping that despite the questions surrounding the election they could restore legitimacy to their national government five months after a military-backed coup ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Official results late Sunday gave an insurmountable lead to Porfirio Lobo, a wealthy businessman from Honduras' political elite and candidate of the conservative National Party. His closest opponent conceded defeat.

The de facto government of Honduras suspended constitutional guarantees indefinitely late Sunday, outlawing public gatherings and making it easier for the army to make arrests. The measure, announced on a nationwide simultaneous television and radio broadcast, came on the eve of a potentially enormous march by ousted President Manuel Zelaya's supporters. From his refuge at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, Zelaya called on people to take to the streets today to mark the three-month anniversary of his ouster.

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 . . .

One day after the Honduran military prevented him from landing at his capital's airport, ousted President Manuel Zelaya said he would meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington -- then take another run at going home. The session with Clinton, scheduled for today, would be the highest-level contact by the Obama administration with the leftist leader, who was deposed in a coup just over a week ago. American officials have said they hope Zelaya's U.S.

Nearly two years after former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup, he returned home Saturday. His arrival clears the way for the Organization of American States to reinstate Honduras, which had been expelled from the group, during a special session Wednesday. Zelaya's return and Wednesday's expected OAS vote mean Honduras will no longer be a pariah in the hemisphere, which rightfully condemned the coup. But it would be a mistake to conclude that the crisis in that country is over.

Manuel Zelaya, the president of Honduras ousted in a military-led coup nearly two years ago, returned home from exile Saturday, greeted by a large, heated crowd and a nation still bitterly divided by tension and violence. With Zelaya's return, Honduras hopes to end its political and diplomatic isolation and overcome one of the ugliest periods of recent Central American history. Zelaya pledged to immediately reengage in politics and will probably lead a new party. "This is the moment to declare victory for the democratic process in Latin America," Zelaya proclaimed.

Nine months after a military-led coup plunged Honduras into political turmoil, human rights groups are denouncing what they see as an alarming spate of attacks on journalists, including the killings of five in March alone. No one has been arrested in the slayings, and speculation on motives has run the gamut. The violence illustrates the depth to which Honduras remains unsettled and on edge, even after a new president was elected in November and installed in January amid promises to heal national divisions.

The de facto government of Honduras withdrew its offer Thursday to deposed President Manuel Zelaya of safe passage out of the country, asserting he could leave only if he renounced his claim to the office. The actions by Honduras' coup-installed rulers threw cold water on efforts to free Zelaya from the Brazilian Embassy, where he took refuge 2 1/2 months ago. "I could be here 10 years," Zelaya told a radio station from inside the embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

Reporting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Mexico City -- The Honduran Congress on Wednesday quashed the last possibility that ousted President Manuel Zelaya could be returned to office, voting that the coup that deposed him five months ago should stand. In a daylong session that participants hoped would help ease the international diplomatic crisis engulfing Honduras, members of Congress debated whether Zelaya's actions as president violated laws and whether he should be allowed to finish his term, which ends Jan. 27. But there wasn't much debate: Most legislators had decided against Zelaya long before they arrived at the downtown legislative building.

Reporting from Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- Hondurans voted Sunday for a new president, many hoping that despite the questions surrounding the election they could restore legitimacy to their national government five months after a military-backed coup ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Official results late Sunday gave an insurmountable lead to Porfirio Lobo, a wealthy businessman from Honduras' political elite and candidate of the conservative National Party. His closest opponent conceded defeat.

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.

Tick, tick, tick. That's the sound of the de facto government of Honduras running out the clock on the term of Manuel Zelaya, the president ousted in a civilian-military coup on June 28. Sadly, it also might be the sound of a time bomb inadvertently activated by the country's constitutional crisis and deepening political divisions. In the six weeks since the coup, the Organization of American States, the Obama administration and a mediator -- Costa Rican President Oscar Arias -- have been unable to bring the leaders of the coup to their senses.

While Honduras' de facto government observed elections more than 2,000 miles away on Sunday, Honduran citizens in Los Angeles headed to a local school to make their voices heard -- one way or another. Inside the Evans Community Adult School downtown, dozens of poll workers representing various political parties manned ballot stations. Across the street, protesters denounced what they called a fraudulent vote and urged a boycott. The presidential elections, which take place every four years, have been a source of tension since President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup June 28 and deported to Costa Rica.

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.