Word: zelaya
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...Obama Administration tried again this week to take on the coupsters of Honduras. With more than two months passed since Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was exiled in a military ouster - and less than three months to go before his impoverished Central American nation holds new presidential elections - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jabbed harder at the coup leaders to get them to let Zelaya back into Honduras and finish his democratically elected term. The U.S. cut all non-humanitarian aid to the de facto government, about $32 million; revoked the visas of all civilian and military officials who backed...
...measures could move de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti to sign on to the San Jose Accord, brokered by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, which stipulates Zelaya's restoration and immunity for the coup participants. They may also help restore President Obama's standing among Latin American leaders, who have unanimously condemned the coup, as Obama has, but who have questioned the U.S. President's commitment to matching his rhetoric with action. U.S. officials called the latest sanctions "a strong signal" that Obama has reversed Washington's historic tendency to abide if not back coups carried out against its foes...
...Administration also sent a significant mixed signal. It didn't use the m-word: Military. Its lawyers have determined that while Zelaya's overthrow was a coup d'etat, it was not technically a military coup. The main reason: even though soldiers threw Zelaya out of the country at gunpoint, in his pajamas, he was not replaced with a military leader. Instead, Micheletti, a civilian who headed Honduras' Congress, was made President. Other "complicating factors," as the U.S. calls them, include lingering questions about which Honduran institution - Congress, the Supreme Court or the Army - actually ordered Zelaya's removal after...
...what should Obama be doing? The U.S. and Europe have each suspended almost $100 million in aid to Honduras, while the U.S. has canceled diplomatic visas for a few officials tied to the coup. But Honduras' provisional President, Roberto Micheletti, still insists that Zelaya's return is "impossible." To raise the heat, the U.S. needs to impose tougher economic sanctions (while remaining mindful of the 70% of Hondurans living in poverty), or enforce visa bans for a broader swath of the élite behind the coup. (See pictures of Barack Obama's family tree...
Obama also needs to stand up to U.S. conservatives who are hijacking the Honduras issue by claiming the coup was nothing of the sort. Republicans have protested Obama's position by blocking his appointments to top diplomatic posts. Because Zelaya had broken the law by trying to end Honduras' presidential term limit, they argue, the Honduran military did the right thing by saving the country from the ousted leader and the growing influence of his ally, Chávez. "By calling this a coup," said Florida Representative Connie Mack, "the Obama Administration now stands with the likes...