¿Who ordered Zelaya to be ousted?
PABLO ORDAZ
El general Romeo Vásquez se desvincula de la expulsión del presidente depuesto Manuel Zelaya
Micheletti admits supporting the coup in Honduras
The right-wing sectors in Honduras insist on denying the coup, but the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, acknowledged today that they deposed Manuel Zelaya for his turn to the Latin American left. " "We took Zelaya because he went to the left, he placed communists," told Micheletti to the representative of the Argentine daily Clarin coups, in an interview at the presidential palace in Havana.
According to Micheletti, the "one mistake" was the way to overthrow the constitutional president, to detain him and then send him out of the country, as quoted by the newspaper of the South American nation.
The United Nations Organization reaffirmed this week condemning the military coup and again demanded the restoration of Zelaya in his position as chief executive.
On theHonduran streets described Clarin, the "resistance" in favor of Zelaya "is increasingly controlled by police and military and the: the opposition media were silenced."
Micheletti, who also supports the military coup for alleged "corruption" of the President elected by the people, regretted that Zelaya "befriended Daniel Ortega, Chavez, Correa, Evo Morales," ie, the presidents of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.
During the recent Second Summit of South American-Africa (ASA) in the Venezuelan island of Margarita, the Bolivian president Evo Morales has warned that the coup process gets the nation of Honduras is a warning of imperialism to the countries of ALBA " (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America), an integration mechanism solidarity towards equity and social justice.
Also in response to Clarin, Micheletti considered that the high military presence in public places is because they are "defending democracy, the police alike. It is to guard the inflammatory reaction of Zelaya. They supported us because we were heading towards the abyss."
An International Election Observation Mission on the situation of human rights in Honduras found a different reality: "The Mission concludes that what is at stake is much more than just a political struggle to restore legal order and allow a return to legitimate president power.
The facts, the report said, show "an unresolved social conflict, which are constituted by a part of an economic elite that had seized power in an undemocratic way, allied with the army, and various sectors which require a new institutional and social order that would imply more opportunities for citizen participation.
"Repression, international observers said, manifests itself in particular against peasant leaders, environmentalists, indigenous, Afro-descendants, women mobilizing for their rights and against trade union leaders.
Honduran power brokers pushing for end to crisis
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Business and political leaders who backed the coup overthrowing President Manuel Zelaya now are considering the unthinkable: returning him to office with limited powers.The reversal, and Zelaya's decision to consider it, reflect the growing desperation to resolve a three-month standoff that has turned this Central American country upside down.
John Biehl, special adviser to the Organization of American States, said Wednesday he sensed some movement toward talks.
"The moment has arrived for tempers to cool and reason to reign, and that's when errors will start being corrected," Biehl said. "I have found a strong willingness for dialogue," adding he had heard of proposals to return Zelaya to office briefly.
The crisis sparked by the June 28 ousting of Zelaya has paralyzed the already impoverished nation.
Honduras has been bleeding millions of dollars a day, and many of its most prominent CEOs have had their visas revoked by the United States, hampering their efforts to do business. Nations have cut aid to demand the ousted leader's reinstatement while sporadic spikes in tensions have forced the closure of airports, border crossings and factories.
The final straw was the interim government's decision to impose a surprise emergency decree that suspended civil liberties this week and further damaged the administration's image at home and abroad.
Lawmakers immediately made clear Congress will revoke the emergency security crackdown if the interim government does not, said Rigoberto Chang, a congressman with the conservative National Party.
The disagreement over the decree was the biggest public rift between interim President Roberto Micheletti and the Congress that put him in power after soldiers forced Zelaya into exile.
After that happened, Honduras' powerful elite told Micheletti enough is enough, and back- room negotiations began on a powerful business chamber's proposition to put him back in office with limited powers.
Zelaya has said he was encouraged by the proposal and hoped to be in talks with its authors by Wednesday.
Its chief proponent, Adolfo Facusse, president of the National Industry Chamber, suggests sending 3,000 troops from conservative-led nations to Honduras if the leftist leader is restored to office to ensure he does not overstep his limited authority.
Facusse told The Associated Press that the force could be U.N. peacekeepers.
Facusse, whose association vocally supported Zelaya's ouster, said he discussed parts of the plan with Micheletti, including a proposal to make the interim president a congressman-for-life.
Micheletti on Wednesday called parts of the plan impossible but indicated he was analyzing some of its points.
"This involves things we cannot do, because our constitution does not permit it," he said, referring to the presence of foreign troops or U.N. peacekeepers. "But of course we will take into consideration the points he has expressed in his proposal, in his dream to bring peace to Hondurans."
Micheletti did not directly address the issue of reinstating Zelaya, something he has strongly opposed thus far.
The interim leader is becoming increasingly isolated as pressure mounts from the nation's power brokers — including lawmakers, presidential candidates and the business elite — who are demanding a break in the stalemate.
Porfirio Lobo, a top conservative presidential contender, announced that Congress would be open to passing reforms needed to make an accord work.
"The issue is confrontation or dialogue, bloodshed or peace," the National Party candidate said.
"If we have to reform some laws, I don't think Congress is going to be an obstacle," added Lobo, whose party is the second force, with 55 seats, in the 128-seat congress.
The coup's aftermath has presented a tortuous path for presidential candidates trying to campaign ahead of the Nov. 29 elections.
Micheletti sees the balloting, which will produce an entirely new leader, as the country's best hope for emerging from the crisis. But the international community has made it clear that the elections will not be considered valid unless Zelaya is reinstated.
The vote was scheduled before the removal of Zelaya, whose presidential term expires in January.
Micheletti so far has been staunchly opposed to reinstating Zelaya and has been on the defensive since Zelaya sneaked back into the country on Sept. 21 and took refuge at the Brazilian Embassy.
Brazil has expressed concern about the security of the Embassy, where about 60 Zelaya supporters are holed up with the ousted president. Honduran troops and police have surrounded the building.
Six Brazilian legislators were heading to Honduras on Wednesday to check on the South American country's citizens in Tegucigalpa, the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency reported.
Meanwhile, soldiers and police have continued enforcing the security decree despite Micheletti's promises to lift it, putting at risk efforts to restart talks. Micheletti suggested Wednesday it would be in force for at least two more days, as he holds meetings on the proposals for ending the decree.
About 150 police and soldiers acting on the decree Wednesday raided the offices of the National Agrarian Institute, occupied by Zelaya supporters since the coup. Authorities detained 54 people, many farm activists, police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said.
"The decree is being discussed by a lot of sectors, and appeals have been filed," he said. "But it remains in force."
Cerrato said the building contains valuable land title records. One of the detained activists, farmer Jose Irene Murillo, 69, said he feared "they are going to destroy the records of the small farmers, because the big landowners want the land."
Congress can lift or modify the decree issued Sunday that bans unauthorized gatherings and lets police arrest people without warrants, rights guaranteed in the Honduran Constitution. It also allows authorities to shut news media for statements that it sees as disturbing the peace or attacking the law.
A crack appears in Honduras' deadlock
Key backers of the coup that ousted President Zelaya have begun to temper their support for the de facto government. Some said they might even let Zelaya return to office under certain limitations.
Reporting from Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- Themeeting, by all accounts, was tense and difficult. Whether it erupted in shouted insults remains a matter of dispute. On one issue, everyone agreed: Something must be done to ease the political crisis engulfing Honduras.
U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens and the diplomat representing the Organization of American States, John Biehl, got an earful from Honduran business leaders and senior politicians. And they gave back some of what they got, according to several participants.
But two significant themes emerged from the secret session at Llorens' residence on Sunday, themes that have the potential to finally ease the deepening political crisis that has divided and isolated Honduras and vexed Washington and other regional powers:
Key backers of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya three months ago have begun to temper their support for the de facto government they helped to install. And some even mention a concession until now taboo. They might agree to allow Zelaya to be reinstated and finish his term due to expire in January.
Whether a result of angst over the economic damage caused by international sanctions against Honduras, or more simply a product of exhaustion, these shifts were cemented when de facto President Roberto Micheletti on Sunday suspended civil liberties in a crackdown on opposition press and the public's right to congregate and move about freely. (Micheletti backed down 24 hours later amid cries of outrage from his closest allies.)
The businessmen and politicians who met with Llorens and Biehl spoke of an almost visceral fear of Zelaya and the ways he tried to change the country they had so long dominated, an unwanted push in their view toward socialism. The diplomats, according to participants, repeatedly reassured them that Zelaya's authority would be strictly limited if he is reinstated, under the terms of the so-called San Jose Accord, brokered by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias in July.
"If the accord in fact limits any abuse of power, or political persecution, upon Mr. Zelaya's reinstatement, [then] along those lines we can reach agreement," a former Honduran president who attended the meeting said Tuesday. He asked not to be identified because of the sensitivities of ongoing discussions.
"The international community [condemning the coup] has been unfair with us, but that pressure from the international community is what has pushed us to seek a solution," the former president added.
He echoed similar remarks from Adolfo Facusse, president of the National Industrial Assn., who told The Times a day earlier that the business elite would give "a green light" to putting Zelaya back in the presidential seat under guaranteed limitations on his powers. Facusse added Tuesday that Zelaya would be required to face prosecution on charges that Honduran courts have levied against him since he was deposed, and a multinational military force would be brought to Honduras to verify and enforce the agreement.
Micheletti and other backers of the coup, including military commanders, have said they support the Arias "process," meaning they supported negotiations, though, analysts say, largely as a way to run down the clock. The reinstatement of Zelaya was a nonstarter, they said repeatedly.
They counted on an election scheduled Nov. 29 to choose a new president and restore Honduras to the world's good graces. But increasingly Washington and other capitals announced they would not recognize a president elected under these circumstances. That message also seemed to be getting through to backers of the coup, participants in the meeting indicated. And Micheletti's suspension of civil liberties made some worry the elections might not take place at all.
"A space for dialogue has finally been opened," said a diplomat involved in the meeting. "Many of the businessmen were angry because they are called 'coup backers' and especially because of the U.S. visas being suspended, but they have understood that the international community is not backing down."
Llorens was reportedly in session again Tuesday with business leaders.
All previous efforts at mediating the crisis have failed thus far, largely because of intransigence on both sides. Zelaya, who is holed up in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the capital, has said he accepts the San Jose Accord, though it remains to be seen whether he would agree to all the limitations that would be placed on him. And if fellow coup-plotters abandon Micheletti, he may dig his heels in deeper.
"To the extent Micheletti is more isolated, his dependence on the military is greater," said Victor Meza, the interior minister in Zelaya's government and another participant in the Sunday meeting with Llorens. "A deeper alliance with military hard-liners . . . is a major obstacle to dialogue and finding a negotiated solution."
The military man who led the coup weighed in Tuesday, encouraging segments of the Honduran population to engage in dialogue. "I see," said Gen. Romeo Vasquez, "we are rapidly approaching a solution."
wilkinson@latimes.com
Businessmen in Honduras Offer Plan to End Crisis
In the plan, which was made public earlier this week, supporters of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya three months ago have for the first time suggested his return as president. But at the same time the plan calls for him to face trial on charges that he stole money while in office.
“What we’re trying to do is break the ice,” said Adolfo J. Facussé, president of the country’s manufacturing association.
Mr. Facussé said he had put forward his own proposal because he thought that other countries, particularly the United States, were preparing to reject the results of a presidential election scheduled for Nov. 29. The State Department has warned that it may not accept the results if there is no political agreement.
“They continue deteriorating our elections process,” Mr. Facussé said. “This is the most destructive thing they can do in a democracy.”
He added, “The less support the candidates have, the less they can do to solve the problems.”
The United States has stepped up sanctions in stages in an effort to press the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti to negotiate with Mr. Zelaya. After initially suspending military aid and then some economic aid, the United States said in early September that it would revoke visas to members of the de facto government and their supporters.
When Mr. Facussé arrived in Miami on Sept. 12, immigration officials told him that he was no longer welcome. The United States Embassy declined to say which other business leaders had had their visas revoked.
Mr. Facussé and other leaders have proposed that after an accord is reached, troops or police officers from other countries in the hemisphere will keep the peace and an interim multiparty government will take charge. Mr. Zelaya would face trial, but he would not serve prison time if convicted; instead, he would be sentenced to house arrest.
Nelson Ávila, an economic adviser to Mr. Zelaya, said the “plan was born dead.”
“The dialogue is based on the presumption of guilt of President Zelaya, and legally that does not exist,” he said.
There are other signs that the coalition of politicians, businessmen and the military that supported the coup is feeling pressure from the international community. On Monday, the political parties forced Mr. Micheletti to back away from a decree suspending civil liberties.
The main presidential candidates have already tried to jump-start the negotiations, traveling to Costa Rica to meet with the country’s president, Óscar Arias, who has tried to mediate peace talks. Mr. Arias’s proposal, known as the San José Accord, calls for restoring Mr. Zelaya as president, but sharply curtailing his powers. The plan would provide a full amnesty to both sides.
Last week the presidential candidates met with Mr. Zelaya, who secretly returned to Honduras on Sept. 21 and has taken refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.
Mr. Facussé said that Mr. Micheletti agreed to consider his plan after he suggested that Mr. Micheletti step down as leader of the de facto government and be named congressman for life.
Mr. Facussé was clearly dissatisfied with the efforts of other countries to mediate the crisis here. “Because of the bad image the military created, everybody interfered, and we ended up with the San José Accord,” he said.
One of the de facto government’s main supporters in Washington, Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, has announced plans to visit Tegucigalpa on Friday. One Congressional staff member said Mr. DeMint hoped to meet with members of the de facto government and other Hondurans. Other staff members said he intended to encourage Mr. Micheletti and his supporters to resist.
Ginger Thompson contributed reporting from Washington.
Ortez Sequeira noted that they requested the de facto ruler to "reconsider" and delete the decree, insisting, like Matamoros, that the TSE guarantees an electoral "transparent"process.
Micheletti said in the same news conference with the two judges, who agreed to consider the application and reiterated that the decree will be "repealed in a timely manner, when the time comes".
However, he said it would continue consulting with the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and other state bodies in order to make a "consensual"decision .
The decree was published Saturday in The Official Gazette and it suspends constitutional guarantees as freedom of mobilization, assembly and press.
Various political sectors have criticized the limitation of freedoms and have noted that the decree affected proselytizing activities ahead of elections on 29 November.
Micheletti issued the decree in a Council of Ministers under the argument that the deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, has called for an uprising from the Brazilian embassy, where he is since the 21st.
Under the decree, Micheletti ended Monday a television channel and radio station, and today the military police and evacuated to 57 followers of Zelaya peasants occupying the Agrarian National Institute for three months to reject the coup June 28.
. "At the end of the tunnel someone has to sign a document of this nature and of cours they have to be the parties in conflict," Micheletti said in a press conference at the presidential palace.
He said initial talks "have maintained a little more calmness in Tegucigalpa" after several days of rioting after Zelaya appeared on past 21 in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he remains.
The de facto government has suspended the constitutional guarantees by a decree that restricts the freedoms of mobilization, assembly and press, among others.
Micheletti said he remains "open" to dialogue within the mediation of President of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias, and expressed his disapproval of any new proposal to be considered to emerge as an "Agreement of San José II.
"And why should it be a San Jose Accord II?, If that is an agreement made by Don Óscar Arias. It is an agreement with 12 points, and what you have to do is to discuss the 12 points, removing some of the ones causing internal problems and leaving the ones that might be feasible to reform ", he explained.
The Arias proposal, he emphasized, "has some things that the Constitution of the Republic does not allow, but what was written in San Jose is not stone, it can perfectly be reformed.
Micheletti called "speculation", "aspirations" and "dreams" some versions circulating in the press concerning possible solutions to the crisis, but considered "good" to disclose them.
In particular, he noted that the proposal by businessman Adolfo Facussé, which included the arrival of foreign troops to ensure compliance with an eventual agreement, "covers things" that can not run because "the Constitution does not allow it."
"We will take some of the points he expresses," said Micheletti, and urged to "go looking at what is reality, what can be reality and what is a dream."
Facussé leads a group of businessmen who proposed Micheletti to resign if Zelaya is nominally in charge, but under house arrest, while cabinet ministers running the country under the supervision of foreign troops.
Moreover, Micheletti said the Brazilian deputies who will pay tomorrow a visit to ascertain the situation of the Embassy in Honduras are "welcome".
The Electoral Tribunal asks Micheletti to repeal the decree suspending the guarantees
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Honduras yesterday asked the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, to repeal the decree that suspended constitutional guarantees because it affects the process for the November elections.
The request was made official by the judges of the TSE David Matamoros and Enrique Ortez Sequeira, at a meeting held with Micheletti in the Presidential House, and joins similar demands made by Parliament, the presidential candidates and other sectors.
Matamoros said in a press conference following the meeting, they asked Micheletti "that the decree should be removed, repealed, so that there is no doubt, no question about the legitimacy of the election on 29 November.
Ortez Sequeira noted that they requested the de facto ruler to "reconsider" and delete the decree, insisting, like Matamoros, that the TSE guarantees an electoral "transparent"process.
Micheletti said in the same news conference with the two judges, who agreed to consider the application and reiterated that the decree will be "repealed in a timely manner, when the time comes".
However, he said it would continue consulting with the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and other state bodies in order to make a "consensual"decision .
The decree was published Saturday in The Official Gazette and it suspends constitutional guarantees as freedom of mobilization, assembly and press.
Various political sectors have criticized the limitation of freedoms and have noted that the decree affected proselytizing activities ahead of elections on 29 November.
Micheletti issued the decree in a Council of Ministers under the argument that the deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, has called for an uprising from the Brazilian embassy, where he is since the 21st.
Under the decree, Micheletti ended Monday a television channel and radio station, and today the military police and evacuated to 57 followers of Zelaya peasants occupying the Agrarian National Institute for three months to reject the coup June 28.
Micheletti says "the time has not yet come to sit down and dialogue with Zelaya"
Tegucigalpa, Sep 30 (EFE) .- The de facto president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, said today that "it is not yet time to sit and talk "with the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, and rejected as unconstitutional certain aspects of the proposal an employer that includes the arrival of foreign troops into the country. "At no time has come the moment when we sit down" with Zelaya, said Micheletti, but confirmed that representatives of the warring parties and other sectors "are talking, they are talking to see how this situation is calm and we can achieve the goal "to resolve the crisis caused by the coup of June 28.
He reiterated that it is possible that encounter with Zelaya to complete the dialogue, but first they must make their commissions. . "At the end of the tunnel someone has to sign a document of this nature and of cours they have to be the parties in conflict," Micheletti said in a press conference at the presidential palace.
He said initial talks "have maintained a little more calmness in Tegucigalpa" after several days of rioting after Zelaya appeared on past 21 in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he remains.
The de facto government has suspended the constitutional guarantees by a decree that restricts the freedoms of mobilization, assembly and press, among others.
Micheletti said he remains "open" to dialogue within the mediation of President of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias, and expressed his disapproval of any new proposal to be considered to emerge as an "Agreement of San José II.
"And why should it be a San Jose Accord II?, If that is an agreement made by Don Óscar Arias. It is an agreement with 12 points, and what you have to do is to discuss the 12 points, removing some of the ones causing internal problems and leaving the ones that might be feasible to reform ", he explained.
The Arias proposal, he emphasized, "has some things that the Constitution of the Republic does not allow, but what was written in San Jose is not stone, it can perfectly be reformed.
Micheletti called "speculation", "aspirations" and "dreams" some versions circulating in the press concerning possible solutions to the crisis, but considered "good" to disclose them.
In particular, he noted that the proposal by businessman Adolfo Facussé, which included the arrival of foreign troops to ensure compliance with an eventual agreement, "covers things" that can not run because "the Constitution does not allow it."
"We will take some of the points he expresses," said Micheletti, and urged to "go looking at what is reality, what can be reality and what is a dream."
Facussé leads a group of businessmen who proposed Micheletti to resign if Zelaya is nominally in charge, but under house arrest, while cabinet ministers running the country under the supervision of foreign troops.
Moreover, Micheletti said the Brazilian deputies who will pay tomorrow a visit to ascertain the situation of the Embassy in Honduras are "welcome".
Cracks deepen among supporters of Honduran coup
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Cracks are deepening among supporters of Honduras' coup-imposed government, with business leaders softening their opposition to reinstating ousted President Manuel Zelaya and lawmakers threatening to revoke an emergency decree limiting civil liberties.Zelaya said Tuesday night that he was encouraged by a plan proposed by an influential business chamber for putting him back in office and ending the crisis. The plan includes bringing foreign troops to Honduras to ensure that if Zelaya was restored to the presidency, he would respect an international mediator's proposal that his powers be strictly limited.
Zelaya said it was "good sign" that "conservative sectors of the country are analyzing a proposal" that includes his reinstatement.
"We will make the respective analysis," Zelaya said in an interview with Channel 11. "We hope to enter into talks with those who are making this proposal in the next hours."
Lawmakers, meanwhile, made clear Congress will revoke an emergency security crackdown if the interim government does not, Rigoberto Chang, a congressman with the conservative National Party, said Tuesday. Congress has the power to lift or modify the decree.
Interim President Roberto Micheletti backtracked on the decree Monday, saying he had agreed to reconsider the move at the request of congressional leaders. But the order appeared to remain in effect Tuesday.
Police prevented hundreds of demonstrators from marching in support of Zelaya for a second straight day. Two broadcasters that had criticized the coup remained shuttered, although one of them, Radio Globo, was transmitting on the Internet a day after police raided its offices and confiscated equipment.
The disagreement over the security decree was the biggest public rift between Micheletti and the Congress that put him in power after soldiers forced Zelaya into exile June 28 in a dispute over changing the constitution.
The interim government has been increasingly on the defensive since Zelaya sneaked back into the country on Sept. 21 and took refuge at the Brazilian Embassy.
Micheletti initially insisted the government needed to restrict freedom of speech and assembly to counter what he said were calls for "insurrection" by the ousted leader's supporters.
But conservative politicians expressed fear the emergency decree imposed Sunday would endanger the Nov. 29 presidential election, which they consider Honduras' best hope for regaining international recognition. The ballot was scheduled before the removal of Zelaya, whose presidential term expires in January.
Chang said leading conservative lawmakers "weren't even consulted" about the security crackdown.
"It took us by surprise," he said. "We were scared because they weren't taking us into account at all."
Chang criticized the closure of the two pro-Zelaya broadcasters, saying such moves could encourage protesters who have been largely peaceful to turn to violence to get their views across.
"It's less damaging to talk on the television or radio than being on the streets throwing stones," the congressman said. "A decree of that nature could endanger the elections."
Despite the dispute, there has been no groundswell of support among lawmakers for allowing Zelaya to return to power, as governments worldwide have been demanding.
Adolfo Facusse, the president of the National Industry Chamber, proposed over the weekend that 3,000 troops from conservative-led nations be sent to Honduras if Zelaya is restored to office. He said Tuesday that the force could be U.N. peacekeepers.
"Zelaya would have a number of limits on his authority," said Facusse, whose association vocally supported Zelaya's ouster.
Facusse says he discussed parts of the plan with Micheletti, including a proposal to make the interim president a congressman-for-life.
Chang said lawmakers were open to considering any proposals for resolving the political standoff "no matter how unlikely they might appear," but he said there was no need to have foreign troops in Honduras.
Micheletti remains staunchly opposed to putting Zelaya back in office.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, the mediator in U.S.-backed talks who put forward the proposal for returning Zelaya to office with limited powers, commended Micheletti for saying he would reverse the security decree. But Arias criticized him for refusing to budge on reinstating Zelaya.
Micheletti "has not moved an inch" in negotiations on returning Zelaya to power, Arias said at a business forum in Miami.
Earlier Tuesday, Gen. Romeo Vasquez, the military chief who oversaw Zelaya's ouster, implored Hondurans on both sides to join in resolving the crisis.
"All sectors of society should put aside their differences to unite the homeland," Vasquez said.
Legal confusion has clouded the recent de facto change of government in Honduras. Some of this arises from the passionate political debate over President Manuel Zelaya and his de facto removal. Without entering that debate, this analysis addresses only questions of international law and related questions of law.