Honduran President ousted in military coup…

Turning to the region, the situation in Honduras has turned volatile and the crisis is deepening as clashes are being reported between supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and the military forces. This follows Sunday’s coup de etat when Zelaya was forcibly removed by the military from his home early Sunday morning and taken to Costa Rica. Still wearing his pajamas, he told the world the events of the morning and that he had not resigned as the Honduran Congress was alleging. The situation quickly escalated and by midday the Congress installed Roberto Micheletti, a former supporter of Zelaya and head of the Congress.
The international community reacted quickly in condemning the coup de etat and called for the re-instatement of the duly elected president. Today in Nicaragua, which is the pro tempore chair of SICA, leaders from other regional bodies: the Rio Group led by Mexico, and ALBA led by Hugo Chavez met all day attempting to restore Zelaya. Cuba’s President Raul Castro was also in Managua and so were three prime ministers from the Caribbean. In the margins of that meeting, the presidents of the C-Four, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala agreed to cut off border trade with Honduras. At least nine countries have also recalled their ambassadors. SICA is also bringing pressure against Honduras.