Honduras President Zelaya Ousted

June 29, 2009

In a coup d’etat, military tanks and hundreds of soldiers with riot shields surrounded and stormed the national palace in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, captured President Manuel Zelaya and flew him into exile in San Jose, Costa Rica Sunday.

Hours after the coup, the Honduras Congress voted to accept what they said was Zelaya’s letter of resignation, and voted to appoint congressional President Roberto Micheletti as new chief executive according to the Associated Press.

The Honduras Supreme Court issued a statement saying they support the military coup as a defense of democracy.

Zelaya was attempting to remove term limits to his re-election through a referendum. He was captured only hours before the voting polls opened to vote on the referendum to change the constitution. Prior, the Supreme Court ruled the referendum illegal, and the Congress opposed it.

About 100 Zelaya supporters, many wearing "Yes" T-shirts for the referendum, blocked the main street outside the palace gates, throwing rocks and insults at soldiers and shouting "Traitors! Traitors!"

Once landed in the San Jose airport, Zelaya said the military action was illegal.

"There is no way to justify an interruption of democracy, a coup d'etat," he said in a telephone call to the Venezuela-based Telesur television network. "This kidnapping is an extortion of the Honduran democratic system."

Zelaya told Telesur he would not recognize any de facto government and pledged to serve his term until its end in January. He said he would attend a scheduled meeting of Central American presidents in Nicaragua on Monday, and Venezuela President Hugo Chavez would provide transportation.

Chavez and the Castros of Cuba are Zelaya's main allies. Chavez said Venezuela "is at battle" and put his military on alert.

On Sunday, a resolution read on the Congress floor referenced Zelaya’s refusal to obey the Supreme Court ruling against the constitutional referendum and accused Zelaya of “manifest[ing] irregular conduct” and “putting in present danger the state of law.”

President Barack Obama said he was "deeply concerned" by Zelaya's ousting, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the arrest should be condemned.

Honduras has had several other military coups including when soldiers overthrew elected presidents in 1963 and 1972. Under U.S. pressure, their military finally returned the government over to civilians in 1981.