Jul 4, 2009 8:00 am US/Eastern
Honduras Withdraws From OAS
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CBS) ―
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Soldiers patrol a street nearby the presidential building in Tegucigalpa on June 30, 2009.
Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images
Just days after successfully executing a coup d'etat, the new Honduran government pulled out from the Organization of American States on Friday. The move comes after OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza visited the country in hopes of restoring the overthrown Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.
Insulza indicated the new government rebuffed him on every point. He eventually announced "that conditions did not exist" for Zelaya's return after the coup d'etat, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.
New Honduran President Roberto Micheletti and vice chancellor Martha Lorena de Casco then announced the new government would withdraw from the OAS. By announcing the withdrawal, the country likely avoided the humiliation of being suspended from the OAS, which was expected at a Saturday meeting of the OAS General Asssembly.
Former President Zelaya was thrown out of office n Sunday after reaching an impasse with the judiciary and congressional branches of the Honduran government. Micheletti accused Venezuela's Hugo Chavez of instigating his nation's crisis.
OAS leader Insulza was given documents that allegedly illustrated all the reasons Zelaya was removed from office and said he would present them to the OAS' General Assembly on Saturday. However, he said that the documents did not change his view and what happened to Zelaya was in fact a coup d'etat, according to the Miami Herald.
In addition to Micheletti refusing to allow former president Zelaya to return to office, the head of Honduras' Supreme Court rejected Insulza's plea and indicated he would have Zelaya arrested if he came back to the country. Zelaya has indicated he would return to Honduras on Sunday.
U.S. State Department lawyers continue to study whether the action to throw Zelaya out of office was legally a military coup, because the person, who was constitutionally next in line as President, did take over after Zelaya's removal.
CBS station WFOR-TV news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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