US mission arrives in Honduras to press for Zelaya's reinstatement

Oct 28, 2009, 19:36 GMT

Tegucigalpa - A US mission arrived Wednesday in Tegucigalpa to press for a deal that allows Honduras to get over the ongoing political crisis.

This is the first time since Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted on June 28 that Washington is taking a leading role in pressuring the leaders of the de facto government to restore democratic order.

The US delegation includes Tom Shannon, the State Department's assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, and Dan Restrepo, the White House's top advisor on Latin America. The US has been involved in talks in the past, but only as part of a joint negotiating team led by the Organization of American States.

The delegation was set to meet with a broad spectrum of political, economic and social actors, Shannon told reporters before leaving Washington. The goal, he stressed, would be to promote a 'Honduran solution' to the crisis.

Talks aimed at resolving the country's political standoff broke down in the capital Tegucigalpa on Friday.

The US decision to send a mission to Honduras came after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke by telephone Friday with both Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, the former parliamentary speaker who has led Honduras since the coup.

Honduras is nearing a presidential election on November 29, which was scheduled before Zelaya's ouster. But Zelaya and the international community, which does not recognize Micheletti's government, have rejected the election since it is being carried under what they see as illegitimate conditions.