Tegucigalpa (Honduras): Former Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya accused the United States of being
behind the 2009 coup that ousted him, in a letter released on
the first anniversary of his ouster.
Zelaya, who now lives in the Dominican Republic, has
given conflicting accounts on what role the US allegedly
played in the coup, in which Honduran soldiers hustled him out
of the country on June 28, 2009.
He has alternately praised the policy of the US
government on the issue, and also criticised Washington for
not pressing harder for his reinstatement.
But yesterday's letter said flatly: "What we suspected at
the beginning has now been confirmed. The United States was
behind the coup."
The US Embassy in Honduras did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Zelaya's letter did not offer any specifics of what the
US allegedly did. He cited what he called "the public support
the United States wound up giving to the coup."
The United States refused to recognize the government of
interim president Roberto Micheletti, froze US aid to the
regime and pressured Honduras to allow Zelaya to return to
office.
But Zelaya claimed "the Honduran people are faithful
witnesses to the role that the economic interests of the
United States played in this tragic event."
The United States is the largest source of foreign
investment in Honduras and accounts for much of its trade.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 10:30