CRISIS IN HONDURAS
ALBA, SICA Withdraw Ambassadors From
Honduras
Managua - The presidents of the Bolivarian
Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) nations
Monday withdrew their ambassadors from
Honduras and called on the nations of the
continent to act against the coup in
Honduras, after an emergency meeting in
Managua.
In a declaration, the leaders said the
ambassadors would stay away until "the
legitimate government of President Manuel
Zelaya is reinstalled in all its functions."
The declaration bears the signatures of the
presidents of Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela
and Nicaragua, and of Cuba's foreign
minister.
The leaders said they would not accept
diplomats to be sent by the new Honduran
government.
"The only diplomatic representation in our
nations" is staff appointed by Zelaya, and
"by no means will staff designated by
usurpers be accredited," the ALBA presidents
said in a statement.
The declaration said the signatories would
insist on the same treatment for Honduras in
other multinational bodies including the
Union of South American Nations, the Central
American Integration System (SICA), the
Caribbean Economic Community, the Group of
Rio and the Organization of American States.
The statement also formally declared a state
of permanent alert in the ALBA nations in
order to "accompany the brave people of
Honduras in the struggle they have begun."
The SICA also called on Monday home its
ambassadors for consultations, a step that
can lead to the full withdrawal of
ambassadors.
El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes on
Monday told media upon arrival in Managua
that he had ordered the closure of the
Salvadorian embassy in Honduras. Later,
Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua decided
to halt for 48 hours cross-border trade with
Honduras.
On the same day, the Brazilian Foreign
Ministry reported that Brazilian ambassador
to Honduras, Brian Michael Fraser Neele,
will not return to Honduras.
Neele, who was on vacation, was to remain in
Brazil due to his government's disapproval
of the new Honduran cabinet.
Earlier Monday, Brazilian President Luis
Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the coup in
Honduras, saying that his country will not
recognize any Honduran government but that
of President Zelaya.
Zelaya was seized at his official residence
early Sunday morning, and later forced to
board a plane to Costa Rica. Later Sunday,
Honduras Congress appointed Roberto
Micheletti as the acting president after
reading a resignation letter that Zelaya
said was fake.
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