U.S. 'hits the pause button' on aid to Honduras

[Judi Lynn]

Source: CNN

U.S. 'hits the pause button' on aid to Honduras
updated 1 minute ago

By Charley Keyes
CNN Senior Producer


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States put some teeth in its diplomatic signals to Honduras Thursday, stopping some aid programs temporarily to the Latin American country as it grapples with its two-president crisis.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States already "hit the pause button" on some aid programs, even before State Department lawyers make a final ruling on whether to halt assistance.

The United States continues to hope the Organization of American States quickly will hammer out a compromise between ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya, forced out of Honduras last weekend, and the man who took his job, provisional President Roberto Micheletti.

Zelaya earlier said he would defy the new government and return to the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa on Thursday. He later postponed that to Saturday, to allow the OAS negotiations to proceed.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/02/honduras.aid/ind...

[Judi Lynn]

1. Honduras government's isolation grows after coup

Honduras government's isolation grows after coup

By WILL WEISSERT and NESTOR IKEDA, Associated Press Writers Will Weissert And Nestor Ikeda, Associated Press Writers – Wed Jul 1, 7:16 pm ET

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Thousands of Hondurans demonstrated Wednesday for the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who vowed to fly home this weekend despite a warrant for his arrest. Thousands more rallied in favor of the military-backed government.

Newly appointed President Roberto Micheletti said it would take a foreign invasion to put Zelaya back in power, and said he was sending a delegation to Washington in an attempt to reverse the country's increasing international isolation, though his own foreign minister later denied that.

France, Spain, Italy, Chile and Colombia joined other nations Wednesday in recalling their ambassadors. The Pentagon suspended joint U.S.-Honduran military operations and the World Bank said it was freezing loans. Honduras' three neighbors have suspended cross-border trade.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090701/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/l...

[Devil_Fish]

2. Why are we sending aid to any country? Have you scene our deficit lately? NT

[Devil_Fish]

3. I know, Let's send I.O.U.'s....

I.O.U. one bag of rice.

ma by I am heartless, but how deep in the hole are we? Can we really afford to be sending money to any one when we cant even pay our own bills?

[Billy Burnett]

6. Because then we get to manage the coups.

Just as we're seeing in Honduras.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Honduras coup leaders under international fire

Honduras coup leaders under international fire
By Adam Thomson in Tegucigalpa

Published: July 2 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 2 2009 03:00

Honduras faced increasing political and economic isolation on Wednesday as the European Union told its ambassadors to “avoid all contact” with the interim government that took power following Sunday’s military coup.

The EU decision came as the Organisation of American States issued Honduras on Wednesday with an ultimatum to restore Manuel Zelaya, the country’s deposed president, within 72 hours or face suspension from the organisation.

“We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted,” said José Miguel Insulza, head of the OAS.

~snip~
Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, placed Honduras’ B+ long-term credit rating on negative late on Tuesday, arguing that political instability was “weakening the government’s ability to adjust fiscal and monetary policies on a timely basis”. The same day, the World Bank announced it would put on hold all loans to Honduras.

France has said it will recall its ambassador to the impoverished Central American nation. Spain has called on all EU countries to do the same. Several Latin American countries, including Brazil and Mexico, have already recalled their ambassadors.

More:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c11a9b48-669f-11de-a034-00144...

[formercia]

5. A big miscalculation by right wing reactionary 'elites.'

I don't think they expected this response.