Latin America Still Divided Over Coup in Honduras

[Judi Lynn]

Latin America Still Divided Over Coup in Honduras

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Arturo Rodriguez/Associated Press
Porfirio Lobo has not convinced much of the world that he is the legitimate leader of Honduras.

By MARC LACEY
Published: June 5, 2010

MEXICO CITY — No longer is the ousted Honduran president hiding out in an embassy compound, and no longer is the man who replaced him thumbing his nose at the world.

But a year after one of the most unusual coups in Central American history played out in Honduras, it continues to divide Latin America and pose an unrelenting challenge to the Obama administration’s goals in the region. And despite months of crisis negotiations and halting compromises, the Honduran political standoff will still haunt a meeting of the Organization of American States that opens on Sunday in Peru.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who favors restoring Honduras to the regional body, is likely to encounter vociferous criticism from her counterparts in Latin America who do not yet recognize the new Honduran government.

“There still are some countries that believe that Honduras should take additional steps, which is a position that’s different from that of the United States,” Arturo Valenzuela, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told reporters on Friday.

A senior State Department official acknowledged that the Obama administration was concerned that the O.A.S. meeting could become bogged down by Honduras and other issues that pit the United States and a handful of allies against much of the rest of the region.

Indeed, those issues have multiplied in the past year: to the longstanding disputes over trade and the Cuba embargo have been added newer disagreements, including American military bases in Colombia and Brazil’s efforts to block the United States-led campaign for international sanctions against Iran.

Critics of the administration say the disputes suggest that President Obama has failed to live up to his promise to change the domineering dynamics of the United States’ relations with the region. Mr. Obama’s supporters disagree, saying that the administration has been able to keep close ties with the region despite deep disagreements.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/world/americas/06honduras.html?ref=americas