LAS MANOS, Nicaragua (Reuters) – Ousted President Manuel Zelaya took a few symbolic steps inside Honduras yesterday but then backed away from a confrontation with Honduran security forces waiting to arrest him.
In a move described as “reckless” by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the ousted leader in his trademark cowboy hat briefly crossed into Honduras in this small town on the border with Nicaragua.
Pausing to give live telephone interviews and surrounded by a pack of journalists, he approached the chain dividing the two central American nations, stepping over and held the chain over his head in triumph for a moment.
He then touched a sign saying “Welcome to Honduras” but, with troops and police standing just yards away, he said he did not want to proceed further out of “respect for the principles” of the military.
The leftist president was toppled and sent into exile in a June 28 coup after angering critics over his alliance with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United States.
The de facto government that replaced him insists he was removed legally and that he will face charges if he returns. The U.S. government has condemend the coup and backed a Costa Rican plan to end the crisis which calls for Zelaya’s reinstatement, but it also advised him not to enter Honduras without a political deal in place.
Clinton said Zelaya’s bid to return to his country was “reckless” and urged all sides to reach a negotiated, peaceful solution to the crisis.
“We have consistently urged all parties to avoid any provocative action that could lead to violence. President Zelaya’s effort to reach the border is reckless,” Clinton told reporters. “It does not contribute to the broader effort to restore democratic and constitutional order in the Honduras crisis.”
Talks this week in Costa Rica about the standoff — Central America’s worst political crisis in 20 years — appear to have fallen apart, raising the threat of violence inside Honduras.
Ignoring calls not to provoke tension, Zelaya left the Nicaraguan town of Esteli yesterday driving a jeep.
“We have to reverse this coup and I plan to do it peacefully. With my presence in Honduras, the people will surround me and the soldiers will lower their rifles,” Zelaya said in Nicaragua before going to the border.
