The United States, Latin American governments and the United Nations have demanded Zelaya be returned to power, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized him as “reckless” when he took a few steps onto Honduran soil on Friday in a symbolic gesture in front of international media.
Zelaya hit back at Clinton yesterday for the second time in two days, complaining she had stopped using the term “coup” to describe his removal. “The position of the Secretary Clinton at the beginning was firm. Now I feel that she’s not really denouncing (it) and she’s not acting firmly against the repression that Honduras is suffering,” he told reporters.
Honduran troops manning checkpoints have prevented several thousand demonstrators from staging a show of support for the leftist leader at the border since Friday.
Six miles (10 km) from the border, 100 weary protesters milled around the coffee town of El Paraiso, a far cry from the massive outpouring of public backing Zelaya had called for.
“We’re going to head back to Tegucigalpa where most of the people are,” said teacher Lilian Ordonez, wiping away tears. “We have to change our strategy. … People are angry but we don’t have weapons and against a rifle, we can’t do anything.”
A couple of hundred Hondurans who managed to reach the border were camped out in Nicaragua with Zelaya, holed up in the town of Ocotal yesterday planning his next move.
In comments carried live on pro-Zelaya Radio Globo, he urged mid-level military officers to mutiny against their generals, who he said had betrayed Honduras for money.
The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court had accused Zelaya of trying to extend presidential term limits.
