US cuts some Honduras aid, silent on military coup

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-04 02:27

WASHINGTON:The United States said on Thursday it was formally cutting some aid to Honduras but sidestepped the question of whether the Central American country's de facto leaders took power in a military coup.

The State Department announced "the termination of a broad range of assistance" to Honduras, where President Manuel Zelaya was arrested by the military on June 28 and forced into exile in his pajamas.

It did not say how much aid was being cut but a U.S. official who spoke on condition that he not be named put the total at more than $30 million, saying that all of this had previously been suspended.

Honduras' army, for long an ally of the United States, moved against Zelaya after he angered members of Congress and the Supreme Court with proposals to change the constitution to allow presidents to seek re-election.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the decision to formally cut the aid on the same day she was to meet Zelaya, who has repeatedly called on Washington to do more to force the de facto government led by Roberto Micheletti to step down.

Other Latin American leaders have also suggested that Washington apply more pressure but some Republicans in the U.S. Congress say the government has already done too much for Zelaya, an ally of Venezuela's socialist and anti-American president, Hugo Chavez.

Clinton's action to terminate the aid was consistent with U.S. law barring aid other than humanitarian and pro-democracy funds "to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree."

However, the State Department was silent on whether it believed Zelaya was ousted by the military and said the circumstances around his ouster were "complicated" despite the fact that he was flown out of the country in a military plane.

"The Department of State recognizes the complicated nature of the actions which led to June 28 coup d'etat in which Honduras' democratically elected leader, President Zelaya, was removed from office," it said.

"These events involve complex factual and legal questions and the participation of both the legislative and judicial branches of government as well as the military," it added.

The statement suggested the United States would not view Honduras' planned presidential election in November as legitimate unless circumstances change.

"At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections," it said.