No subject

U.S. steps up pressure on Honduras' de facto government
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tells Roberto Micheletti, who has
been named Honduras' president, that negotiations with ousted leader Manuel
Zelaya cannot fail.
By Paul Richter

2:49 PM PDT, July 20, 2009

Reporting from
Washington -
The Obama administration has sharply increased its pressure on
Honduras' de facto government in hopes of breaking a deepening
stalemate in negotiations with ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Roberto Micheletti,
who has been named the country's president, to warn him that he should
not allow the talks to fail, said Clinton's chief spokesman, P.J.
Crowley. He described Clinton's overture, placed Sunday as she was
visiting India, as a "very tough call."

Talks broke down over the weekend over Micheletti's insistence that Zelaya
would
not be allowed to return to power.

Crowley suggested that Micheletti's government may be backing off that
condition, saying that the talks "might have produced more progress
than is at first evident."

Clinton's call, her first contact with Micheletti, signaled a deepening
American
commitment to solving the crisis.

Meanwhile, the European Union announced it was cutting off $90 million in
aid to
the de factor government.

Zelaya, toppled in a military coup June 28 and deported, has threatened
to force his way back into his country, with or without a political
agreement. Crowley said today that U.S. officials have urged him not to
take such action.

Zelaya, a wealthy rancher whose politics veered to the left in recent
years, had been pursuing a nonbinding referendum on amending the
constitution that had been ruled illegal. He was ousted by a Honduran
elite concerned that he was trying to change the constitution to allow
for his reelection. Honduran presidents are limited to a single term.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias was commissioned by Washington and
other regional powers to find a solution to the standoff, but talks
broke down this weekend after Micheletti refused a proposal to
reinstate Zelaya.

paul.richter at latimes.com
________________________________