Pressure on Honduras coup government turned up by US:

EGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The United States is turning up pressure on the Honduran government installed by a coup — and the businessmen who support it — warning that they will face severe sanctions if ousted President Manuel Zelaya is not restored to power.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called interim President Roberto Micheletti to say there would be serious consequences if his government ignores international mediation for Zelaya’s return.

Her call Sunday came as talks mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias stalled due to the refusal of Micheletti’s delegates to accept demands for Zelaya’s return.


State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that Clinton “helped him understand the potential consequences of a failure to take advantage of this mediation.”

Warnings of sanctions

Honduran business leaders, meanwhile, say U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens has called them into meetings to warn that Honduras — impoverished and highly dependent on exports to the United States — could face tough sanctions if the interim government continues to refuse Arias’ compromise proposal for Zelaya to return as head of a coalition government.

The European Union added to the pressure Monday by announcing it was suspending $93.1 million in aid to Honduras.

No government has recognized Micheletti, and the United Nations and Organization of American States have called for the return of Zelaya, who was arrested and hustled out of the country by the army June 28.

But Micheletti vowed not to stand down — and implied that the United States is betraying one of its staunchest allies. Honduras allowed its territory to be used as a staging area for U.S.-backed Contra rebels in Nicaragua during the 1980s, and more recently it sent troops to Iraq.