Honduran Coup an Opportunity for Obama

The Honduran military coup overthrowing President Manuel Zelaya offers the Obama administration a chance to rehabilitate the battered reputation of the US in Latin America, Reuters reports. "This is a golden opportunity to make a clear break with the past and show that he is unequivocally siding with democracy” after so many US-manipulated coups in the region during the Cold War, said former Costa Rican Vice President Kevin Casas-Zamora.

Though Washington has not enjoyed the best relationship with Zelaya, President Obama called for Honduran officials to “respect democratic norms,” the New York Times reports. In a striking contrast to the Bush administration, which briefly endorsed a coup against Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez in 2002, Obama said the Honduran situation “must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from outside influence.”
(More Honduras stories.)