US accused of complicity in Zelaya exile

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and his closest aides accused the US military over the weekend of being complicit in the decision to remove him from the country on June 28. Zelaya aides claimed that after the military detained Zelaya on the morning of June 28, he was taken first to US air base Palmerola before being carted off to San Jose. Venezeulan President Hugo Chávez has echoed the accusations, though offered no further evidence to support the claim.

The US Southern Command has since denied the allegations, claiming they had no knowledge of the layover. Others have commented that Palmerola routinely serves as a refueling station for aircraft with little or no authorization by US military. No specific names of US military leadership in Honduras have yet been accused of making or supporting the decision to send Zelaya to Costa Rica.

The claims, while unlikely to be verified, will most certainly serve to undercut the US' claim to the role of unbiased mediator. Tensions were already high between the US and the interim government. Interim President Roberto Micheletti, hearing over the weekend that US Ambassador Hugo Llorens is on personal leave, commented that he hopes "he doesn't come back."

Meanwhile, low-grade violence continued over the weekend in Honduras as pro-Zelaya marchers continued to take to the streets. Striking school teachers, hospital workers were recently joined by striking municipal police demanding back pay in San Pedro Sula in the first real signs that the strapped government budget is not able to makes ends meet.

Sources: AP, El Heraldo, La Tribuna, Reuters, PressTV