Staying power of the Honduran crisis

While the developments since the surreptitious return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya on September 21 have not been as headline-worthy, it seems impressive to me how truly international this crisis has become, as various countries become embroiled in the cloudy politics of the country. An article in today's NYT shows just how enmeshed the issue has become in US politics, and below is an overview of some other notable elements of the Honduras crisis gone global:

- OAS high-level talks (starting yesterday) putting increased pressure on the interim government with the continued threat of not recognizing the November elections. This visit marks at least the fourth such delegation to visit since July.

- The ADL and other international groups mobilizing against the surprising undercurrent of anti-semitism now associated with the pro-Zelaya movement.

- US Senators and congresspeople from both sides of the aisle are at odds over the recent "fact-finding" visit by 3 conservative legislators opposed to the Obama anti-coup stance, after Sen. John Kerry tried to block the trip. A Florida congresswoman also made a similar trip with less fanfare.

- Brazil, as official host to the Zelaya family in its Honduran mission buildilng, has been both praised and chided for its involvement thus far. Lula, for his part, has both lauded and admonished his high-profile guest.

- The EU and the US, the highest aid donors to Honduras, have suspended nearly all forms of aid. The US has blocked visas, and all sorts of military training programs, including the Merida initiative to combat drug cartels, have been stunted (some have warned that this will have ramifications for drug trafficking).

- The presidents of Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia -- three of Zelaya's most aggressive supporters early on -- have been surprisingly quiet in the development of the continued standoff, though the issue remains a hotly contested one in each country.

Most had little doubt that this crisis would linger on this long, but I continue to be surprised at the staying-power it has with the generally attention-deficit international community. I suspect that the (imagined) image of Zelaya in his jammies at gunpoint gets most of the credit for this staying-power. Romeo Vasquez, what were you thinking?