Honduran gov't warns Zelaya of possible return

Former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has been in exile in the Dominican Republic for over two months since the inauguration of Porfirio Lobo. While Lobo helped broker Zelaya’s safe passage to the Caribbean country his administration seemingly doesn’t want him to return to Honduras.

On Monday Honduran Attorney General Luis Rubí warned that police would arrest Zelaya if he were to come back to the Central American state. At a press conference Rubi said that Zelaya “has pending lawsuits which he must face if he enters the country and it will be up to judges to decide the nature of the crimes.” Zubi’s remarks were backed by Security Minster Oscar Alvarez who said last week that there are several arrest warrants pending against Zelaya.

The remarks made by Rubi and Alvarez contradict comments recently made by Lobo:

Until now Zelaya has yet to announce a return to Honduras but current president Porfirio Lobo admitted last Thursday that he can do so “whenever he wants” and “he must be treated with dignity as a former president.” – [ed. Translated text]

Ongoing violence continues in Honduras while roughly one in two people live below the poverty line (as of 2004). Several countries and international entities such as the U.S. have campaigned for the normalizing of relations with Honduras which had been cut after last June’s ouster of Zelaya.

Image- CNN
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, La Tribuna, AFP, La Raza, Voice of America, ruralpovertyportal.org