Bolivia moving Mideast embassy to Iran from Egypt

[Guest human_*]

http://www.denverpost.com/rawnews/ci_10390124

The Associated Press

Article Last Updated: 09/05/2008 11:13:08 AM MDT

 

 

LA PAZ, Bolivia—Bolivia's leftist president says he's moving the country's lone Middle Eastern embassy to Iran as he builds increasingly warm ties with one of Washington's least-favorite countries.

Until now, Bolivia had the embassy in Egypt.

 

President Evo Morales announced the change at a news conference on Friday following his return from Iran and Libya.

 

Morales and fellow socialist Hugo Chavez of Venezuela have irked U.S. officials by signing a series of deals with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Many involve petrochemicals, but Morales says Iran will help Bolivia in cement and agriculture as well. Iran is building tractors and automobiles in Venezuela.

[Guest HUMAN_*]

I wonder on how Bolivia will explain this one away? <This is going to be real interesting>

 

UN AID FOR URANIUM EXPLOITATION

Cotaje uranium mine restart possible in Bolivia's Potosi

The Bolivian Government could get into uranium mining through a restart at the Cotaje deposit in Potosi.

Author: Dorothy Kosich

Posted: Wednesday , 27 May 2009

RENO, NV -

Potosi Province Mining Secretary Carlos Colque says the government will consider restarting a uranium mine at the Cotaje deposit.

 

In comments broadcast by Radio Fides and reported by Bloomberg Tuesday, Colque said the government is considering beginning production by 2010 if uranium reserves are confirmed.

He added that the province has invested about 2 million bolivianos ($283,000) in the project.

On March 27th, the United Nations atomic energy program said it would cooperate with Bolivia on the exploration and exploitation of uranium mines.

 

The National Service of Geology and Mining (Sergeomin) identified 11 locations with uranium deposits in the district of Cotaje between the towns of Huari in Oruro and Sevaruyo in the border area between both departments and the Mulato River in Potosi.

 

 

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http://www.startribune.com/world/46095522....iD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

 

Bolivia denies supplying Iran with uranium, Venezuela's Chavez dismisses Israeli report

By CARLOS VALDEZ , Associated Press

 

Last update: May 26, 2009 - 7:19 PM

 

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Bolivia on Tuesday denied supplying uranium to Iran, while Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismissed Israeli allegations that the two countries have been aiding Tehran's nuclear program.

 

Bolivian Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu said his country doesn't even produce the radioactive metallic element, though he acknowledged that officials believe the country has some untapped uranium deposits.

 

"There isn't even a precise geological study of uranium deposits, and much less can there be talk of export" to another country, he said.

 

A secret Israeli Foreign Ministry report, obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, cites previous Israeli intelligence assessments saying "there are reports that Venezuela supplies Iran with uranium for its nuclear program" and that "Bolivia also supplies uranium to Iran."

 

Chavez said during a visit to Brazil that it's one more in a list of accusations his government must fight off, including that "we're a paradise for drug trafficking, that we protect terrorists."

 

"They accuse us of anything," Chavez said. "I saw in the press yesterday... a supposed official document of the Israeli government where it says Venezuela is supporting Iran in the construction of the atomic bomb."

 

Chavez didn't directly deny the Israeli report's assertion, but he has often joked that critics want to make it appear Venezuela and Iran are producing an "atomic bicycle" together. Iran is helping to produce bicycles and tractors in the South American country among various joint projects.

 

Bolivian Presidential Minister Juan Ramon Quintana described Israel's intelligence agency as a bunch of incompetent "clowns," and Echazu said the Bolivian Foreign Ministry plans to issue a formal response to the report's assertion.

 

Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales have built close ties with Iran and have fiercely opposed Israeli and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Both Venezuela and Bolivia broke off ties with Israel in January to protest its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

 

Chavez has backed Iran's assertion that its nuclear program is purely to produce energy, despite Israel's contention that Iran is building atomic weapons.

 

Israel's three-page report about Iranian activities in Latin America was prepared before a visit to the region by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who plans to attend a meeting of the Organization of American States in Honduras next week. The report did not specify where the uranium allegedly supplied by the two countries originated.

 

The U.S. State Department declined to comment, referring questions to Israeli officials. It did say that the U.S. is watching closely for any violations of U.N. resolutions that bar countries from selling sensitive material to Iran.

 

"All U.N. members are obligated to implement existing U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions on Iran," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "We are certainly monitoring for any indication or any actions that might be in breach."

 

Some analysts doubt that Iran currently is receiving uranium from other countries.

 

"Iran does not need to import uranium from abroad" at this time, said Farideh Farhi, a researcher at the University of Hawaii who is an expert on Iran's foreign policy. "Iran has uranium deposits itself. There is a real issue about Iran's deposits being large enough to sustain the ambitious enrichment program Iran is envisioning in the future, but at this point this is not an issue."

 

While defending Iran, Chavez has also expressed interest in starting a nuclear energy program in Venezuela — and Russia has agreed to help under an agreement signed during a November visit by President Dmitry Medvedev.

 

According to the agreement, published earlier this month in Venezuela's Official Gazette, Russia plans to help Venezuela in the "exploration and exploitation of fields of uranium and thorium, to be used for peaceful purposes."

 

Russian nuclear agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko said through an interpreter during Medvedev's visit that "we are ready to teach students in nuclear physics and nuclear engineering." He also referred to geological studies and "looking for uranium" in Venezuela. It's unclear when that could begin.

 

Chavez said during a visit to Tehran last month that his government and Iran have been discussing plans for a joint mining company. He said "Iran has helped us a lot in making a map of Venezuelan mining" — apparently showing known deposits of gold, diamonds and other minerals. He didn't elaborate on which minerals Iran would be involved in mining.

 

____

 

Associated Press writers Ian James and Rachel Jones in Caracas, and Matthew Lee in Washington, contributed to this report.

[Guest Fed Up]

Is every third world nation going to hold the developing world hostage. Build bombs or give money.

[Guest HUMAN_*]

The democrats were not wise in making the case for Nuclear Power. They broke it "the democrats", They Fix it.

 

It really was of there making. How they are going to tell countries like Iran that they can't have the bomb "When the democrats themselves made the case for them".

 

IT SHOULD BE REAL INTERESTING. REAL INTERESTING.

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Is every third world nation going to hold the developing world hostage. Build bombs or give money.

[Guest Vesuvious]

Dr. Mohamed Mostafa El-Baradei, met in La Paz with Juan Evo Morales Ayma, and agreed to cooperate in the exploration of uranium minds in Bolovia.

 

Dr. Mohamed Mostafa El-Baradei (Arabic: محمد البرادعي‎, transliteration: Muḥammad al-Barādaʿī) (born June 17, 1942, in Cairo, Egypt) is the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an inter-governmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations.

 

Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (pronounced [ˈeβo]), has been the President of Bolivia since 2006. He has been declared the country's first fully indigenous head of state in the 470 years since the Spanish Conquest.

[Guest Human_*]

The bottom line in all of this is that in the democrats’ quest for power, they never took into account

the ramifications of their language, and NOW we are all seeing it play out.

 

With very SERIOUS consequences to their actions. I saw, and I posted it on here as well about countries who use to have Nuclear Programs, and reactivated their Nuclear Programs after the democrats "Under the Leadership of Hillary Clinton" made the case that other countries can also have Nuclear Power.

 

They "The Democrats" really did Open Pandora’s Box. We really WILL HAVE a Nuclear Middle East, as well as a Nuclear Latin America.

 

Barack Obama really can't do anything about this, after all Barack Obama HAS Hillary as his Secretary of State.

 

Add to that, That Hillary during the Summit of the Americas takes off just so she can be by Baracks Side on the Cairo Speech "That REALLY Shows a Lack of Professionalism and a Disrespecting to our Allies in Latin America".

[Guest gnarly]

What about disarming ourselves?

[Guest Human_*]

The Fourth Fleet "American Navy" was re-activated because hugo chavez was threatening his neighbors with military actions.

 

If you haven't figured it out yet, it's not a nice world out there.

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What about disarming ourselves?

[Guest Human_*]

And Barack Obama supports Chavez is these efforts.

 

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle6723832.ece

 

Honduras was on a collision course with one of the region’s most powerful leaders last night after its government tried to expel Venezuelan diplomats for meddling in the country’s affairs.

 

The diplomats, backed by Venezuela’s leftist President, Hugo Chávez, vow to stay on in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, defying a government that they regard as illegal.

 

“It is a de facto government, led by a coup and supported with bayonets,” Ariel Vargas, the Venezuelan chargé d’affaires, said after the interim administration of Roberto Micheletti, who came to power in a military coup last month, ordered the Venezuelan envoys to leave within 72 hours. “We do not have anything to fear.”

 

President Chávez has already threatened military action if his diplomats are hampered and put his troops on alert this month. He has described Mr Micheletti’s administration as a “gorilla” government.

 

Mr Micheletti has blamed Venezuela for fomenting protests against the coup leaders. Manuel Zelaya, the ousted Honduran President, enjoyed close ties with Mr Chávez and took the Central American country into the Venezuelan-led Bolivarian Alliance for Our Americas. His opponents accused him of creating a Chávez-style socialist government — an allegation that was used as a pretext for the coup.

 

The ousted President denies such plans and the spectre of Mr Chávez is frequently invoked at both pro and anti-Zelaya protests in Honduras as it becomes a battleground for the wider regional struggle between supporters of Venezuela’s “Boliviarian revolution” and their ideological adversaries.

 

At one anti-Zelaya rally, amid chants of “Chávez, out!”, Teddy Dazarett, a 51-year-old businessman, said: “We do not want to become another Venezuela. It’s rich but its people are dying of hunger.”

 

“Honduras has become a battleground ... over 21st-century socialism,” said Mauricio Díaz Burdett, an economist with the Honduran Social Forum of External Debt and Development. Marvin Barahona, an historian, said that the crisis was reawakening the Cold War in Latin America. “Chávism versus anti-Chávism is a new version of Communism versus anti-Communism,” she said.

 

The United States, which loathes Mr Chavez, has urged him not to interfere in Honduras, warning of wider regional conflict. Oscar Arias, the President of Costa Rica, who has been mediating between the opposing factions in Honduras, says the country is on the brink of "civil war and bloodshed".

 

Mr Zelaya has vowed to return to Honduras after the expiry of a negotiation deadline yesterday and says internal resistance is being organised. The interim government, which blocked his attempted return by plane on July 5 with troops firing on protesters at Tegucigalpa airport, says that he will be arrested.

 

It is thought that Mr Zelaya may try to enter Honduras by land, crossing the border from neighbouring Nicaragua where the Sandinista president Daniel Ortega has given him sanctuary. Mr Micheletti has repeatedly claimed that Nicaraguan troops are preparing to invade Honduras, a claim that Mr Ortega has decried as "totally false".

[Guest Shinyo]

It appears that Bolivia has given Hezbollah a staging platform to operate narcotics rings to raise money. Hezbollah insurgents are now being sent to Iran to put down the protesters. So in essence U.S. drug consumers are supporting terrorist and halting a human rights revolution.

[Guest Human_*]

Venezuela is in this too.

 

To top it all off the democrats choose Oscar Arias as a mediator, and any one who follows this? Would know that picking

a left wing mediator was a bad idea.

 

It only emboldens those with anti-democratic institutional points of view. Poor foresight by the democrats in NOT picking a neutral party.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It appears that Bolivia has given Hezbollah a staging platform to operate narcotics rings to raise money. Hezbollah insurgents are now being sent to Iran to put down the protesters. So in essence U.S. drug consumers are supporting terrorist and halting a human rights revolution.

[Guest Human]

No kidding? LOL

 

Christ!!! What did you think was going to happen when you picked Oscar Arias as a mediator?

International Politics and International Relations is a whole different world.

 

To state that the Honduran Government is Illegitimate would put the United States in a position

Where it would have to State that the Iranian government is also Illegitimate "you simply can't have it both ways".

 

 

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090808/wl_nm/us_honduras_obama

 

Obama says no quick way to end Honduras crisis

 

Fri Aug 7, 8:25 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Friday that he has no quick way to resolve the political crisis in Honduras, where supporters of a coup are refusing to let ousted President Manuel Zelaya return to power.

 

Obama told reporters he still supports the reinstatement of Zelaya, who was overthrown in June, but that the United States would not take unilateral action.

 

"I can't press a button and suddenly reinstate Mr Zelaya," Obama said.

 

Obama has canceled $16.5 million in military aid to Honduras and has condemned Zelaya's removal, as have Latin American governments and the European Union.

 

But the de facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti, the former head of Congress, appears to be digging in and the country's elite say they will keep Honduras running even if the administration is not recognized by foreign governments.

 

"We would like to see him be able to return peacefully to continue his term, but we are only one country among many and we are going to deal with this in an international context," Obama said.

 

Zelaya, an ally of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said on Tuesday the United States needs "only tighten its fist" to evict the de facto government.

 

"It is important to note the irony that the people that were complaining about the U.S. interfering in Latin America are now complaining that we are not interfering enough," Obama said.

 

Implying that support for Zelaya may be weakening, a U.S. State Department letter sent this week to a key Republican U.S. senator said U.S. policy on the Honduras' crisis is not aimed at supporting any particular individual.

 

Before the coup, Zelaya was pushing for constitutional reforms that included letting presidents seek re-election. His opponents accused him of trying to stay in power, but he denies the allegation.

 

Mediation efforts by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias have so far failed to achieve Zelaya's return, as has pressure from Venezuela's Chavez, a key leader in Latin America.

 

The United States, Honduras' longtime ally and top trading partner, has withdrawn diplomatic visas from key members of the de facto government in a bid to force Zelaya's reinstatement.

 

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle, editing by Philip Barbara)

[Guest Human]

The ongoing missteps by the democrats in international relations. You "democrats" cornered yourselves.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j3TvVdIhnqmRx36g97I9tWEFK3PQ

 

US 'disappointed' by Honduras mission failure

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

 

WASHINGTON — The US voiced disappointment Thursday at the failure of a seven-nation mission to persuade coup leaders in Honduras to accept a settlement and renewed its support for ousted president Manuel Zelaya.

 

"We are disappointed by this inability to move forward," the State Department said in a statement to AFP.

 

"The United States supports the peaceful restoration of democratic and constitutional order in Honduras with President Zelaya?s return as president to finish his term," it said.

 

"We firmly believe a negotiated solution is the appropriate way forward and that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias' plan for resolving this crisis is a good one," it said. "Both sides would be well advised to sign it promptly."

 

Foreign ministers from seven nations and the head of the Organization of American States returned empty-handed after failing to persuade Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti to accept the Arias plan.

 

The Costa Rican president had proposed the return of ousted leader Zelaya but also elections and an amnesty for the leaders of the bloodless June 28 coup. Zelaya supports the deal.

 

President Barack Obama's administration has firmly condemned the coup, despite Zelaya's leftist leanings and alliance with Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez.

 

The United States provided the plane for the mission to Honduras and stepped up pressure on the coup leaders by suspending the issuance of most US visas at the embassy in Tegucigalpa.

 

"We continue to call on all actors to avoid steps that increase division and polarization in Honduras, and needlessly place persons at risk or harm," the State Department said.

[Guest Human]

The Honduran people take the rule of law to be a VERY Serious matter. The return of Zelaya to Honduras by the help of other governments WILL destabilize the region.

 

One of the countries that's been helping the United States fight the war on terror IS Honduras.

 

What this situation is creating is a chilling affect with our allies with in the region.

[Guest Human]

The United States scores a .4 and the winner is Chavez by .6

 

The only reason this administration gets a .4? For their efforts on damage control in the mistake of backing such a strong resolution against Honduras.

 

The biggest loser in all of this is? Democratic Institutions with in Latin America.

 

[i really need an Aspirin. What a disaster all of this has been.

To this administration; I do know which experts you ARE relying upon. Can you get experts in there who don't have their OWN agendas??????????????????

 

If It's too much to ask for? Than just ignore this post.]

[Guest Human]

The Barack Obama game being played out. The Chavez game which this Administration has fallen for is also being played out in South Africa.

 

No fore thought by this administration what so ever. VERY STUPID. Relying only the intel community, and not the Experts of the Latin American Hemisphere was ill advised.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD9BGIBN81

[Guest Human]

Just to put it in context so everyone in here understands.

 

Other African leaders who overrode the two-term limit were Namibia's Sam Nujoma, Abdou Diouf of Senegal, Lansana Conte of Guinea, Togo's Gnassingbe Eyadema, Gabon's Omar Bongo, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso and Zine Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia.

 

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The Barack Obama game being played out. The Chavez game which this Administration has fallen for is also being played out in South Africa.

[Guest Human]

Even though the problem has been resolved? The ones who are GUILTY in this diplomatic mess rest SOLELY on the feet of the UNITED STATES.

 

The Intel Community was spot on with it's information.<~~~~ The only winners in this mess.

 

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http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2009/10/31/us_brokered_deal_finally_ends_honduras_crisis/

 

Roberto Micheletti, the leader of Honduras’s de facto government, relented late Thursday after senior Obama administration officials landed in the Honduran capital to take charge of the talks, pressing the point that the United States would not recognize the coming presidential elections unless he accepted the deal.

 

Though senior administration officials played down their role, Latin America specialists said the agreement represented a breakthrough for President Obama, whose relations in the hemisphere were tested by the crisis.

 

For months, the administration resisted driving the negotiations, positioning itself as just another member of a coalition that included its allies and adversaries in the region. Latin American leaders took the lead in talks, but both sides kept trying to win over Washington.

 

During a half-hour telephone call last week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took a leading role, making it clear to Micheletti that the United States was growing impatient with the stalemate and demanding that democracy be restored.

 

Micheletti later joked with his aides that she stuck so close to her message it appeared she had a limited vocabulary. “I kept trying to explain our position to her,’’ he said, according to officials close to the talks, “but all she kept saying was, ‘Restitution, restitution, restitution.’ ’’ Speaking yesterday in Pakistan, Clinton called the deal a “historic agreement.’’

 

“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue,’’ she said.

 

The essential elements of the agreement had largely been worked out months ago by other Latin American leaders. If Congress agrees, Zelaya will serve out the remaining three months of his term, and the presidential election scheduled for Nov. 29 will be recognized by all sides.

 

Neither Zelaya nor Micheletti, both members of the Liberal Party, are candidates.

 

Some significant obstacles remain, not least of which is the approval of the nation’s Congress, which voted overwhelmingly to strip Zelaya of power four months ago and now has to decide whether to reinstate him.

 

The president of Congress, Jose Alfredo Saavedra, who is close to Micheletti, suggested that the Legislature was in no hurry to decide on Zelaya’s fate. “At this time, nobody, absolutely nobody, can impose deadlines or terms on Congress,’’ he said.

 

The Zelaya camp also warned that there was much to do before the crisis was over. “Signing the agreement does not resolve the problem,’’ Carlos Eduardo Reina, an adviser to Zelaya, told local news organizations. “It opens space, it opens the door and determines what will be the path to return Honduras to legality.’’

 

But Kevin Casas-Zamora, an analyst at The Brookings Institution and a former vice president of Costa Rica, said he expected the Honduran Congress to approve Zelaya’s return because the two main presidential candidates right now have the most influence over legislators and want an agreement that would legitimize the election.

 

According to Micheletti, the accord would establish a unity government and a verification commission to ensure that its conditions were carried out. It would also create a truth commission to investigate the events of the past few months, but would not provide amnesty for crimes committed in connection with the coup.

 

That could cause tensions with the military, which roused Zelaya from his bed and forced him out of the country. It is unclear what it would mean for Zelaya, who has been threatened with arrest on charges ranging from corruption to treason.

 

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

[Guest York]

The Enterprise Council for Latin America (CEAL) on Sunday asked the international community to keep a close eye on the implementation of the political agreement reached in Honduras.

[Guest Human]

UPDATE;

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Toppled-President-Manuel-Zelaya-leaves-Honduras-for-exile/articleshow/5507186.cms

 

Toppled President Manuel Zelaya leaves Honduras for exile

AFP, 28 January 2010, 03:47am IST

 

 

TEGUCIGALPA: Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya left for exile on Wednesday amid hopes that the swearing-in of new President Porfirio Lobo would end months of turmoil following last year's coup.

 

Zelaya flew out of the capital Tegucigalpa on board the official jet of Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, who has agreed to take him under a deal to permit reconciliation in a Honduras divided by the recent political upheaval.

 

"We'll be back, we'll be back," Zelaya told reporters moments before boarding the plane at the airport where some 10,000 of his followers had gathered to see him off.

 

Zelaya was escorted out of the Brazilian embassy, where he had taken refuge last September after sneaking back into Honduras, by Fernandez and Lobo, under a guarantee that threats of arrest would not be carried out.

 

Thousands of Zelaya's supporters rallied under a hot sun and police supervision at the airport to farewell their ex-leader.

 

"See you later Papa Mel. God bless you," read one placard using an affectionate nickname for Zelaya.

 

"We want the people to take power and for our president to come back very soon," said a 25-year-old demonstrator, student Sara Avila.

 

Zelaya's four-year term was to have ended Wednesday, the day Lobo was sworn in during a ceremony attended by few international dignitaries.

 

Lobo's first act upon taking office was to sign a decree giving amnesty to the soldiers, politicians and judges who brought about the June 28 coup.

 

He said the measure -- first proposed months ago in failed mediation talks in Costa Rica backed by Washington -- was needed as part of a process of national healing.

 

The US assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, Arturo Valenzuela, was among the guests at the swearing-in ceremony -- a sign of Washington's support for Lobo.

 

Others included presidents Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic, Ricardo Martinelli of Panama and Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan, and Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos.

 

Roberto Micheletti, the interim leader following Zelaya's ouster who organized the November elections that brought Lobo to power, did not attend the ceremony but went to Mass instead.

 

Lobo faces several challenges to repair the damage from Zelaya's overthrow.

 

The most immediate ones are filling state coffers starved of trade revenues and foreign credits, and engineering Honduras's return into the family of Latin American nations scandalized by the June coup.

 

Fresh support from the United States and European countries is seen as key to breaking the diplomatic isolation imposed on Honduras as punishment for its undemocratic turn.

 

France, for instance, was "ready to support the new Honduran authorities" as Lobo embarked on a period of national reconciliation, a foreign ministry spokesman said in Paris.

 

But several nations -- Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela among them -- still refuse to recognize Lobo as president, saying it would imply approval of Zelaya's ouster and of coups generally.

 

"For Brazil, the situation has not changed. For now, Brazil does not recognize Lobo's government," an official in Brazil's foreign ministry told AFP.

 

Venezuela's representative at the Organization of American States, Roy Chaderton, said "the coup plotter's loop has been successfully closed by getting president Manuel Zelaya out of the country."

 

Honduran lawmakers and top judges said they conspired to topple Zelaya because he had threatened the constitution by trying to stay in power beyond his single permitted term.

 

They claimed the former president -- who suddenly reversed ideologies halfway through his term to be a leftwing champion of the poor -- was egged on by his chief foreign ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.