Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Kidnapped by Troops

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has been ousted from power after soldiers kidnapped the leader early Sunday morning and flew him out of the country. Soldiers were acting on an order issued by the country’s Supreme Court to remove Zelaya following the president’s planed referendum to extend his term in office.

Zelaya had been elected to a non-renewable four-year term in January 2006 but he has attempted to change the country’s constitution so that he could remain in power. That move was opposed by Congress and the Supreme Court ruled it illegal yet Zelaya wanted a vote on the issue regardless.

The decision to oust Zelaya was criticized by many Honduran citizens who took to the streets in protest while tanks rolled through the streets in an effort to maintain order. Zelaya, speaking from Costa Rica, detailed the events telling Venezuelan TV “I’ve been the victim of a kidnapping by a group of Honduran soldiers.” He went on to say, “This was a plot by a very voracious elite, an elite which wants only to keep this country isolated, in an extreme level of poverty.”

Zelaya’s fate appeared to be sealed after he defied a court order to re-instate the chief of the army, Gen. Romeo Vasquez following his dismissal on Wednesday. Vasquez refused to help Zelaya organize his referendum and after his dismissal the defense minister resigned from his post.

As part of the controversial referendum Zelaya wanted approval for a formal vote in November on whether to rewrite the country’s constitution. Zelaya has said the current system in Honduras favors only the wealthy and is designed to keep the majority of the population in poverty.

While Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close ally of Zelaya, has blamed the United States for backing the coup those allegations have been denied by Washington.

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