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January 28, 2010

Zelaya Leaves Honduras as New President Takes Office
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Honduras is entering a new phase following the swearing-in of a new
president and the departure of the now former president Manuel Zelaya.
On Wednesday, President Porfirio Lobo was sworn into office. A wealthy
landowner, Lobo was elected in a November race boycotted by Zelaya
supporters. Hours after the ceremony, Zelaya ended his four-month stay
in the Brazilian embassy and left Honduras for exile in the Dominican
Republican. Just before boarding the plane, Zelaya told the assembled
crowd, “We’ll be back.” Just before Zelaya left Honduras, the Honduran
Supreme Court dismissed all charges against six military commanders
involved in the June 28th coup that removed him from office. The Obama
administration says it’s not ready to restore aid to Honduras suspended
following the coup. But Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela said he believes the new president,
Lobo, is taking Honduras “in the right direction.”

Arturo Valenzuela: “I thought the President’s speech was excellent. It
was a speech of national reconciliation for all the people of Honduras.”



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