Despite Worldwide Support For Ousted Honduran Leader, Sen. DeMint Blasts Obama For Favoring "Dictator" Zelaya

July 3, 2009 1:07 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is accusing President Barack Obama and the Organization of American States of undermining the democratic processes in Honduras, saying the military coup last week that deposed José Manuel Zelaya as president was constitutional and reflected the will of the Honduran people.

"The people of Honduras have struggled too long to have their hard-won democracy stolen from them by a Chavez-style dictator," DeMint, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, said in a statement. "The Honduran Congress, the Honduran Supreme Court, and the Honduran military have acted in accordance to the Honduran constitution and the rule of law."

The Republican called Obama's demand that Zelaya be reinstated "a slap in the face to the people of Honduras." He said the resolution issued by the OAS "tramples over the hopes and dreams of a free and democratic people."

"I am hopeful that as President Obama grows in office, he will eventually turn away from despots like Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, and Zelaya, and give the United States' full-throated support to the people of any country who are fighting for the same values we cherish and defend in America," DeMint also said.

The senator was referring to Obama's efforts to reach out to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a video message to all Muslims celebrating Nowruz or the Iranian New Year, easing rules on travel and telecommunications to allow people in Cuba to live more freely, and controversial exchange with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during an April Summit of the Americas.

The OAS had issued a resolution on Wednesday warning that Interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti and allies who led the coup had 72 hours to reinstate Zelaya, or face suspension from the group.

OAS Sec. Gen. Jose Miguel Insulza is currently in Honduras undertaking undertake "diplomatic initiatives aimed at restoring democracy and the rule of law," something Micheletti has indicated does not need to be done since, as he told CNN, "the military was following a judicial order."

Zelaya was expelled by the Honduran military to Costa Rica last Sunday, after a vote by the Honduran Congress to oust him, and a ruling from the Supreme Court that a referendum scheduled for that Sunday was illegal.

The referendum was about changes to the Constitution that would have allowed Zelaya to continue beyond his four-year term.

The 56-year-old leader had vowed to take back his government on Thursday, but delayed his return. On Tuesday, he spoke before the United Nation's 192-member General Assembly, which has expressed "outrage" over the coup and demanded "the immediate return of the rule of law and restoration of the President's functions."

The Pentagon has suspended military operations with Honduras. The State Department is beginning to cutoff aid; spokesman Ian Kelly said on Thursday, "We're trying to determine if Section 7008 of the Foreign Assistance Act must be applied. In the meantime, we've taken some actions to hit the pause button, let's say, on assistance programs that we would be legally required to terminate if the events of June 28 are determined to have been.... a military coup." U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday had reiterated calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis, which has caused riots in Tegucigalpa, the capital city.

"It would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backwards into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections. The region has made enormous progress over the last 20 years in establishing democratic traditions in Central America and Latin America," he said.