WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of the U.S. State Department recommended that the removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is declared a military coup, an official said Thursday, which could cost the country tens of millions of dollars in aid.
The official, who requested anonymity, said the State Department team made the recommendation to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who has yet made a decision on the matter, but could do so in the short term.
Washington has already suspended some 18 million in aid to Honduras after the coup of June 28, and this could be formally suspended if we take the decision, since there is a legal barrier to assist the government of any country whose elected head of government is deposed by a military coup or decree.
The official said that should also terminate $ 215 million in grants from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC, according to its acronym in English) for Honduras if Clinton determines that there was a military coup.
Of this, over 80 million dollars have already been delivered, according to MCC. Consulted a second official said this implied a surplus of about $ 139 million that would be delivered to Honduras if the decision is made.
But members of the MCC could not immediately confirm what amount funds for Honduras were at risk.
Diplomats say the United States has tried to delay the formal determination to give diplomacy a chance to reach a negotiated agreement to allow the return of Zelaya to power.
These efforts, however, seem to have failed so far as America is taking steps-including his decision Tuesday to stop issuing visas at the embassy in Tegucigalpa to raise the pressure on the de facto government.
The recommendation of the department to her is that the firm, said the first official, referring to the term coup .
He said this was in response to the rejection of de facto government to proposals made by the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, whose mediation efforts have stalled over rejection of interim authorities to allow the return to power of Zelaya.
San Jose The agreement proposed last month by the Nobel Peace Prize would have allowed the return of Zelaya office until elections are held in late November.
The State Department said Tuesday that only give visa services to immigrants and potential emergencies at the embassy in Tegucigalpa.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters that the decision of the visas was a sign of how seriously we are watching the situation and said Washington was considering other measures, although was premature to disclose them.
(Editing by Jill Serjeant Spanish)
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