Clinton wants Honduras back in the Organization of American States

Secretary Clinton said that the United States supports the return of Honduras to the Organization of American States (OAS) after its membership was suspended last year following the June ouster of then-President Manuel Zelaya in a coup. Elections last November made Porfirio Lobo president, and the United States thinks his administration has taken the right steps to get the country back on track to merit a return to the OAS. Clinton told reporters traveling with her to the OAS meeting in Lima, Peru, as reported by Voice of America:

"President Lobo has done everything he said he would do.… He was elected through a free and fair, legitimate election. He provided political amnesty. He set up a truth commission. He has been very committed to pursuing a policy of reintegration."

Some countries such as Brazil and Venezuela don’t recognize Lobo as the true Honduran president because the interim government that came before him never restored Zelaya back to power after the coup. Clinton said that though the coup was wrong, Honduras has gotten itself together:

"We all stood together in condemning the coup that removed Zelaya from office, and I was very pleased that the United States was a strong voice in condemning that.… But then we worked with the neighbors and we worked with the electoral system, because this election which had long been scheduled was, to our view, the surest way forward." 

(In the photo above, Clinton speaks to the media in Lima on June 7.)