Zelaya said he will be giving a press conference later this afternoon from inside Honduras.
The OAS held a meeting at 5PM. Secretary General Insulza said that he received the news today, called on the de facto government to guarantee everyone's security, and indicated that he will go to Honduras as long as there are no obstacles. Insulza also said that Zelaya is open to sign the San Jose Accord if the de facto government will. The US, Canada and others back Zelaya's willingness to sign the San Jose Accord. Venezuela attacked the agreement, saying the situation has changed and Zelaya should not sign it.
Brazil says Zelaya entered from Guatemala and is at the embassy as a guest. The rest of the countries in the OAS are calling for peaceful dialogue leading to the restoration of democracy.
In the end, the OAS passed a resolution calling for both sides to sign the San Jose Accord, in spite of objections of Venezuela and Nicaragua. However, Nicaragua claims Zelaya will now oppose SJ Accord. It's unclear what the status is there.
The Honduran government instituted a curfew starting at 4PM, but local media reports said it was not completely followed. De facto President Micheletti defended the legitimacy of his government in a speech after meeting with his security council. The military allegedly cut power to certain neighborhoods including the Brazilian embassy.
I wrote, rewrote and edited this post as the day went on. I also updated on Twitter. Not all the information was confirmed as I wrote it. Some more analysis in post #18.
Previous notes:
Original posts:
Zelaya claims he has returned to Honduras. Telesur says that Zelaya is at a UN office in Tegucigalpa and plans to meet with de facto government officials. Some media say crowds are forming near the UN expecting the ousted president.
Micheletti and the Honduran Armed Forces deny the reports and say Zelaya remains in Nicaragua. A UN official quoted by EFE says Zelaya is not at the UN offices.
Several media sources including Zelaya's wife say he is at the Brazilian embassy. Brazil embassy confirms he is there. 3:30 Update: Zelaya just stepped out on balcony of Brazil embassy. He's there.
Some Questions:
- Will government try to arrest Zelaya?
- What will the military do with Zelaya in the country?
- Will any of the major presidential candidates jump ship on the Micheletti govt and support Zelaya?
- What does it say for hemispheric leadership if Brazil orchestrated Zelaya's return? Brazil is being fairly quiet at the moment, but their role in this could be enormous and have lasting repercussions.
