Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused unnamed U.S. intelligence agencies of planning the coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya without the knowledge of President Barack Obama. "I believe U.S. intelligence didn't tell Obama they were planning a coup," Ortega said today at a celebration in Managua for the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution.
Ortega called Costa Rican President Oscar Arias a "Yankee instrument" for mediating U.S.-backed talks to resolve the crisis in Honduras. Arias is brokering talks today in San Jose between Zelaya representatives and leaders of the acting Honduran government, which took power after soldiers ousted Zelaya on June 28. Ortega said the acting government's demands are "unacceptable" and demanded Zelaya be restored immediately as president. |