U.S. cuts aid to Honduras
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By MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration cut all nonhumanitarian aid to Honduras on Thursday over the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya, making permanent a temporary suspension of U.S. aid imposed after he was overthrown in June.
The U.S. State Department made the announcement as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Zelaya. Spokesman Ian Kelly did not say how much assistance would be cut, but officials have said previously that more than $200 million is at stake. Kelly said it affected ``a broad range of assistance to the government of Honduras.''
``The secretary of state has made the decision, consistent with U.S. legislation, recognizing the need for strong measures in light of the continued resistance to the adoption of the San Jose Accord by the de facto regime and continuing failure to restore democratic, constitutional rule to Honduras,'' Kelly said in a statement.
``Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras,'' he said. In addition to the aid cut, Kelly said the department would revoke the U.S. visas of an unspecified number of Honduran officials who are backing Zelaya's successor, Roberto Micheletti.
The State Department had previously announced the suspension of nearly $20 million in assistance to Honduras and has stopped issuing most visas at its embassy in Tegucigalpa.
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