After Manuel Zelaya was elected President of Honduras and
took office early in 2006, he began supporting some reformist policies such as
raising the minimum wage, reversing deceptive land ownership practices, and
aligning with the international group of countries known as ALBA. Shortly after pursuing these policies he was
overthrown by the Honduran political class through a 2009 military coup
d’etat. Shortly after the coup, the
European Union, the United Nations, and the Organization of American States opposed
the new leadership, but within months the United States changed its position to
support the military leadership. The United States also supported the elections
in the fall of 2010 to replace the overthrown civilian leadership when other
countries globally refused to recognize the new government. And the U.S. renewed
full military aid by February 2010, even though in the case of other coups
in Nicaragua, Mauritania, and Madagascar the U.S.
terminated aid agreements.
