Zelaya rallies support in Chile

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Thousands of Hondurans supporting ousted President Manuel Zelaya protested in the nation's capital on Thursday, as a U.S. diplomat prepared to meet representatives of the government that has been in power since a military coup.

Zelaya, who was rousted from his home at gunpoint in June and flown into exile by Honduran soldiers, spent the day in Chile, his latest stop on a Latin American tour he hopes will solidify backing from the region's governments.

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet received Zelaya with head-of-state honors and reiterated her government's recognition of him as the democratically elected president of Honduras.

"We will continue to support all actions" aimed at restoring Zelaya to the presidency, said Bachelet, whose country saw a CIA-backed coup in 1973 that ushered in the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

On Wednesday, Chile refused to recognize Honduran ambassador Francisco Martinez — who has reportedly declared himself an ally of interim President Roberto Micheletti.

The Honduras coup has been widely condemned around the world, and the United States and the European Union have called for Zeyala's return to the presidency.

Micheletti's interim government has refused to consider Zeyala's restoration — which is a key provision of an accord proposed during talks mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

The Organization of American States, which has suspended Honduras, is planning a mission to Honduras in hopes of reviving that accord. In preparation, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Sara Mangiaracina said Thursday that a group representing Micheletti was scheduled to meet with Lew Amselem, the U.S. representative to the OAS.

Zelaya recently traveled to Brazil, Mexico and other nations seeking support.

While Zelaya presses his case abroad, some 10,000 protesters arrived in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday after staging weeklong walks, producing one of the largest demonstrations in support of the ousted president.

On Wednesday those protests turned violent during clashes with police. On Thursday about 5,000 protesters gathered in front of the heavily guarded offices of federal investigators, demanding information about the whereabouts of 27 Zelaya supporters arrested the previous day.