U.S. moves toward formal cutoff of aid to Honduras
By Arshad Mohammed
Reuters
Thursday, August 27, 2009; 6:29 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. State Department staff have recommended that the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya be declared a "military coup," a U.S. official said on Thursday, a step that could cut off tens of millions of dollars in U.S. funding to the impoverished Central American nation.
The official, who spoke on condition he not be named, said State Department staff had made such a recommendation to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has yet to make a decision on the matter -- although one was likely soon.
Washington already suspended about $18 million in aid to Honduras following the June 28 coup and this would be formally cut if the determination is made because of a U.S. law barring aid "to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree."
The official said $215 million in grant funding from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation to Honduras would also have to end should Clinton make the determination that a military coup took place.
More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082702778.html