Hand woven blankets at the market in Panajachel. Guatemala.jpg

Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.

In June, a bloodless overthrow in this impoverished country of 7 million people created a test for regional diplomacy and for U.S. commitment to shoring up democracy in Latin America. The army led coup ousted left leaning President Manuel Zelaya and replaced him with Roberto Micheletti. OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza, is in Honduras to begin talks aimed at stopping the confrontation.

Micheletti said he could be open to holding an early presidential election and even a plebiscite on bringing Zelaya back to serve the last few months of his term, if that would calm the global storm over his ouster.

Zelaya had riled traditional political parties and business leaders with his growing alliance with Hugo Chavez.