U.S. revokes more visas to pressure Honduran solution

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has revoked the visas of more Hondurans to pressure the facto government to end a three-month political crisis, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
The Honduran government is in talks to resolve the impasse created by a June 28 military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who has returned to Honduras and has taken refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.
State Department spokesman Charles Luoma-Overstreet said the department had cancelled visas for “a number of Hondurans who are members and/or supporters of the de facto regime.”
“This action is a reflection of the seriousness and urgency with which the U.S. government takes the need for the de facto regime to reach an agreement with President Zelaya to restore the democratic order,” Luoma-Overstreet said.
The United States, which has condemned Central America’s first coup in more than a decade, revoked a number of diplomatic and official visas after Zelaya’s ouster.
Later revocations included tourist visas for others linked to the de facto government. Luoma-Overstreet would not say how many visas were cancelled in the latest round on Monday.
Talks to resolve the crisis in Honduras have sputtered with both sides stuck on the question of whether Zelaya can return to the presidency before a November election.
(Reporting by Deborah Charles; Editing by Doina Chiacu)