Fidel Castro calls on US to withdraw troops from Honduras

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has called on the US to withdraw its troops from Honduras to ease the situation after the recent coup in the Central American state.

The Honduran military ousted President Manuel Zelaya from office and flew him to Costa Rica June 28, the day polls were due to open for a non-binding referendum on extending the president's non-renewable four-year term of office.

The US, which has an airbase in Honduras, has condemned the coup. It called off military cooperation with Honduras July 1, although it continues to use the base.

"The only correct decision at this moment is to demand the US authorities to stop interfering and providing military assistance to coup leaders and withdraw their troops from Honduras," the Cuban media reported citing Castro.

He added that "the coup in Honduras has created a really complicated situation in Latin America, which cannot be resolved by traps, cunning and lies".

"New details of US involvement (in the coup) emerge daily and it (the coup) will result in a broad resonance across the whole Latin America," the 82-year-old former Cuban leader said.

Last Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also called on the US to withdraw its "gringo" troops from its airbase in Honduras. On Tuesday, Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the US of having links with the military coup in Honduras.

No country has formally recognised the interim government of Honduras, led by former parliamentary speaker Roberto Micheletti.

The first round of talks to resolve the political crisis in Honduras, was held in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, July 9 and July 10, and produced no results.

Zelaya and Micheletti have so far refused to hold one-on-one talks but had separate meetings with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. Another round of talks is expected Saturday.

Last updated on Jul 17^th, 2009 at 19:39 pm IST--RIA Novosti