Honduras: U.S. apathy made Chavez appealing

Zelaya said rising food prices began hitting Hondurans hard six months ago and he asked the local business sector, the United States and the World Bank for help.

But he said his pleas fell on deaf ears and so he “sought out Chavez.”

“Allies, friends, did not help me when I asked for help,” Zelaya said in a news release Friday. He first made the comments at a meeting with business leaders on Thursday, according to the statement.

Chavez — whose oil-rich nation has benefited from high world prices — offered US$300 million a year for agricultural investment in Honduras, where about 70 percent of the population lives in poverty, Zelaya said, without providing more details.

Zelaya has become increasingly outspoken about his support of Latin America’s leftist leaders since August, when Honduras joined a Venezuela-led trade bloc known as ALBA.

But late Friday, the Honduran president took a softer tone after meeting with new U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens, describing the United States as “an allied country and friend.”

“And without a doubt, economic and social relations with the United States are stronger today,” Zelaya added.

Zelaya accredited Llorens on Friday after an eight-day delay to show solidarity with Bolivia’s accusation that the top U.S. diplomat there incited protests by the opposition.

Llorens said relations between the U.S. and Honduras “could not be better.” He previously had said there are plans for a meeting between Zelaya and President George W. Bush next week in New York.

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