WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The United States said it has cut off all non-humanitarian aid to Honduras to try to pressure the de facto government into reinstating the ousted president.
The announcement came after the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington and urged stronger sanctions against the Honduran government.
"Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras," the State Department said Thursday.
The U.S. move will cut off $22 million in aid to Honduras, The New York Times reported, and puts at risk as much as $200 million more in grant funds.
Zelaya said earlier Thursday he was plotting to retake the presidency after seeing little progress in U.S.-backed negotiations.
"When diplomatic action runs out, when the United States indicates it can't do any more, I am not going to simply sit around with my arms crossed," Zelaya told The Washington Post.
He said he was developing "fighting strategies" to return to Honduras if the negotiations fail and would "seek actions on my return that kick the coup plotters out of power."
Zelaya was pushed out in a June 28 military coup, which Western hemisphere countries, including the United States, denounced as a violation of democratic order. The de facto Honduran government has rebuffed international pressure, refusing a negotiated solution that would allow Zelaya to finish his term with fewer powers.
De facto President Roberto Micheletti calls Zelaya's removal a constitutional transfer of power.
