US calls accusations it was behind Honduras coup ‘absurd’

US slams accusations it was behind Honduras coup

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The U.S. Ambassador to Honduras says accusations by former President Manuel Zelaya that the United States was behind the coup that ousted him are “absurd.”

Ambassador Hugo Llorens says the United States had nothing to do with the coup on June 28, 2009, when the Honduran army hustled Zelaya out of the country for allegedly violating the constitution.

An embassy statement Tuesday said the United States “had no prior knowledge or participation.”

Zelaya made the accusations Monday in a letter on the coup’s anniversary. He now lives in the Dominican Republic.

The United States refused to recognize the interim government that replaced Zelaya. Honduras is now governed by a president elected in previously scheduled elections.