ZELAYA ANGLES FOR MEETING WITH POTUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 002339 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARAGRAPH MARKINGS 2,3,4) SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE, PASS TO HONDURAN TASK FORCE, WHA/PD, WHA/CEN, AND OPS. E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2029 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MX XK SUBJECT: ZELAYA ANGLES FOR MEETING WITH POTUS REF: REFTEL: MEXICO 2309 Classified By: Confidential by Political Minister Counselor Charles Bar clay. Reason: 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Rodolfo Pastor, the Honduran Minister of Culture under President Zelaya, told Poloff August 6 that Mexican President Calderon agreed to pass a letter from Zelaya to President Obama at the upcomining Guadalajara Summit. The communique requests a state visit in Washinton with POTUS. It may also press for increased U.S. sanctions on Micheletti, as Zelaya called for before the Mexican Congress and an August 5 press conference. ¶2. (C) At the press conference, Zelaya referred to the current U.S. reaction to the Honduran coup as "timid" and stressed that the U.S. must levy sanctions to end the Hundran crisis. When Polff asked Pastor for details on what additional sanctions Zelaya sought, he noted that the Honduran Embassy in DC passed a list of requests by the Zelaya government to WHA/CEN August 4. ¶3. (C) Following Zelaya's trip to Brazil (Reftel),Pastor said he intends to visit Argentina and Ecuador. Pastor suggested that the dates of those trips were dependent on scheduling a U.S. visit. Pastor stressed that Zelaya is pinning his hopes on a meeting with POTUS, rather than less senior USG officials. ¶4. (C) Comment: Though Minister Pastor spoke passionately about the next steps the U.S. and international community must take to reinstate to reinstate President Zelaya, it was apparent he didn't think the odds were good. He had come into the Embassy to apply for a J1 visa in order to teach Latin American history at Harvard for six months, giving up his high-level post in Zelaya's cabinet. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / FEELEY