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Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president of Honduras, addresses the U.N. General Assembly, 30 Jun 2009

The United Nations General Assembly and the Organization of American States have condemned the military coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya last weekend. Troops rousted Mr. Zelaya last Sunday morning and sent him into exile. The military acted at the direction of Honduras' Supreme Court, which had ruled the The Honduran Congress chose an interim government that is promising to hold new elections in November. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to invade Honduras to put Mr. Zelaya back in power. And, meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the White House, US President Barack Obama denounced the takeover.

Roberto Micheletti, appointed interim president of Honduras, insisted that the takeover was legal and that outside pressure was unwarranted.

What do the events in Honduras tell us about the politics of Latin America? And what role should the United States take in this crisis, and in the region as a whole? We'll get answers to these and other questions in this edition of ON THE LINE.

Guests:

Kevin Casas-Zamora: Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Christopher Sabatini: Editor-in-Chief, "Americas Quarterly"