OAS to Vote on Readmission of Honduras

The Organization of American States says it will convene a special General Assembly June 1 to decide on whether to readmit Honduras.

Honduras was suspended from the regional body following the June 28, 2009 coup that ousted then-President Manuel Zelaya. But the OAS announcement Tuesday comes just days after Zelaya and current Honduran President Porfirio Lobo reached a deal for Zelaya's safe return to the Central American country.

The deal was signed in Cartagena, Colombia and was brokered by Presidents Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

Critics say Zelaya was deposed for trying to illegally change his country's constitution to extend his term in office. He was flown out the country after he was ousted and replaced on an interim basis by Roberto Micheletti.

In September of that year, Zelaya made a surprise return to Honduras and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa under the threat of arrest. He flew to exile in the Dominican Republic on January 27, 2010, the day President Lobo took power.

Lobo was elected in November 2009 in a vote the United States said was free and fair.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.