The left-leaning bishop Fernando Lugo was elected in 2008 as President of Paraguay. With his election, 61 years of rule by the conservative Colorado Party ended. Similar to what has happened in several other Latin American countries in recent years, the new government set up social programs and longstanding relations with the United States were slowly replaced by alliances with neighboring countries.

(IPS) - A rise in drug trafficking in Honduras has resulted in a sharp increase in violence, leading some to question the United States’ influence in the country.

Honduras, along with several other Central American countries, has become a transshipment point for U.S.-bound illegal drugs, predominantly cocaine. This has led to wide-scale drug intervention efforts, which has subsequently led to an increasingly bloody effort to stymie the trafficking.

On the eve of Honduras' "free and fair" elections, a handful of men and women from the community of Guadalupe Carney, Honduras, held a silent vigil. Earlier that day, someone in a neighboring community had received a call from a family member in the army: troops were surrounding Guadalupe Carney on all sides, in preparation for an "arms raid." A call was put in to Guadalupe Carney's local radio station, and word spread quickly through the community grapevine. In a small, bare, concrete room lit by a single candle, these residents waited in fear into the next morning - Election Day.

Apparently, the US strategy from the beginning, was to play along with the coup plotters' strategy in a case of running with the "we are against the coup" hare and hunting with the "don't let Honduras turn left" hound.. Elections were indeed held -its dubiousness is evident in the way it was conducted, with pro-Zelaya candidates left out, antagonist media blackened out, and financial incentives offered to those who participated in the voting...

Honduras' post-coup rulers invited ousted President Manuel Zelaya to fresh talks after a high-level U.S. delegation pressured both sides on Wednesday to resume negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Honduran soldiers have blasted recordings of pig grunts and other sound effects at the embassy in which the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, is holed up.

For the last week and a half, negotiations between President Manuel Zelaya and the coup government have dominated the news in Honduras. Last week, it appeared that a negotiated solution might emerge. However, Zelaya's "absolute deadline" of midnight October 15 came and went and absolutely nothing changed. The "negotiations" have the entire country suspended in a sort of time warp. Everyone waits for an outcome from the talks, which never emerges.

Coup Leaders offer Dialogue -- Cartoon by Carlos Latuff

The talks brokered by the Organisation of American states (OAS) delegation in Honduras has become deadlocked over the key issue – the restitution of the Zealya Presidency. This is the central to the San Hose Accords and the consensus within OAS and indeed the international community. Roberto Micheletti and the coup leaders around him have till now refused to accept this....

Coup leaders in Honduras have tightened a media clampdown on support for the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.

A law unveiled last week enabled the interim government to shut radio and TV stations which incited "social anarchy" or "national hatred"

Talks began Wednesday between delegates of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti, under international observation, to seek a solution to the crisis triggered by the Jun. 28 coup.