Three months after the coup that toppled him and after much international debate about his ouster, leftist President Manuel Zelaya returned to Honduras on Monday. He went back to the country with his wife and aides, and is now sheltered and giving media interviews in the Brazilian embassy ‘to avoid arrest.’

The coup that ousted Zelaya turned out to be a huge political crisis in Honduras. US President Barack Obama, the European Union, and Latin American countries have all demanded his reinstatement to power.

The Honduran opposition group that carried out the coup, however, is steadfast in their resolve that Zelaya is guilty of manipulating the laws of the land to extend his presidential tenure. The current de facto government, installed after the coup, has defied all international pressure to let Zelaya return, and warns that the ousted leader will be arrested should he attempt to go back to the country.

“I am here in Tegucigalpa. I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue,”” Zelaya declares in a televised interview.

The Organization of American States (OAS) issued a statement that Honduras’ de facto leaders ‘should be responsible for the safety of President Zelaya and the Brazilian Embassy.’

Zelaya’s staunchest ally and backer is Venezuelan leftist president Hugo Chavez.

Via Reuters