Ousted Honduran leader departs on flight for home

By Patrick Markey

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya departed on a flight for his country on Sunday, but the interim government that has defied international pressure over last week's coup said it would not let his plane land.

The aviation authority in Honduras, which has been slapped with suspension from the Organization of American States over its refusal to reinstate Zelaya, said Zelaya's plane had been directed to go to El Salvador.

Zelaya had left Washington shortly before on a chartered plane, accompanied by U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto, according to Venezuela's foreign minister and Caracas-based Telesur regional television, which showed images of the ousted president boarding an aircraft.

"I am sure that in the next few hours we will be telling you about our arrival in this plane in the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa," Zelaya said.

Zelaya, a leftist who had been due to leave power in 2010, was bundled out of office at gunpoint by troops and flown into exile in Costa Rica a week ago in a coup that has been widely condemned abroad.

In Honduras, Enrique Ortez, foreign minister of the caretaker government installed hours after the coup, said before Zelaya left Washington that any aircraft carrying him would not be allowed to land. The interim government has already said Zelaya will be arrested if he enters Honduras.

"I have given orders that he not be allowed back. We cannot allow recklessness," Ortez told local radio.

In Tegucigalpa, thousands of Zelaya supporters, some carrying sticks, rallied to back his return. Troops and police tightened security and around the main airport.