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Last week marked another downtown in prospects for peace in Honduras. The Honduran Congress failed to re-install President Zelaya and supporters of the coup formed a "national unity" government that included representatives of various political parties but no supporters of the president. Zelaya, still holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, denounced this turn of events as news of systematic violence against women by coup supporters surfaced thanks to human rights activists.

Having pushed for a compromise that implied a place for Zelaya, the resolve of the U.S. government also seemed to collapse as officials hinted that the United States would accept the outcome of a late November Honduran election, even though supporters and allies of the president will be excluded. The coup-installed government reportedly threatened the future of the U.S. military base in Honduras. No sign that Honduras' elected president and that democracy in Central America has any particular forceful advocates in the the U.S. Congress.

-- Perry