Western Hemisphere
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez considers that the talks in Costa Rica to find a solution to the crisis in Honduras are "dead."

"It was horrible to look at a legitimate president welcoming a usurper," Chávez said, referring to the moment when Óscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, and acting as a mediator in the conflict met with interim President Roberto Micheletti in his country.

Chávez said that he has been informed by "people very close to what is happening" that the President of Costa Rica spoke in private during half an hour with Manuel Zelaya, the only and legitimate president of Honduras, whereas he talked several hours with the "usurper."

He described as a "very serious mistake" for democracy the fact that the US Administration has proposed a dialogue between the two parties. How can they talk with a group of usurpers?" he wondered.

"I think that the US Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton) got up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe she was affected by that. The United States still has time to rectify," he said.