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Honduran minister who insulted Obama quits

TEGUCIGALPA
Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:09pm EDT

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Honduran minister who called U.S. President Barack Obama "that little black guy" quit the country's post-coup interim government on Tuesday, citing U.S. Embassy "pressures."

World  |  Barack Obama

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman denied the United States was exerting any pressure, saying the embassy had no contact with a government it did not recognize.

Enrique Ortez's resignation comes just days after he was moved from the post of foreign minister to minister of government and justice in the wake of his comment about Obama. The interim government had previously apologized to the United States.

A government spokesman said interim President Roberto Micheletti had accepted the resignation.

Ortez handed out a written statement to journalists that cited "direct and indirect pressures from the United States embassy on our people and government."

Obama has called the coup illegal and his administration has demanded the reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, canceled $16.5 million in military aid to Honduras and threatened to cut off $180 million more in civilian aid.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia and Daniel Trotta; Writing by Simon Gardner, Editing by Anthony Boadle)
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Barack Obama


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