After Honduras coup outburst, Chavez works in wings

By Frank Jack Daniel

CARACAS (Reuters) - When the army ousted Honduras' president, his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez at first let loose with typical ire by blaming Washington and threatening military action.

But then he went uncharacteristically quiet.

Soldiers whisked President Manuel Zelaya from his home on June 28 then flew him out of the country. The coup was a blow for the Venezuelan president's alliance of leftist Latin American countries, which recently welcomed coffee and textile exporter Honduras into its trade club, Alba.

Chavez's first reaction was aggressive. He put his armed forces on alert and vowed to topple the government that the Honduran Congress installed hours after the coup.

"The bourgeoisie and the empire are attacking Alba on its weakest flank," Chavez told Venezuelan soldiers at a parade last week. "We know they are preparing new offensives in Central America, the Caribbean and South America so we must be ready 24 hours a day,"

But recognizing he could inflame tensions by taking too public a role, the Venezuelan leader has since largely stayed out of the limelight, while keeping busy in the wings.

He was noticeably absent when his friends President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina and Ecuador's Rafael Correa flew back and forth between Washington and Central America to back Zelaya.

"Avoiding being the protagonist and not being there in the center of events has suited him politically" said Latin America expert Edgardo Lander of Venezuela's Central University.

If Chavez calculated his lower-key approach gave the ousted Honduran a better chance of being reinstated, it also made it easier for the United States to broker talks that start on Thursday in Costa Rica between Zelaya and the coup leaders.

STAYING BACK

It is the second time in a month Chavez has stepped back and let others head the public diplomacy, in a sign he knows his controversial style can obstruct foreign policy goals.

When the Alba group helped push the Organization of American States to end a 47-year suspension of Cuba last month, the Venezuelan leader also let allies such as Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega lead negotiations.

Popular with the poor after 10 years in office, Chavez is loathed by many middle class and wealthy Latin Americans.

Honduras' interim government, which says it deposed Zelaya because of what it views as his illegal attempts to lift presidential term limits, is hostile about ties with Venezuela. Zelaya critics say the term limits move was influenced by Chavez.

While not in the spotlight, Chavez has been busy. His foreign minister and top aides spent most of last week in Central America and he was in regular phone contact with leftist elders Fidel Castro of Cuba and Ortega.