MEXICO CITY — The ousted Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, was expected to leave Honduras late Wednesday night for exile in Mexico, the Honduran media reported. But Mr. Zelaya declined to confirm the , saying that he had not departed.
As the news about Mr. Zelaya’s possible departure spread, along with considerable confusion, his supporters gathered outside the police barricades erected in the streets surrounding the Brazilian Embassy, where he has been a virtual prisoner since September.
In a rambling telephone interview with Radio Globo Honduras, Mr. Zelaya would not comment on whether he planned to leave the embassy. He said only that he had been in contact with other Latin American presidents in an effort to arrange a dialogue and that the talks could take place inside or outside Honduras.
The interview ended with him strumming his guitar.
The de facto government, which took over after a coup in late June, had promised to arrest Mr. Zelaya if he left the embassy. He has been holed up there since he stole back into the country in September.
Since then, Mr. Zelaya and his supporters have tried to mount broad
Softgels protests to press for his return to office. The de facto government has responded by banning protests and sporadically shutting down media outlets that are sympathetic to Mr. Zelaya.
He entered the Brazilian Embassy with several dozen and family members. Many of them left as the weeks passed. He has spent the past week accompanied by his wife, one political adviser, a couple of journalists and a dozen security and secretarial staff members.
The de facto government pushed ahead with a presidential election on Nov. 29, which had been scheduled long before the coup, arguing that the vote was a chance to start anew. Most Latin American countries warned that the results would not be recognized if Mr. Zelaya was not restored to office beforehand.
Negotiations between Mr. Zelaya and the de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, faltered over the months, but on Oct. 30 both men signed an agreement to accept a congressional vote on Mr. Zelaya’s return to power to serve out the final weeks of his term.
When Congress decided to vote only after the presidential election, Mr. Zelaya pulled out of the agreement. Last week, Congress voted overwhelmingly against his return.
Porfirio Lobo, a veteran conservative politician, won the election by a large margin. Mr. Zelaya had called on supporters to boycott the vote to protest his ouster, but estimates of turnout from independent groups suggest that while it was below 50 percent, that was in line with voting patterns in the past.
Mr. Zelaya’s term expires Jan. 27, when Mr. Lobo will take office. As late as this week, United States were still saying that he should be restored to serve out the final weeks.
Only the United States and four Latin American countries
Softgels have said they will recognize Mr. Lobo’s election.
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