Latin America is facing a regional crisis on a level not seen since the early 1990s. On June 26, President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras was abducted from the executive mansion in Tegucigalpa by Honduran military personnel and forcibly exiled to Costa Rica. The Honduran Congress supported the coup d’état, in reaction to a proposal made by Zelaya to amend the country’s constitution to extend presidential term limits. Fear that Zelaya’s referendum would pass in the November elections led congressional leaders to conspire with army generals.

Believing that they were acting to protect Honduran democracy, legislators have provoked a political crisis that isolates their country and implicates the United States. Many regional reactions to the coup immediately led to the conclusion that the United States was involved, based on the legacy of a century of U.S.-backed military interventions.

However, President Barack Obama and the U.S. State Department immediately condemned this coup. The New York Times reported that Secretary Hillary Clinton had even met with Zelaya in early June to communicate American concern over these increasing tensions with the Honduran Congress. Despite these assurances to the rest of the region, trust of American diplomacy has a long way to go before it will be widely respected in Latin America.

That mistrust is not unjustified: As recently as 2002, the Bush administration tacitly backed a failed coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The United States’ credibility was damaged at a time when American forces were battling to introduce democracy in Afghanistan. And although Chavez proved a virulent antagonist of former President Bush and continues to tout himself as the representative of Latin American resistance to the U.S. government, he was elected by a democratic process.

Our current administration did make some progress at the April summit meeting of the Organization of American States with a low-level diplomatic détente with Cuba. Now, the crisis in Honduras is another opportunity for the United States to reaffirm its commitment to democracy and freedom of speech. While Zelaya did in part bring the coup upon himself by provoking the Honduran Congress, the Supreme Court and the military, he was democratically elected. The United States and its pan-American allies oppose the coup and challenge the legitimacy of the Congress’ actions. However, it is important that they stress through their words and actions that they are reacting to a flagrant violation of Honduran democracy and not appear to be in support of the self-aggrandizing ambitions of Zelaya.

Several Latin American states, including Venezuela, have refused to recognize the new Honduran government, ordering their ambassadors to leave Tegucigalpa. Other regional neighbors are protesting by temporarily shutting down border trade. How Obama chooses to act remains to be seen, but his options are limited. As of right now, there is little chance of Zelaya being restored to power in Honduras.

The new government, despite its lack of international credibility, has vowed to press ahead and hold elections in November. If its leaders have truly acted in the name of preserving Honduran democracy and honor this vow, the country may recover from this crisis. The only thing the United States can do is to continue to express solidarity with Latin American nations in their shared outrage.

The Obama administration should, however, avoid diplomatic mud-slinging and remember that it is protesting in the name of the Honduran people and not nationalist honor. Honduras has undergone a violation of democratic principals, but barring some direct intervention, there is little the international community can actually do. The United States, and the rest of North America, must simultaneously be realistic, accept the regime change, and hold the new Honduran government to its commitment to democracy.

Reach cartoonist Conrad Zeutenhorst at opinion@dailyuw.com.