Brazil Diplomacy in the Spotlight After Honduran Crisis

Brazilian Presidentwas 40,000 feet in the air on Sept. 21, en route to the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, when he got the news. Exiled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, after sneaking back into his Central American country, had shown up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa seeking refuge. Lula, like every other world leader, has called for Zelaya's restoration ever since the Honduran was ousted by a military coup on June 28, so he had little choice but to let him into the embassy. But when Lula arrived in Manhattan, according to numerous sources, his irritation was plain. "He was taken by surprise and put in an uncomfortable position," says one Brazilian source. "Brazil was on the spot, in the center of the Honduran crisis. It's not what we wanted."