Washington - The fractured Honduran embassy in Washington is rife with tension at a time when the focus of the conflict turns to the US capital, where an ousted president and a delegation sent by an interim government clash for support. The atmosphere in the divided embassy is a small reflection of the complex political situation in the Central American country that is facing its worst crisis in decades. Traditional diplomacy aside, suspicious looks abound and doors are closed very carefully, to make sure that no one can hear whispered conversations.
People who were colleagues until a week ago are now sharply divided into two groups: Those who support ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and those who did not hesitate to switch their allegiance to the post-coup government led by former Congress speaker Roberto Micheletti.
There are now two Honduran diplomatic representatives in Washington - Ambassador Roberto Flores, who has recognized Micheletti's government even though the US does not, and charge d'affaires Rodolfo Pastor, who was designated last week by Zelaya's exiled government as their spokesman. US authorities have not acknowledged Pastor.
It is a similar situation in other Honduran diplomatic missions in the United States, from United Nations headquarters in New York to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington.
The Honduran ambassador to the OAS, Carlos Sosa, who is loyal to Zelaya, found himself embroiled in a curious paradox on Sunday when the OAS decided to suspend Honduras until Zelaya was reinstated - a move Sosa celebrated, but also one that cost him his job.
From Tuesday both sides would have to coexist in Washington. While there are no publicly acknowledged plans for the warring factions to meet, both are set to seek alliances and figure a way out of the crisis.
Zelaya was meeting Clinton as well as attending meetings at the OAS, while a nine-member delegation representing the interim government was to put forward its version of events in Honduras before whoever was willing to listen.
While the delegation claimed to be a "multi-party" and "multi- sector" one, a Honduran diplomatic official in Washington told the German Press Agency dpa, that the group was widely regarded as envoys of Micheletti.
Ambassador Flores travelled to Tegucigalpa a day after the June 28 coup, heeding a call from the de facto government.
The trip was the result of "a personal decision to obey an authority that others do not recognize," a Honduran embassy official loyal to Zelaya told dpa.
Flores told broadcaster CNN in an interview over the weekend that once he returned to Washington h
