Organization of American States

The OAS met into the early hours of Sunday in Washington and took the rare step to suspend one of its members after the interim authorities ignored an ultimatum by the 34-member body to reinstate Zelaya. It was the strongest move yet by foreign governments to isolate the caretaker government.

In Central America's first coup since the Cold War era Zelaya, a leftist who took power in 2006 and had been due to leave office in 2010, was ousted by troops and sent into exile a week ago after a dispute over presidential term limits.

Honduras, a coffee and textile exporter with a population of around 7 million, is the third poorest country in the hemisphere after Haiti and Nicaragua. The OAS slap could hamper its ability to obtain loans.