Defying Obama, Republican Senator Making Honduras Trip
"No U.S. Senator has yet been to Honduras to assess facts of crisis. @JohnKerry & Obama admin using bullying tactics to hide truth," DeMint wrote on his Twitter.
The meeting goes against the administration's policy of isolating Micheletti's government, which seized control from elected president Manuel Zelaya on June 28th.
Zelaya was awakened in his night clothes and deported to Nicaragua by the military in June. He has since sneaked back to Honduras and has been holed up in the Brazilian consulate since Sept. 21.
To break the deadlock, Micheletti's government promised new elections on Nov. 21. But the international community has vowed to boycott the elections unless Zelaya is reinstated as president. The Obama administration added pressure on Honduras by suspending aid and canceling the U.S. visas of Honduran government officials.
When Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair John Kerry, D.-Mass, attempted to block DeMint's "fact-finding mission," the South Carolina senator called on the Senate minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for support, the Washington Post reports.
McConnell appealed to the Defense Department to provide an aircraft for DeMint's trip and the Pentagon agreed to do so, according to DeMint's office.
DeMint is among a number of conservative Republican lawmakers who has expressed opposition to Zelaya, citing his ties to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and offered support for Micheletti.
Kerry's office said that the Massachusetts Democrat tried to stop DeMint's trip because the South Carolina Republican is blocking two of President Obama's nominations: Auturo Valenzuela, nominated for assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Tom Shannon, the current assistant secretary and nominee to be ambassador to Brazil, The Hill reports.
The freshman Republican announced that he would lead a congressional delegation to Honduras on Friday, ahead of the country's Nov. 29 elections. He will be joined by three Republican House members -- Aaron Schock and Peter Roskam of Illinois and Doug Lamborn of Colorado.
As the Foreign Relations Committee chair, Kerry can withhold committee funds for travel and deny permission for the use of military aircraft.
Under current Honduran law, neither Micheletti nor Zelaya are eligible to run. The State Department said that it will not recognize the election.