Manuel Zelaya, the ousted President of Honduras, will never be allowed to return to his country, the leaders of last weekend’s coup said yesterday.

The interim administration that was installed after the army forced Mr Zelaya to flee in his pyjamas remained defiant despite calls from other Central American countries for him to be restored to power.

“We have established a democratic government and we will not cede to pressure from anyone. We are a sovereign country,” Roberto Micheletti, the caretaker president, said.

The interim government dug in for a fight with regional leaders after the Organisation of American States (OAS) demanded that the deposed leftist should be returned to power. It gave the leaders of the coup until tomorrow to comply.

The body’s second-in-command said that there would be no negotiations and it was seeking Mr Zelaya’s unconditional reinstatement. As the crisis deepened, the Assistant Secretary-General, Albert Ramdin, said that the OAS would send a mission to Honduras to seek a resolution.

It would not be discussing concessions because it wants Mr Zelaya back home under “safe and unconditional circumstances”, he said, on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Guyana.

Soldiers stormed the presidential palace and arrested Mr Zelaya on Sunday, after the President defied a Supreme Court ruling that a referendum on constitutional changes was illegal.

His opponents say that he wanted to overturn term limits and extend his power like leftist regional allies such as President Chávez of Venezuela — a claim Mr Zelaya denies.

The new leaders and their supporters believe that if they stand firm against international pressure they will eventually persuade the world to see their side of the story. The interim government, which insists that the exile of Mr Zelaya was not a coup but a legal process against a criminal President, plans to send a delegation to Washington next week, hoping that it can bring officials round.

Mr Zelaya, currently in Panama, says that he will return to Honduras on Saturday to resume his office — but the new government has warned that he will be arrested the moment he sets foot on Honduran soil.

It has issued arrest warrants for 18 crimes allegedly committed by Mr Zelaya, including treason, abuse of authority, drug trafficking and organised crime. “We can’t reach an agreement because there are orders to capture the ex-President Zelaya here for crimes he committed when he was an official,” Mr Micheletti said.

Times Recommends

• No apology for Germany’s own Nazi victims
• Intricate web of fear and hope tying down deal
• Victims remembered a year after Mumbai attacks