Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya in San Jose, Costa Rica, 28 Jun 2009Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has arrived in Nicaragua, following his removal from office Sunday by Honduran soldiers.

The military detained Mr. Zelaya and sent him to Costa Rica in the early-morning hours Sunday -- the day he set for a referendum on changing the constitution to allow him to run for another term.

Mr. Zelaya arrived in Nicaragua from Costa Rica late Sunday for a scheduled meeting of Latin American presidents Monday.

The man Honduran lawmakers have appointed as acting president after the ouster of Mr. Zelaya says his rise to the office was a legal transition process.

Roberto Micheletti, head of the Honduran Congress, said after his swearing-in that Mr. Zelaya's removal from office was not a coup.  Mr. Micheletti has imposed a national nighttime curfew to run through Tuesday.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. officials have spoken out against Mr. Zelaya's removal.  The United States has said it will recognize no other government in Honduras.  The French News Agency reports that the U.N. General Assembly will hold an emergency session Monday to discuss the issue.

Mr. Zelaya says he is a "victim of kidnapping" and will not recognize any government replacement.  He pledged to serve out his term as president.

The Honduran Supreme Court says it ordered the army to arrest President Zelaya because of his attempt to hold a vote on the referendum, which the court ruled as illegal.  

Shortly after his arrest, protesters calling the action a coup flocked to the presidential palace.  Honduran troops surrounded the palace and blocked the entrances.  

President Zelaya was holding the referendum in defiance of the Honduran Supreme Court.  The Honduran military had refused to help organize the balloting.  The president fired the armed forces chief of staff, General Romeo Vasquez, last week for failing to support him.

President Zelaya was elected in 2006 to a four-year term.  The 1982 constitution bans re-election.

The Honduran president has the support of leftist Latin American leaders, including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.