CARACAS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on Sunday made an open call on the United States to push for the downfall of coup leaders in Honduras.

    In his regular Sunday broadcast "Alo Presidente," Chavez said he had spoken to Thomas Shannon, the deputy U.S. secretary of state for Latin America, on the phone and told Shannon that U.S. President Barack Obama should see the reality of what is happening in Honduras.

    "If the U.S. really does not back the coup it should withdraw its troops from the Palmerola military base," Chavez said. Palmerola is a joint Honduras-U.S. military base some 80 km from Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa.

    The United States canceled around 16.5 million dollars of military aid promised for Honduras after the June 28 coup, but has left millions more in other types of aid untouched. Chavez urged the United States to show that it is willing to halt all aid, freeze coup leaders' bank accounts overseas and cancel their visas, in order to bring down the post-coup government.

    Chavez said that his government would not recognize any government that arose from the coup, even one that arises from elections organized by the post-coup government. Roberto Micheletti, the former legislature leader who took power after the coup, has repeatedly said that scheduled elections will go ahead in November, and that he will hand over to a new president in January.

    Chavez also said that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who was forced into exile on June 28, would quickly return to Honduras in a surprising way.

    "Zelaya is ready to turn up anywhere, now the post-coup government has to see if it will kill him. Zelaya is ready to die," he said.

    Chavez also said that Honduras' working class will soon bring down the post-coup government.

    "The peasants have put down their tools so they can blockade highways. Trade, banks and factories are closed. There is nearly no fuel. This is a nation that is ready to explode," Chavez said. He predicted that Honduras' military would not last much longer after two weeks without a break, and that it was desperately and fruitlessly trying to recruit children and adolescents and to call up reservists.