The United States has no doubt that Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office illegally, President Barack Obama told media on Monday at the end of two days of meeting in the western Mexico city Guadalajara.

"Zelaya was from office illegally," the U.S. president said. He also said that some critics of the U.S. reticence to intervene were acting hypocritically.

At the same press conference, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon said that Mexico would continue to push for the return of Zelaya, who visited Mexico last week, and who called U.S. pressure on the post-coup government "lukewarm."

"It is not about Zelaya per se," Calderon said. "It is about defending the rights of Honduras' people."

He also said that the Organization of American States should lead efforts to bring an end to the crisis in Honduras, which began with soldiers kidnapping and exiling Zelaya on June 28.

Calderon restated Mexico's backing for the proposal published in July by Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias, seeking to end the crisis by returning Zelaya to office with limited powers and an amnesty for those that carried out the coup.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that he too supported the "rule of law and democratic government in Honduras."

Honduras' post-coup government, led by former legislature leader Roberto Micheletti, has not been recognized by any nation or international body. Micheletti has repeatedly said that Zelaya can only return to stand trial for treason.

Source: Xinhua