Five days after ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from power and sent to Costa Rica in his pajamas, leaders of the coup vowed that he would never return to power, despite an ultimatum by the Organization of American States (OAS).

The OAS threatened Honduras with suspension if Zelaya was not restored to power in 72 hours.

But interim President Roberto Micheletti said that Zelaya, a leftist who tried to change the Honduran constitution to allow him to run for a second term, would never return to power.

Many in the expat community in Honduras hope that’s the case.

“We’re breathing a collective sigh of relief that Zelaya is gone,” said Janine Goben, an expat who lives and works on the Honduran island of Roatan. “Now we’re more confident that Honduras won’t become “Venezuela West”.

Goben said that Zelaya’s ouster and the subsequent posturing of the OAS and Latin America’s leftist regimes haven’t had much impact on daily life.

“It’s almost impossible to tell there is a political struggle going on in Honduras,” Goben said. “Life on Roatan is exaclty the same as it has been all year – paradise!”