A Republican senator has criticized US President Barack Obama for supporting his Honduran counterpart Manuel Zelaya after the military ousted him in a coup.

In a statement on his website, Sen. Jim DeMint from South Carolina resembled the Honduran leader's move to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Zelaya had decided to hold a referendum to change the constitution to allow presidents to serve more than a single four-year term despite oppositions from Congress and the military.

"The people of Honduras have struggled too long to have their hard-won democracy stolen from them by a Chavez-style dictator," said DeMint on Thursday. "The Honduran Congress, the Honduran Supreme Court, and the Honduran military have acted in accordance to the Honduran constitution and the rule of law."

On Sunday, Zelaya was ousted and immediately exiled to Costa Rica by the military. Congress installed Speaker Roberto Micheletti as caretaker president shortly after the coup.

President Obama condemned the military coup that was confirmed by a resolution adopted on Tuesday by the United Nations General Assembly.

"We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the democratically elected president there," Obama said.

Senator DeMint, however, said the president's stance was "a slap in the face of the people of Honduras."

"The rule of law is working in Honduras. President Obama should not undermine the democratic institutions that guarantee freedom by forcing an illegitimate President back into power," DeMint concluded.

AGB/MD