Development:  On 2 May the Honduran court of appeals voted 2-1 to annul criminal charges (for corruption) against the ousted former president Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009).

Significance:  The secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, yesterday said that the ruling had cleared up Zelaya's "juridical situation", adding that Honduras has now met "the principal requirement" for the OAS to lift its nigh on two-year suspension of the country. The Honduran government hopes to return to the OAS fold in June, at the San Salvador general assembly meeting. Zelaya, who has spent the past year seeking to make political hay in Honduras and beyond out of his legal limbo, will now have to decide carefully his next move, having long refused to return home citing fears of persecution. It's unclear if his former ally, Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, who latterly joined Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos in seeking a solution for Zelaya and Honduras, would be inclined to throw in his lot with the newly radicalised Honduran Left now overseen by Zelaya.

Key points:

• Political and criminal charges against Zelaya were issued by the public ministry and the supreme court in July 2009, after the 28 June coup d'état. Congress threw out the political charges over a year ago. The remaining criminal ones were for fraud and falsification of public documents and embezzlement of L$57m (US$2.95m) from the presidency and the Honduran Fund for Social Investment (FHIS). The defence argued that Zelaya was unable to defend himself when the charges were issued, given that he was facing persecution by the interim government that succeeded his administration. The public appointed attorneys for Zelaya argued his right to due process was violated. On 25 March, a supreme court judge had dismissed three outstanding arrest warrants against Zelaya relating to the charges. The public ministry could appeal the ruling, but it's unlikely.

• Zelaya has been living in the Dominican Republic since 27 January 2010.