Managua - The presidents of Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela and Nicaragua recalled their ambassadors from Honduras Monday to protest the weekend coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

Meeting in Managua for a summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of the Americas (ALBA), of which Honduras is also a member, the five countries called upon their Latin American neighbours to take concrete action to get Zelaya restored to the Honduran presidency.

Zelaya was at the summit, as were Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas travelled to Managua with Calderon. She was considered missing for a few hours Sunday after being arrested by the Honduran military. She was eventually welcomed by Mexico after being expelled from Honduras.

"A criminal situation has taken hold of Honduras, which we cannot afford to legitimize," Rodas said.

Earlier, centre-right Costa Rican President Oscar Arias - awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 - advocated the disappearance of all armies in the region. Costa Rica has no army.

"The acts of violence and the coup d'etat in Honduras only show that that is what armies are for in Latin America: to perpetrate coups d'etat," he said.(dpa)