Congratulations to Honduran President- lect Porfirio Lobo, the landslide winner of this week’s election.

And congratulations to Honduras’ democracy for fending off — for now, at least — a power grab by Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and his puppet, deposed President Manuel Zelaya.

Zelaya was forced out in June after illegally trying to engineer, Chavez-style, a sham referendum to extend his tenure.

Though the impeachment was in line with the country’s Constitution, it was immediately denounced as a “coup” by Chavez and his allies — joined, shamefully, by President Obama.

For a time, it seemed as though Obama had internalized the logic of Chavez’ socialist Bolivarian Revolution: that “democracy” in Latin America meant the unchecked ambition of a charismatic leader, rather than the the rule of law.

Fortunately, Honduras’ interim government held firm, and the White House brokered a deal for new elections — which Zelaya, unable to steal a victory, promptly boycotted.

The State Department has now recognized Lobo’s win.

That’s good — but not good enough.

Honduras still faces enormous pressure from Chavez’s cronies to reinstate Zelaya, including through trade sanctions.

If the United States can’t stand up for a besieged democracy in its own back yard, what’s left of its credibility in the region could evaporate.

And deservedly so.