Events In Honduras

[Magda Hassan]

Honduras Coup Chooses Path of Rogue Narco-State

Posted by Al Giordano - July 4, 2009 at 9:57 am By Al Giordano

This photo of Honduran coup “president” Roberto Micheletti rallying his supporters, above, from yesterday’s New York Times includes a creative act of protest against it. In the lower left hand corner of the photo, there are two placards in the crowd that are not in Spanish, but in German: "Ein Reich, Ein Volk, Ein Stimme" and "Arbeit Macht Uns Frei".
Field Hand DK points out in the comments section: “The first was a prominent Nazi slogan (one Reich, one people, one voice); the second (work makes us free) was inscribed at the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp.”
(Note: Not being a German-speaker, I can't confirm the commenter's translation, but another Field Hand, Lucidamente, now offers an alternative translation in the comments section that is similar but not an exact match with this one.)
Which only goes to prove that employers can force their workers to attend a pro-coup rally but they can’t control what signs they hold.
Now, on to today’s significant news out of Honduras:
Last night, around 10 p.m. Tegucigalpa time, CNN Español interrupted its sports news programming for a live press conference announcement ("no questions, please") by coup “president” Micheletti.
There, he announced that his coup “government” of Honduras is withdrawing from the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Friday night press conference was meant to preempt this morning’s OAS meeting in Washington (at which various heads of state, including Presidents Cristina Kirchner of Argentina and Rafael Correa of Ecuador deemed important enough to attend) where the OAS will surely expel the Honduras coup regime for its flagrant violations of said Democratic Charter. Thus, the late Friday night press conference to say “You can’t fire us! We quit!”
The Honduras coup’s behavior virtually assures that come Monday, the US government will define it as a “military coup,” triggering a cut off of US aid, joining the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, PetroCaribe, the UN and the rest of the world in withdrawing economic support for the coup regime. (The US had already put all funds on "pause" this week, so the boycott has already begun and merely awaits formal moves to become permanent.)
This is very significant because of Honduras’ annual $3.5 billion budget, $2.3 billion – 65 percent - comes from those foreign sources.
This seemingly suicidal maneuver by the coup government can be partially explained by what I described yesterday as the “shared hallucinatio n” of those in the Honduras oligarchy’s ten owning families and those elites in their orbit.
But something else is at work: Greedy people don’t just cast away 65 percent of their national budget unless they believe they can get it from other sources.
One of the big backers of the coup d’etat has been an international terrorist network of ex-Cubans, who have financed the dirty work of jet plane bomber Luis Posada Carriles over the years and have set up business interests in Honduras. These forces are desperate now that Washington is making the moves to ease and end the embargo of Cuba. Investigative journalist Guy Jean-Allard reports, via TeleSur, that Ralph Nodarse – ex-Cuban owner of Channel 6 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras – and arms-and-drug trafficker Rafael Hernández Nodarse are knee deep behind he coup-plotters in Honduras. The latter aided and abetted Posada Carriles to hide out in Panama in 2004.
There was likewise a strong nexus between the Honduras government and military and the 1980s Iran-Contra drugs-for-arms-for-Nicaraguan-paramilitaries scandal, where much of the illegal covert US cocaine smuggling operation was headquartered during the Reagan and Bush Senior presidencies.
The government of Venezuela has accused that former State Department official and anti-Castro ex-Cuban Otto Reich is involved with the current coup regime in Honduras. Reich, at State during the 2002 coup in Venezuela, was the US official that called ambassadors from throughout Latin America into his office when the coup was taking place to instruct them that the US supported the coup and expected the same from them (that move backfired when Latin American nations delivered the first-ever rebuke to the US via the OAS). He was also at State in the mid-1980s heading up Latin American operations and has been strongly linked to the cocaine-smuggling activities then.
Those who think that when the US cuts off funds, as it will surely do in the coming days, that the sanctions will starve the Honduran coup regime into surrender, are forgetting that in this asymmetrical world there are non-government entities – which is to say, organized crime, terrorist, and narco-trafficking organizations – that seek a safe haven in Central America, so important in the route between the South American coca plant and the noses of North America.
The historic overlap between the ex-Cuban terrorist networks and cocaine trafficking is well documented.
Last night, “president” Micheletti made it clear that his regime seeks to run a rogue state, unbeholden to the Democratic Charter of the OAS or international law. He is thus setting up an oasis that will prove irresistible to large narco-trafficking organizations as a protected base of operations, from whom he will extract the funding to make up the significant $2.3 billion shortfall caused by economic sanctions against his coup regime, plus additional “tips” to line the pockets of all who share in his power structure.
This opens up a new chapter not only in Latin American governmental history, but also in the drug war. It was clear that when Plan Mexico began its assault along the US-Mexico border that certain trafficking organizations would simply move to other geographic spaces through which to operate (and thus all the carnage and depravation of human rights cause by Plan Mexico would end up having zero impact stemming the flow of cocaine). The only question - to where? - has now been answered.
Now enters the Honduras coup "government" in its bid to become the cocaine trafficking capital of the hemisphere, the new gangster regime.
Update: This AP report sheds some light on the honesty or dishonesty of coup "president" Micheletti:

Micheletti's government is so eager to find a friend that it announced it had been recognized by Israel and Italy — surprising the governments of those countries. Italy withdrew its ambassador to protest the coup, and Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: "All rumors about Israeli recognition of the new president are wholly unfounded."
And contrary to Micheletti's assertion, Interpol on Friday released a statement saying it had not received any request to issue an arrest warrant for Zelaya.

In other words, he's just making it up as he goes along, apparently unaware that in a world of globalized communications such false claims can be shot down rather quickly. Maybe he was too hasty in blocking Internet access in his own land?
Update II: President Manuel Zelaya just broadcast an audio message to the people of Honduras, aired on Telesur, confirming that he returns tomorrow, Sunday, to his country, and urging the people to go to the international airport in Tegucigalpa to join him in his return (you can watch Telesur's livestream at this link, which has been showing frequent images of the massive marches from distinct points heading toward the airport already). Zelaya also stressed his appeal that the people arrive unarmed and subscribe to "nonviolence," even if coup forces turn violent against them.
Update III: Telesur reports at 12:40 (hour Tegucigalpa) that the mass peaceful march against the coup is now just one kilometer from the airport, its destination.
Update IV: Brazil Press Agency (Agência Brasil) estimates the crowd size of the anti-coup march to be "close to 50,000," and it's still a day before its culmination tomorrow. The television images certainly suggest a crowd of at least that size, too.
The coup regime already has a new problem: whether try to enforce its "curfew" (suspension of constitutional rights) tonight as such a large group of citizens remains surrounding the airport in anticipation of the return of their president. (The Coup "Congress" just extended the state of siege a second time, now through Tuesday morning.)
Update V: Here's a BBC photo of just one of the multitudinous marches arriving and surrounding the international airport in support and defense of President Zelaya's return tomorrow:

(As the umbrellas indicate, they're arriving under some rain.)
Update VI: I've just filed a new report for Narco News:
Honduras Coup General Was Charged in 1993 Auto Theft Ring
Everyone knows he's a thug. Now they know he's a two-bit crook, too.
Update VII: Radio Globo (broadcasting from clandestinity after coup soldiers invaded and destroyed their broadcasting equipment) reports that there are now 200,000 Honduran citizens surrounding the Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa in protest against the coup and awaiting the arrival of their president. This, in spite of a massive military and police operation to block citizens on all roads leading to Tegucigalpa from throughout the country.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefiel...arco-state

[Peter Lemkin]

It is going to be an 'interesting' day there today, I fear....I just hope no one is hurt or killed....somehow I sense it is building to that. LIHOP :flute:

[Magda Hassan]

If Obama had any cojones he'd be sending Hilary (or himself) along with the Presidents of Paraguay, Ecuador, Argentina and the OAS when Zelaya returns. But we all know where he stands. Where ever he is told.

Yes, it will be an interesting day. You can watch it on Telesur I believe. It will be live.
Herre is the link:
http://www.telesurtv.net/noticias/canal/senalenvivo.php

[Peter Lemkin]

If Obama had any cojones he'd be sending Hilary (or himself) along with the Presidents of Paraguay, Ecuador, Argentina and the OAS when Zelaya returns. But we all know where he stands. Where ever he is told.

Yes, it will be an interesting day. You can watch it on Telesur I believe. It will be live.
Herre is the link:
http://www.telesurtv.net/noticias/canal/senalenvivo.php

I assume if there is a flight no one will be arrested because no one will be allowed off the plane...if they are even allowed to land. Yes, Obama should send someone and a USAF escort...but I think he talks the talk and walks a different path than his speech indicates on most things. Yes, he 'stands' where he is told to stand. JFK was the last President who had any thoughts of having the power of the Presidency...and 'they' showed him!....

Hillary is too busy getting tickets for the Michael Jackson extravaganza to deal with this petty matter....

By the way the other German sign says 'The truth makes us free'...ain't that the truth.....!

Magda, are you following how this whole 'scenario' is playing in C and S. America? I imagine it is BIG news and sending a very all-too-familiar cold-shiver down their backs....thinking who's next on the 'list'.....

Obama had fulfilled all of my worst fears as 'good cop' to W as 'bad cop' [a cop is a cop]and is only the 'rachet' being pulled-back for the next 'squeeze' to choke the democracy out of us all......

I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired....F.L. Haimer

[Peter Lemkin]

What next? I was right - they didn't allow them to land. The USA put zero pressure on the coup faction - sickening. We did the same with Aristide...US military hustled him abord a plane out of Haiti and then said it wasn't a coup and we had nothing to do with it....new technique...just physically remove the duely elected President and put in one's prefered puppets to take over using whatever illegal cover they care to spout....Somewhere in D.C. is a list with a check-mark after Honduras....the list has all of the new centrist-populist and leftist governments in Central and South America....who's next?

Honduras slides toward greater instability

By WILL WEISSERT and JEANNETH VALDIVIESO – 21 minutes ago

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Already volatile Honduras slid toward greater instability after soldiers blocked an airport runway to keep ousted President Manuel Zelaya from returning, and protests that had remained largely peaceful yielded their first death.

Police and soldiers blanketed the streets of the capital overnight Monday — enforcing a sunset-to-sunrise curfew with batons and metal poles.

The extended curfew added to the tension after a turbulent Sunday that saw soldiers clash with thousands of Zelaya backers who massed at the airport in hopes of welcoming home their deposed leader.

Zelaya's plane, on loan from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, arrived to find the runway blocked by military vehicles and soldiers under the command of the government that has ruled this Central American country since Zelaya's ouster last weekend.

His Venezuelan pilots circled around the airport and decided not to risk a crash.

Zelaya instead headed for El Salvador, and vowed to try again Monday or Tuesday in his high-stakes effort to return to power in a country where all branches of government have lined up against him.

"I call on the Armed Forces of Honduras to lower their rifles," he said late Sunday at a news conference, flanked by the presidents of El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador, and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, who flew there from Washington.

"I am risking myself personally to resolve the problems without violence," said Zelaya, who planned to fly later to Nicaragua. He urged the United Nations, the OAS, the United States and European countries to "do something with this repressive regime."

Insulza said he "is open to continuing all appropriate diplomatic overtures to obtain our objective."

But interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said he won't negotiate until "things return to normal."

"We will be here until the country calms down," Micheletti said. "We are the authentic representatives of the people."

Clashes broke out Sunday afternoon between police and soldiers and the huge crowd of Zelaya supporters surrounding Tegucigalpa's international airport. At least one man was killed — shot in the head from inside the airport as people tried to break through a security fence, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene. At least 30 people were treated for injuries, the Red Cross said, after security forces fired warning shots and tear gas.

When Zelaya's plane was turned away, his supporters began chanting "We want blue helmets!" — a reference to U.N. peacekeepers.

Karin Antunez, 27, was in tears.

"We're scared. We feel sad because these coup soldiers won't let Mel return, but we're not going to back down," she said. "We're the people and we're going to keep marching so that our president comes home."

Zelaya won wide international support after his ouster, but several presidents who originally were to accompany him decided it was too dangerous to fly on Zelaya's plane, which carried only his close advisers and staff, two journalists from the Venezuela-based network Telesur and U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a leftist Nicaraguan priest and former foreign minister.

Honduras' new government has vowed to arrest Zelaya for 18 alleged criminal acts including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006. Zelaya also refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling against his planned referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing the constitution.

Critics feared Zelaya might try to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to what his ally Chavez has done in Venezuela — though Zelaya denied that.

But instead of prosecuting him or trying to defeat him at the ballot box, masked soldiers flew the president out of the country at gunpoint, and Congress installed Micheletti in his place.

The military solution drew international condemnation, and Honduras was suspended by the OAS. Many called the coup a huge step backward for democracy, and no nation has recognized the new government. President Barack Obama has united with Chavez and conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in insisting on Zelaya's return.

Speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the State Department, senior U.S. officials said the United States and other OAS member countries are coordinating contacts to facilitate a resolution, despite their insistence on having no formal relations with the interim government.

Without OAS membership, Honduras faces trade sanctions and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized oil, aid and loans for the impoverished nation.

Moments after Zelaya's plane was turned away, trucks filled with police ordered everyone off the streets.

"This is a war," said Matias Sauceda, 65, a human rights activist. "Imagine — things are so bad, that the president is in the air and they don't let him land."
--------------------------------------------
By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, Washington



Mr Obama has condemned his Honduran counterpart's removal


US President Barack Obama has called the removal of Honduran president Manuel Zelaya on Sunday a "coup".

The ousted leader has been meeting US officials in Washington.

But the US State Department has not recalled its ambassador from Tegucigalpa and it is still reviewing whether to cut off aid to Honduras.

So while Washington's reaction has been strong and swift, when it comes to statements, its actions have so far been measured.

This is a signal that Washington is not keen to use its clout to help Mr Zelaya return to power, shying away from any action that could be seen as interventionism in a region where the US has a long, complex history.

The reaction is also in line with the promise President Obama made to Latin America at the Organization of American States summit in April, not to dictate US policy on the continent anymore but to be an equal partner.

Political shift

But the careful approach also underscores how awkward it can be for a US president to follow through on his declared desire to "stand on the side of democracy, sovereignty and self-determination" when the overthrown leader is someone with whom Washington has recently had cool relations.
The region has made enormous progress over the last 20 years in establishing democratic traditions... We don't want to go back to a dark past
Barack Obama


"Whatever political disagreements you might have, there are democratic norms that have to and should be followed," White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said.

Honduras is a strong US ally and gets a considerable amount of development and military aid. The US is also Honduras's biggest trading partner.

But Mr Zelaya, who came to power in 2006 as a centre-right leader, turned into a supporter of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez halfway through his term.

He then joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a leftist alliance led by Venezuela.

Mr Chavez has long been Washington's bete noire, even though relations have thawed somewhat since Mr Obama came to office.

Mr Zelaya's recent attempts to amend the constitution are reminiscent of those Mr Chavez and other populist presidents have taken to extend their time in office.

His call for a referendum to determine whether there was popular support to rewrite the constitution put him at odds with his country's Congress, military and Supreme Court.

It is probably not a path that Washington wanted to see Honduras take, but the military removal of Mr Zelaya was an even worse direction for the country in the eyes of the US administration.

"On the one instance, we're talking about conducting a survey, a non-binding survey; in the other instance, we're talking about the forcible removal of a president from a country," said a state department official on Sunday, speaking on conditions of anonymity.

US involvement

Echoing the condemnation by Latin American leaders, President Obama also said that "it would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backwards into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections".

"The region has made enormous progress over the last 20 years in establishing democratic traditions in Central America and Latin America. We don't want to go back to a dark past," he added.

And while Washington has - oddly - found itself on the same side as Mr Chavez in condemning the removal of Mr Zelaya and calling for his return to power, it has also had to reject allegations by Mr Chavez that it had a hand in the coup.

General Romeo Vasquez, Honduras' top military chief, who led the coup, is one of the hundreds of Honduran officers who have received military training from the US.

He was sacked by Mr Zelaya for refusing to carry out the referendum.

On Tuesday White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the US had spoken out on the Honduran situation to put to rest "any rumours that we were in any way involved in this".

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated that Washington was perhaps hoping that the situation could still be resolved, which explains why the US is still only reviewing its financial assistance to Honduras and has not cut off aid just yet.

She said the US was "withholding any formal legal determination" of the incident as a coup, which would trigger an end to US aid.

"Much of our assistance is conditioned on the integrity of the democratic system.

"But if we were able to get to a status quo that returned to the rule of law and constitutional order within a relatively short period of time, I think that would be a good outcome," she said on Monday.

It is still unclear whether that outcome will be possible.

Mr Zelaya has garnered impressive international support, including a unanimous condemnation of the coup at the UN, but Honduras's new leaders, while isolated, have vowed to arrest Mr Zelaya if he tries to return.

[Judica Bosquesillo]

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner President of Argentina has been the first to offer herself to go to Honduras with President Zelaya on Thursday when he returns. In a press conference following his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Zelaya stated that Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa will also accompany him.

My guess [and only that] is they won't allow anyone off the plane...it will sit there for many days and then leave....they can't afford to let him off the plane with such high-profile persons and UN backing. Let's hope there is no airline 'accident'....

Hello,

My opinion is if the 'interim' people had any thoughts of a trial they would not have conveniently deported him out of the country. Now, they refuse to let him land even though they say he has detainment papers to answer for crimes.

Such strange occurrences.

[Magda Hassan]

Yes, their behaviour is at odds with their statements. They made it impossible for Mel to return and answer their charges.

[Magda Hassan]

I thought now would be a good time to give a summary of the Honduran events till now. All or most references are in the previous post here.

This is, as most of these things are, a class issue. The elite cannot bear to have their exclusive power distributed to the people of Honduras.

A member of Honduras' Congress has just admitted that in discussions with the US Ambassador in Honduras, the US Ambassador suggested they just let the opinion poll take place and then vote against the Constitutional Assembly in November, but, said the congressmember, "we can't just allow 'these people' to do this with the help of Venezuela and Cuba."

"we can't have a constitution that allows the 'people' to elect members on the supreme court and allows the 'people' to be involved in government".......

The current constitution, written in 1982 during the height of the Reagan Administration’s dirty war in Central America, was designed to ensure those in power, both economic and political, would retain it with little interference from the people.

What Zelaya has done.
Through out all these events President Zelaya has conducted himself with integrity and in accordance with the law. He certainly has the high moral ground and truth, justice and the people on his side. The Honduran people should be proud that he is their President.

Well, what is touted by the elites and coup mongers as Zelaya's power grab is not one at all but a desperate grab to keep power in the hands of the Honduran elite and to keep the Honduran people from getting involved in any political and policy decisions. The Honduran Supreme Court of Justice, Attorney General, National Congress, Armed Forces and Supreme Electoral Tribunal have all falsely accused Manuel Zelaya of attempting a referendum to extend his term in office. What President Zelaya intended to perform was a non-binding public consultation, about the conformation of an elected National Constituent Assembly. This is perfectly legal under article 5 of the Honduran “Civil Participation Act” of 2006. It allows all public functionaries to be able to perform non-binding public consultations to inquire what the population thinks about policy measures.

The Honduran Congress and the courts ruled against holding the poll. The rulings sparked a crisis when the head of the armed forces, General Romeo Vasquez, refused to allow the army to distribute the urns and other materials for the June 28 poll. The president of Honduras is Commander in Chief and has the final say on the military’s actions, and so he ordered the General’s removal. For disobeying an order to distribute the voting material Zelaya had Vasquez removed on June 24. Zelaya also accepted the resignation of Minister of Defense Edmundo Orellana. The commanders of the other branches of the Armed Forces, Military, Navy, and Air Force, quit in solidarity. A caravan of citizens and President Zelaya then went to the military base to recover the voting materials and to begin disributing them. The army then occupied strategic points in the streets of the capital city Tegucigalpa, reportedly including the presidential residence. The Supreme Court ordered that Vasquez be reinstated.

In the early morning of the day of voting for the poll Zelaya's guards were overwhelmed by 200 military soldiers who arrived at the Presidential Palace who were firing shots. The President was beaten and kidnapped and his family was threatened with death. He was taken to a military airfield where he was kept under guard by Honduran soldiers and according to Wayne Madsen, US soldiers. He was flown to Costa Rica. He did not request asylum despite what was reported in some media. He did request the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup, otherwise, it would indicate their compliance.

International response.
The kidnapping of President Zelaya and the illegal take over of the government of Honduras has been universally denounced by the international community. President Zelaya is the only person recognised as the legitimate Presdient of Honduras by the international commiunity. Borders have been closed to trade by its neighbours. Money has been with-held by the World Bank and the USA. Venezuela has cut off oil supplies. No one in the present government is considered able to speak or act for Honduras (hence they were not able to resign from the OAS and why they were expelled from the organisation by the members of the OAS) and it is now a pariah state and completely isolated under an economic and political blockade. This will soon lead to severe economic consequences for Honduras and may result in splits within the ruling elite. The only way for Honduras to continue economically would be to become a criminal-narco state which may well be attractive to some players inside and outside Honduras.

Who is in the Honduran government now?
The current dictator is Roberto Micheletti. He was previously Speaker of the House and in Zelaya's party. Many of the parliamentarians has been scattered, arrested or have just not turned up. Micheletti is unable to fill may of the seat in his parliament with suitably pliant stooges. William Hall Micheletti, Micheletti's nephew, was installed as mayor of Honduras second biggest city. There has been wholesale arrests and removal of local political and community leaders who are nor supportive of the coup. Micheletti claims Zelaya had resigned and provided a fake letter of resignation from Zelaya. He was 'voted' in by those who remained and were permitted to attend in congress. Other members of parliament are saying they have been forcibly prevented from attending parliament and therefore any decisions made have not been legal. This has also been upheld by some of the Honduran judiciary and are mounting legal challenges against the coup mongers. Other judges have supported the coup and its actions. Zelaya has been charged with several offeces but was a) not arrested but deported and b) prevented from returning to answer those charges. Roberto Micheletti as the coup "president" passed an emergency law stripping Hondurans of the following rights from the country's constitution: 1. The right to protest.
2. Freedom in one's home from unwarranted search, seizure and arrest.
3. Freedom of association.
4. Guarantees of rights of due process while under arrest.
5. Freedom of transit in the country.


So much for the democracy and freedom that the oligarchy claim to want so much that they had to remove Zelaya.



The military.
Heavily dependant on US money and training and closely aligned with protecting the interests of the local elites. It has a long association with the US and the School of the Americas. The last overt involvement in Honduras by the US was during the Iran Contra events of the 1980's. The US funded death squads and paramilitaries to eliminate any potential “communist threats” in Central America. At the time, John Negroponte, was the U.S. Ambassador in Honduras and was responsible for directly funding and training Honduran death squads that were responsable for thousands of disappeared and assassinated throughout the region.

Reports have come in that several batalions--specifically the Fourth and Tenth-- rebelled against coup leadership. Both Zelaya and his supporters have been very conscious that within the armed forces there are fractures. Instead of insulting the army, outside the heavily guarded presidential residence many protesters chant, "Soldiers, you are part of the people."

Pres. Zelaya has been remarkably respectful in calling on the army to "correct its actions" It is likely the coup will continue to lose its grip on the army as intensifying mobilizations force it to confront its own people.

General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, who ordered the kidnapping and forced deportation of President Manuel Zelaya is also a common car theif. On February 2, 1993, the front page of the Tegucigalpa daily El Heraldo included this headline: “Eleven Members of the Gang of 13 Go to Prison”:

“Eleven individuals arrested for their alleged participation in the theft of 200 luxury automobiles… were sent to prison yesterday… (including) Colonel Wilfredo Leva Caborrea and Major Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, accused as alleged participants…”

Prior to these criminal acts he attended the S.O.A. but did not graduate.


The role of the US in these events.
There are many who are pleased with the response of the US to the events of the coup and who believe that the Obama administration is not involved and is acting in a qualititatively different manner than it has in the past.



Others see the hand of the US in this coup. Many do not think that because of the close relationship of the Honduran military and elite to the US and its interests that it would have acted with out the tacit if not explicit aproval of the US.


The US ambassador was 'unavailable' when the Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas realised that a coup was taking place and tried to contact him. She too was kidnapped, beaten and dumped in Mexico. The Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan ambassadors had tried to protect her from being kidnapped and were themselves kidnapped and beaten and dumped. A crime under internatioanl law and a pretext for war.


The US admits it knew of the coup attempt before it happened but did nothing to prevent it. It had been "working for several days" with the coup planners in Honduras to halt the illegal overthrow of President Zelaya but did nothing like tell them it would cut off all money and supplies if they went ahead.



It public statements since the coup have been ambiguous and it appears to be playing two games. On the one hand it signs the OAS and UN strongly worded statements against the coup. But there is no statement from the Whitehouse yet calling it a 'coup d'etat'. Nor have they called for President Zelaya's immediate reinstatement and specifically said they had not called for his reinstatement. They are also willing to 'work' with all parties- including the coup mongers. Which gives them unwarranted legitimacy. Obama has just pollywaffled like we have come to expect from him now.


Wayne Madsen states that US miliatary were at the base where Zelaya was taken to after being kidnapped and were involved in his arrest and deportation.



Time is yet to tell what Obama will do or if he will just remain 'concerned'. Time is running out.



Media.
The coup is not being televised in Honduras. There is total media black out on it. Like it never happened. Go back to sleep. In fact that is what one of the big media owners said. There has been no coup. He also said that there is no censorship. However only media in support of the coup are allowed to operate. All other media have been shut down by the military. TV stations are playing cooking shows and cartoons. There is also major disruptions to mobile phone services, electricity and internet services.



The Telesur journalist and crew and some UP journalists and crew were arrested and about to be deported (all this against international law) but because of a rapid response from different governments, the OAS, the UN and other international actors, they have been released.


CNN Espanol has sided with the coup and much of the MSM has had a very strange grasp of the events happening and is mixed at best and deceptive and complicit at worst.



On the other hand there has been excellent coverage on the internet. Narco News and Postcards from the Revolution and even InkaCola news have done some great cover. There are a couple of local Honduran blogs who post intermittently when they can.



The twittering oligarchy class have launched themselves into the propaganda campaign but they have been countered by more informed voices too.


Despite the media blackout and the massive military repression between 200,00 to 500,000 people heard the call and went to meet Zelaya at the airport.


I'll add more tomorrow. It is late here.

[Peter Lemkin]

IF Madson is correct and US Forces were involved, it is a parallel to events in Chile [and a few other South-of-the-border-overthrows].....and if this is so, Obama's meaning of 'Change' is only worth a bucket of ****! :marchmellow:

[Magda Hassan]

The two faces of the US in the coup

http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2009/07/06/...tic07.html

In Honduras, Two Political Lines of the USA at work, states Jose
Vicente Rangel



Venezuelan Journalist Jose Vicente Rangel reported this sunday that
in Honduras two political lines of the United States were at work
before the coup plot was hatched against the constitutional president
of the country, Manuel Zelaya.

"In Honduras two distinct lines of north american politics revealed
themselves, one coming from the White House and the other through the
machinery put in place by the administration of George W. Bush at the
military base of Palmarola", he said.

Rangel explained that this became apparent on the morning of June 28,
when two important functionaries of the State Department, James
Steimberg and Tom Shannon, contacted the US embassy in Tegucigalpa
and the military base in Palmarola to discuss the coup d'etat and to
impede any intention to support it.

"In Honduras, in addition to the political slant of the State
Department, the line of the Pentagon operates through the military
base, whose chief, General Douglas Fraser, just days before the coup,
made two declarations against President Chavez. Fraser's
pronouncement was adopted at once by the coup regime of Micheletti",
commented Rangel.

He indicated this is why the US ambassador, Hugo Llorens, was forced
to pronounce opposition to the coup, at first with a certain reserve,
and later more emphatically.

En Honduras actuaron dos l?neas pol?ticas de EE.UU.,
afirma Jos? Vicente Rangel

El periodista venezolano Jos? Vicente Rangel denunci? este domingo
que en Honduras actuaron dos l?neas pol?ticas de Estados Unidos antes
de que se fraguara el golpe de Estado contra el presidente
constitucional de ese pa?s, Manuel Zelaya.

"En Honduras se hicieron presentes dos niveles de la pol?tica del
gobierno nor-teamericano, una proveniente de la Casa Blanca y otra de
la maquinaria que dej? montada la administraci?n de George W. Bush a
trav?s de la base militar implantada en la poblaci?n hondure?a de
Palmarola", sostuvo.

Rangel explic? que la raz?n es que en la madrugada del domingo 28 de
junio dos importantes funcionarios del Departamento de Estado, James
Steimberg y Tom Shannon, contactaron la embajada estadounidense en
Tegucigalpa y la base militar de Palmarola para advertir del golpe y
disuadir cualquier intento de apoyo.

"En Honduras operar?a, adem?s del Departamento de Estado, la l?nea
del Pent?gono a trav?s de la base militar cuyo jefe, el general
Douglas Fraser, d?as antes del golpe en ese pa?s, hizo declaraciones
contra el presidente (Hugo) Ch?vez, las cuales asumi? de inmediato el
gobierno usurpador de (Roberto) Micheletti", coment? Rangel.

Indic? que fue por esa situaci?n que el embajador estadounidense,
Hugo Llorens, se vio forzado a pronunciarse en contra de lo ocurrido,
con reservas al principio y luego en forma m?s categ?rica. (YVKE
Mundial)