Events In Honduras

[Magda Hassan]

Two Militants of a left party in Honduras are Murdered


Tegucigalpa, July 12 (EFE).-Two Militants of the Democratic Union
(UD, leftist), were murdered this saturday in the north and west of
San Pedro Sula, Honduras, EFE was informed today by a leader of this
party.

The president of one of the two currents of the UD, Renan Valdes,
said the victims are Roger Bados, 54 years old, and Ramon Garcia
(40). He said currently "the motives behind both crimes are unknown".

He added that Bados, who was president of the UD local branch, was a
well known educator and member of the Popular Bloc, which is made up
of 30 workers' organizations. He was killed last night in the densely
populated neighborhood "Rivera Hernandez", a few kilometers from San
Pedro Sula, the second most important city in the country.

He said that Garcia "was thrown from a bus by unknown persons" at
16.00 pm on saturday. in the Callejones sector, to the west in the
department of Santa Barbara.

In the case of Bados, continued Valdes, a sister and wife of a nephew
were also wounded.

According to witnesses, said Valdes, a man arrived at the house "and
asked for his nephew", and "when he responded that he would go look
for him, the assailant shot him in the back three times".

The presumed assassin fled on a bicycle. Valdes continued by saying
that the UD is investigating both crimes to discover if they were
common violence or rather of a political nature due to the crisis in
Honduras, which began after president Manuel Zelaya was deposed by
soldiers this past june 28.

With regard to Ramon Garcia, Valdes said he had participated in
demonstrations in the western part of the city demanding the return
of Zelaya to power. Since the military coup his post has been
occupied by Roberto Micheletti, as designated by Congress. Micheletti
had been the leader of Congress until assuming his new post.

[Magda Hassan]

Who's behind Lanny Davis' putsch paycheck?


Posted by Bill Conroy - July 14, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Following the money trail in the Honduran coup

Going to bat for an illegal coup used to be the job of shadowy CIA operatives back in the good ol' days of the Cold War.
But that is bygone era. Today’s junta-enablers no longer have to work in secret. In fact, illegal usurpers can now shop openly in Washington for a hired gun of their choosing to grease the wheels of Congress and commerce to assure their coup d'état remains a fait accompli.
Enter Lanny Davis — a long-time friend and Yale Law School chum of Hillary Clinton and former White House Counsel to Bill Clinton [as well as a consummate shill for their agendas].
Davis also is a lawyer and lobbyist now employed by the D.C. office of global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. In that capacity, Davis was recently retained by the Business Council of Latin America (CEAL) to hawk for the coup in Honduras — or as is the preferred description among the pushers of simulation, the administration of “de facto” Honduran President Roberto Micheletti [elected by virtue of having cast the most bullets in deposing the people’s choice in Honduras, President Manuel Zelaya).
Davis is now scampering about the Hill setting up meetings with Congressional insiders and throwing money around on advertising and other such frills to build a case for supporting the new militarily elected Honduran regime.
Davis may be many things, but one thing he is not is cheap. So the question is begged: Whose paying for this charade?
The best way to get a peek under those covers most certainly should be to take a look at who is in bed with CEAL, Davis’ current contract employer.
Well, here’s the scoop on the pecuniary bedfellows:
Camilo Alejandro Atala Faraj, president of the Honduras chapter of CEAL, also happens to be a vice president of a major banking institution in Honduras, Banco Financiera Comercial Hondurena S.A [or Banco Ficohsa), which is part of the financial holding company Grupo Financiero Ficohsa.
The president of the lender is an individual named Jorge Alejandro Faraj Rishmagui, and at least three other bank managers have last names indicating they are likely related to the Faraj clan.
Current information on the bank is a bit hard to come by, at least in English, but it seems the lender did make a filing with the U.S. Federal Reserve System in 2005, that states, in part, the following:
Order Approving Establishment of a Representative Office
Banco Financiera Comercial Hondurena, S.A. (“Bank”), Tegucigalpa, Honduras, a foreign bank within the meaning of the International Banking Act (“IBA”), has applied under section 10(a) of the IBA (12 U.S.C. § 3107(a)) to establish a representative office in Mi ami, Florida. The Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act of 1991, which amended the IBA, provides that a foreign bank must obtain the approval of the Board to establish a representative office in the United States.
The Bank, with total consolidated assets of approximately $612 million, is the fourth largest commercial bank in Honduras and provides wholesale and retail banking services through a network of domestic branches.
In the United States, [the] Bank has licenses to operate nonbank subsidiaries in Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia that engage in money remittance services.
So, it seems Banco Ficohsa has both Honduran and U.S. interests to protect in throwing its lot in with the new usurper regime.
And interestingly, one of the criticisms of the Zelaya government is that it has not been sufficiently pro-business — tending toward friendly relations with that pesky populist Hugo Chavez.
The Honduran banking community is not all that large, at least by U.S. standards, with only a couple dozen banks operating in the country — and only a small slate of foreign-owned banks, one of which happens to be Citigroup. That famous brand name bank, of course, was once home to Robert Rubin, who served as its director, executive committee chair and briefly as chairman — after a stint as Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and before that as a suit at Goldman Sachs.
Citigroup, under its subsidiary Citibank Overseas Investment Corp., operates Banco Citibank de Honduras S.A. Now, given the cozy size of Honduras’ banking industry, it’s likely Citigroup and Banco Ficohsa officials have shared some wine and cheese over discussions of global politics and free trade, but there is no indication at this point that any Citigroup money is in the pot to pay Davis’ lobbying expenses on behalf of CEAL.
Another player in CEAl, listed as the vice president of the Honduran Chapter, is Jesus Canahuati, who is an executive vice president with a Honduran company called Elasticos Centroamericanos y Textiles, which is part of a Honduran conglomerate called Grupo Lovable.
Founded by an entrepreneur named Juan Canahuati in the 1960s, Grupo Lovable now ranks as one of Honduras’ largest employers and has operations in textiles, water and sewage treatment, industrial parks and even an electric plant. Canahuati is credited as being one of the nation’s visionaries in pushing for free-trade and opening up Honduras to U.S. investment.
And yet another player in CEAL, listed as its “coordinator,” is an individual named Miguel Mauricio Facusse Saenz, who lists his corporate affiliation as being with Corporación Dinant S.A., which is a subsidiary of another Honduran mega-business called the Grupo Dinant Cos. — which produces snacks, agricultural products and food products.
Just this past June, the Inter-American Investment Corp. (IIC) provided Grupo Dinant with a loan package worth up to $7 million. The IIC is part of the Inter-American Development Bank, which is based in Washington, D.C., and is charged with fostering economic and social development in Latin America. Luis Alberto Moreno, a Colombian diplomat, currently heads the bank.
But it appears the IIC isn’t the only entity that has lent Grupo Dinant money. A short news item carried by Summa News indicates that a syndicate of banks, including Banco Financiera Comercial Hondurena, last spring provided Grupo Dinant subsidiary Corporación Dinant with a $77 million loan.
So, it seems the business interests behind CEAL are flush with cash, enough of it anyway to line Davis’ pockets for the foreseeable future as he seeks to legitimize the bloody Honduran coup in the eyes of Congress and, apparently, for the benefit of commerce.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/noteboo...h-paycheck

[Magda Hassan]

A brave man with integrity and one with more cojones than Hilary and Obama combined.

ZELAYA ON ROUTE TO HONDURAS

Honduran Foreign Minister (constitutional) Patricia Rodas has announced that President Manuel Zelaya is currently on route to Honduras to reunite with the people in resistance to the coup regime, now on its third week.

On Tuesday, President Zelaya issued an "ultimatum" to the coup regime, warning that if they do not step down by Saturday - during the next scheduled "mediation" meeting in Costa Rica - then he will consider the dialogue process, imposed by Washington, as a failure. And he will return and rescue constitutional order, along with the masses in the streets, by any means necessary.

The Department of State responded to Zelaya's statements, calling on him to have patience and "let the mediation process work". But as the Obama White House calls on a democratically elected president, who was violently kidnapped and forced into exile by a military force trained, armed and commanded by the Pentagon, the US Government continues to do absolutely nothing to tighten the pressure on an increasingly repressive coup regime in Honduras.

The Committee of Family Members of Detained and Disappeared in Honduras published a report today detailing more than 1155 cases of Human Rights violations committed by the coup regime since June 28, 2009. Of those, there have been 4 political assassinations, 6 gravely injured, 16 threatened with death, 59 injured, 13 media outlets closed or censored, 14 journalists detained, of which the majority have been expelled forcefully from the country, and 1046 arbitrary detentions. Where are the State Department reports on human rights violations now? They are always quick to condemn Venezuela for made up violations in order to demonize the government, but when real violations and crimes are committed by a repressive regime favored by Washington, then the policy is silence.
http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/07/update...as-us.html

[Magda Hassan]

Cesar Ham has returned to the country and it seems that Zelaya is on his way back. The military have cordoned off his home and those of his family and other polititians. There are road block all over the country. Some civillian made other military. Military jets have been circling Catacamas today, Zelaya's home town. Additional troops are at Aguacate airbase.
The curfew has been ordered again.

[Magda Hassan]

The Hired Gun of Roberto Micheletti: History of the Torturer Joya Améndola Written by Gennaro Carotenuto, Giornalismo Partecipativo. Translation by Adrienne Pine Wednesday, 15 July 2009 Source: Quotha.net

The blood of those who lived through the dirty wars of the 80s in Central America will freeze on hearing the news that the special adviser to the de facto Honduran president is named Billy Joya Améndola.

In order to understand the political culture of the coup junta over which Roberto Michalatti resides is necessary to review the CV of Joya Améndola.

In the 80s Billy Joya Améndola was one of the principal leaders of the Intelligence Battalion 316, in charge of the kidnapping and disappearance of political opponents and founder of the "Lince" and "Cobra" death squads. In this capacity he became one of the principal perpetrators of kidnappings, tortures and assassinations in Honduras, and he has been accused with certainty of at least eleven extrajudicial executions under the pseudonym "Doctor Arranzola."

Furthermore, he is accused of the kidnapping and torture of six students, four of which continue to be disappeared. The students were kidnapped the 27th of April of 1982 from the house of the assistant of the Attorney General of the country, Rafael Rivera, violating the immunity of the second most powerful judge in the country, using methods from the Argentinian dictatorship.

Even if there isn't definitive proof that Joya Améndola received instruction in the United States, there is proof that he worked in Argentina under the orders of one of the principal repressors, Guillermo Suárez Mason, known among other things for being the principal organizer of child-kidnappings during the last dictatorship. Furthermore he obtained a scholarship from the Honduran army to study in Augusto Pinochet's Chile.

Afterwards, from 1984 to 1991 he served as a go-between for the Honduran army, the Argentinian repressors and the United Statesians during the dirty war.

The Spanish government has sought the extradition of Joya Améndola various times since 1985 through Interpol, but nonetheless the Honduran judicial system (the same one that has filed 18 legal complaints against Mel Zelaya) never once responded. Despite this, when a judge in Tegucigalpa accused him of kidnapping and torture in 1994 and issued an arrest order for him in 1995, it was in Spain where he took refuge and remained as an asylum applicant until he was expelled in 1998. During those years he worked as a catechizer in a school in Seville.

Today he is the right arm of Roberto Micheletti.
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1993/68/

[Magda Hassan]

[B]Chiquita in Latin America [/B]

By NIKOLAS KOZLOFF
July 17, 2009 "Counterpunch" -- When the Honduran military overthrew the democratically elected government of Manuel Zelaya two weeks ago there might have been a sigh of relief in the corporate board rooms of Chiquita banana. Earlier this year the Cincinnati-based fruit company joined Dole in criticizing the government in Tegucigalpa which had raised the minimum wage by 60%. Chiquita complained that the new regulations would cut into company profits, requiring the firm to spend more on costs than in Costa Rica: 20 cents more to produce a crate of pineapple and ten cents more to produce a crate of bananas to be exact. In all, Chiquita fretted that it would lose millions under Zelaya’s labor reforms since the company produced around 8 million crates of pineapple and 22 million crates of bananas per year.
When the minimum wage decree came down Chiquita sought help and appealed to the Honduran National Business Council, known by its Spanish acronym COHEP. Like Chiquita, COHEP was unhappy about Zelaya’s minimum wage measure. Amílcar Bulnes, the group’s president, argued that if the government went forward with the minimum wage increase employers would be forced to let workers go, thus increasing unemployment in the country. The most important business organization in Honduras, COHEP groups 60 trade associations and chambers of commerce representing every sector of the Honduran economy. According to its own Web site, COHEP is the political and technical arm of the Honduran private sector, supports trade agreements and provides “critical support for the democratic system.”
The international community should not impose economic sanctions against the coup regime in Tegucigalpa, COHEP argues, because this would worsen Honduras’ social problems. In its new role as the mouthpiece for Honduras’ poor, COHEP declares that Honduras has already suffered from earthquakes, torrential rains and the global financial crisis. Before punishing the coup regime with punitive measures, COHEP argues, the United Nations and the Organization of American States should send observer teams to Honduras to investigate how sanctions might affect 70% of Hondurans who live in poverty. Bulnes meanwhile has voiced his support for the coup regime of Roberto Micheletti and argues that the political conditions in Honduras are not propitious for Zelaya’s return from exile.
Chiquita: From Arbenz to Bananagate
It’s not surprising that Chiquita would seek out and ally itself to socially and politically backward forces in Honduras. Colsiba, the coordinating body of banana plantation workers in Latin America, says the fruit company has failed to supply its workers with necessary protective gear and has dragged its feet when it comes to signing collective labor agreements in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras.
Colsiba compares the infernal labor conditions on Chiquita plantations to concentration camps. It’s an inflammatory comparison yet may contain a degree of truth. Women working on Chiquita’s plantations in Central America work from 6:30 a.m. until 7 at night, their hands burning up inside rubber gloves. Some workers are as young as 14. Central American banana workers have sought damages against Chiquita for exposing them in the field to DBCP, a dangerous pesticide which causes sterility, cancer and birth defects in children.
Chiquita, formerly known as United Fruit Company and United Brands, has had a long and sordid political history in Central America. Led by Sam “The Banana Man” Zemurray, United Fruit got into the banana business at the turn of the twentieth century. Zemurray once remarked famously, “In Honduras, a mule costs more than a member of parliament.” By the 1920s United Fruit controlled 650,000 acres of the best land in Honduras, almost one quarter of all the arable land in the country. What’s more, the company controlled important roads and railways.
In Honduras the fruit companies spread their influence into every area of life including politics and the military. For such tactics they acquired the name los pulpos (the octopuses, from the way they spread their tentacles). Those who did not play ball with the corporations were frequently found face down on the plantations. In 1904 humorist O. Henry coined the term “Banana Republic” to refer to the notorious United Fruit Company and its actions in Honduras.
In Guatemala, United Fruit supported the CIA-backed 1954 military coup against President Jacobo Arbenz, a reformer who had carried out a land reform package. Arbenz’ overthrow led to more than thirty years of unrest and civil war in Guatemala. Later in 1961, United Fruit lent its ships to CIA-backed Cuban exiles who sought to overthrow Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs.
In 1972, United Fruit (now renamed United Brands) propelled Honduran General Oswaldo López Arellano to power. The dictator was forced to step down later however after the infamous “Bananagate” scandal which involved United Brands bribes to Arellano. A federal grand jury accused United Brands of bribing Arellano with $1.25 million, with the carrot of another $1.25 million later if the military man agreed to reduce fruit export taxes. During Bananagate, United Brands’ President fell from a New York City skyscraper in an apparent suicide.
Go-Go Clinton Years and Colombia
In Colombia United Fruit also set up shop and during its operations in the South American country developed a no less checkered profile. In 1928, 3,000 workers went on strike against the company to demand better pay and working conditions. At first the company refused to negotiate but later gave in on some minor points, declaring the other demands “illegal” or “impossible.” When the strikers refused to disperse the military fired on the banana workers, killing scores.
You might think that Chiquita would have reconsidered its labor policies after that but in the late 1990s the company began to ally itself with insidious forces, specifically right wing paramilitaries. Chiquita paid off the men to the tune of more than a million dollars. In its own defense, the company declared that it was merely paying protection money to the paramilitaries.
In 2007, Chiquita paid $25 million to settle a Justice Department investigation into the payments. Chiquita was the first company in U.S. history to be convicted of financial dealings with a designated terrorist organization.
In a lawsuit launched against Chiquita victims of the paramilitary violence claimed the firm abetted atrocities including terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said that Chiquita’s relationship with the paramilitaries “was about acquiring every aspect of banana distribution and sale through a reign of terror.”
Back in Washington, D.C. Charles Lindner, Chiquita’s CEO, was busy courting the White House. Lindner had been a big donor to the GOP but switched sides and began to lavish cash on the Democrats and Bill Clinton. Clinton repaid Linder by becoming a key military backer of the government of Andrés Pastrana which presided over the proliferation of right wing death squads. At the time the U.S. was pursuing its corporately-friendly free trade agenda in Latin America, a strategy carried out by Clinton’s old boyhood friend Thomas “Mack” McLarty. At the White House, McLarty served as Chief of Staff and Special Envoy to Latin America. He’s an intriguing figure who I’ll come back to in a moment.
The Holder-Chiquita Connection
Given Chiquita’s underhanded record in Central America and Colombia it’s not a surprise that the company later sought to ally itself with COHEP in Honduras. In addition to lobbying business associations in Honduras however Chiquita also cultivated relationships with high powered law firms in Washington. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Chiquita has paid out $70,000 in lobbying fees to Covington and Burling over the past three years.
Covington is a powerful law firm which advises multinational corporations. Eric Holder, the current Attorney General, a co-chair of the Obama campaign and former Deputy Attorney General under Bill Clinton was up until recently a partner at the firm. At Covington, Holder defended Chiquita as lead counsel in its case with the Justice Department. From his perch at the elegant new Covington headquarters located near the New York Times building in Manhattan, Holder prepped Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita’s CEO, for an interview with 60 Minutes dealing with Colombian death squads.
Holder had the fruit company plead guilty to one count of “engaging in transactions with a specially designated global terrorist organization.” But the lawyer, who was taking in a hefty salary at Covington to the tune of more than $2 million, brokered a sweetheart deal in which Chiquita only paid a $25 million fine over five years. Outrageously however, not one of the six company officials who approved the payments received any jail time.
The Curious Case of Covington
Look a little deeper and you’ll find that not only does Covington represent Chiquita but also serves as a kind of nexus for the political right intent on pushing a hawkish foreign policy in Latin America. Covington has pursued an important strategic alliance with Kissinger (of Chile, 1973 fame) and McLarty Associates (yes, the same Mack McLarty from Clinton-time), a well known international consulting and strategic advisory firm.
From 1974 to 1981 John Bolton served as an associate at Covington. As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under George Bush, Bolton was a fierce critic of leftists in Latin America such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. Furthermore, just recently John Negroponte became Covington’s Vice Chairman. Negroponte is a former Deputy Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence and U.S. Representative to the United Nations.
As U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1981-1985, Negroponte played a significant role in assisting the U.S.-backed Contra rebels intent on overthrowing the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. Human rights groups have criticized Negroponte for ignoring human rights abuses committed by Honduran death squads which were funded and partially trained by the Central Intelligence Agency. Indeed, when Negroponte served as ambassador his building in Tegucigalpa became one of the largest nerve centers of the CIA in Latin America with a tenfold increase in personnel.
While there’s no evidence linking Chiquita to the recent coup in Honduras, there’s enough of a confluence of suspicious characters and political heavyweights here to warrant further investigation. From COHEP to Covington to Holder to Negroponte to McLarty, Chiquita has sought out friends in high places, friends who had no love for the progressive labor policies of the Zelaya regime in Tegucigalpa.

[Magda Hassan]

http://www.diariodigitalglobal.com.ar/no...nacionales

According to reporter Sergio Miranda who has close links with Zelaya and the Nicaraguan leadership, Mel Zelaya has returned to Honduras and is setting up a base of operations somewhere in the country . He has the support of some military officers and is in contact with people involved in the resisitence to the coup. He is waiting for the results of the mediation meeting with the Costa Rican president.

[Magda Hassan]

[B]El Libertador is the only Honduran paper that I have found that is printing stuff against the coup. All the others are hopelessly complicit. [/B]


A google translation of the article below:




These are the coup, the sovereign judge!

18/07/2009 18:05:00 El Libertador

18/07/2009 18:05:00 The Liberator

Estos son los golpistas: 1) Carlos Flores Facussé; 2) Rafael Leonardo Callejas; 3) Cardenal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez; 4) Adolfo Facussé; 5) Armida de López Contreras; 6) Schucry Kafie; 7) Elvin Santos; 8) Emilio Larach; 9) Enrique Ortez Colindres; 10) Pastor Evelio Reyes; 11) Felícito Ávila; 12) José Alfredo Saavedra; 13) Jorge Canahuati; 14) Jorge Yllescas; 15) Juan Ferrera; 16) Juan Ramón Martínez; 17) Carlos López Contreras; 18) Billy Joya; 19) Ana Abarca; 20) Rafael Ferrari; 21) Juan José Pineda; 22) Vilma Morales; 23) Marcia Villeda; 24) Renato Álvarez; 25) Ramón Custodio; 26) Rafael Pineda Ponce; 27) Olban Valladares; 28) Pastor Oswaldo Canales; 29) Ricardo Maduro; 30) Romeo Vásquez Velásquez; 31) Porfirio Lobo Sosa; 32) Ricardo Álvarez; 33) Antonio Rivera; 34) Guillermo Pérez Cadalso; 35) Mauricio Villeda; 36) María Martha Díaz; 37) Antonio Tavel Otero; 38) Luis Rubí; 39) Toribio Aguilera; 40) Ramón Velásquez Nassar; 41) Elán Reyes Pineda; 42) Luz Ernestina Mejía; 43) Martha Lorena Casco; 44) Rodolfo Irías Navas; 45) Rigoberto Chang Castillo; 46) Mirna Castro; 47) Gabriela Núñez; 48) Hugo Llorens.

These are the putschists: 1) Carlos Flores Facussé 2) Rafael Leonardo Callejas, 3) Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez, 4) Adolfo Facussé; 5) Armida de Lopez Contreras, 6) Schucry Kafi; 7) Elvin Santos; 8) Emilio Larach 9) Enrique Ortez Colindres, 10) Pastor Evelio Reyes, 11) Felicito Avila, 12) José Alfredo Saavedra, 13) Jorge Canahuati, 14) Jorge Yllescas 15) Juan Ferrera, 16) Juan Ramon Martinez, 17) Carlos López Contreras ; 18) Billy Joya, 19) Ana Abarca, 20) Rafael Ferrari, 21) Juan Jose Pineda, 22) Vilma Morales, 23) Marcia Villeda, 24) Renato Alvarez, 25) Ramon Custodio, 26) Rafael Pineda Ponce, 27) Olban Valladares, 28) Pastor Oswaldo Canales; 29) Ricardo Maduro, 30) Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, 31) Porfirio Lobo Sosa, 32) Ricardo Alvarez, 33) Antonio Rivera, 34) Guillermo Perez Cadalso; 35) Mauritius Villeda, 36) Mary Martha Diaz, 37) Antonio Tavel Otero, 38) Luis Rubí; 39) Toribio Aguilera, 40) Ramon Velasquez Nassar, 41) Elan Reyes Pineda, 42) Luz Ernestina Mejia, 43) Martha Lorena Casco; 44) Rodolfo Irías Navas, 45 ) Chang Rigoberto Castillo, 46) Mirna Castro, 47) Gabriela Nunez, 48) Hugo Llorens.

1 Cada una de estas personas desde su posición maquinó, motivó o financió la ruptura del orden constitucional con el secuestro y extradición del Presidente Zelaya, consumando así el golpe de Estado.

1 Each of these people from your machine, motivated or financed the break of the constitutional order with the kidnapping and extradition of President Zelaya, consumption and the coup.

2 Son responsables directos de los muertos, heridos, encarcelados y de la zozobra impuesta a la sociedad hondureña; son los que destruyeron la democracia y la imagen del país en el ámbito nacional e internacional.

2 are directly responsible for the dead, wounded, imprisoned and anxiety imposed on Honduran society, are destroying democracy and the country's image both nationally and internationally.

3 Los golpistas reactivaron la organización antiterrorista y anticomunista que funcionó en la década de 1980 llamada Alianza para el Progreso de Honduras (APROH).

3 putschists and reactivated the anti-terrorist organization that operated in the 1980s Alliance for Progress of Honduras (APROH).

La falta de cultura y avaricia les impide razonar que los pueblos son libres de elegir el sistema político e ideológico que le ofrezca seguridad y bienestar.

The lack of a culture of greed and prevents them from thinking that people are free to choose the political and ideological system that offers safety and welfare.

Redacción / EL LIBERTADOR

Editorial / The Liberator

Tegucigalpa. Esta vez los nombres y los rostros quedarán para siempre para que la historia y los hondureños y el mundo los conozca, y sean llevados al juzgado de la sanción moral de los ciudadanos ya los tribunales de justicia nacionales e internacionales.

Tegucigalpa. This time the names and faces remain forever to the history and the Hondurans and the world knows, and are brought to court the moral sanction of the citizens and courts of justice nationally and internationally.

Los urdidores del golpe de Estado contra Zelaya pusieron en marcha una variante de la maquinaria que en la década de 1980 utilizó la Alianza para el Progreso de Honduras (APROH) que bajo un disfraz aparentemente empresarial, pero debajo escondía líneas políticas doctrinarias claras de “guerra de baja intensidad contra los opositores a la represión contra el gobierno sandinista y el descontento social en Honduras.

Urdidores of the coup against Zelaya launched a variant of the machinery in the 1980s used the Alliance for Progress of Honduras (APROH) that appeared in a costume business but hid beneath clear doctrinal lines policies of "war against low-intensity repression against opponents of the Sandinista government and the social unrest in Honduras.

El financiamiento de la organización lo trasladaba la inteligencia de Estados Unidos a través de la secta Moon”.

Funding for the organization moved to the United States intelligence through the Moon sect.

“EMPRESARIOS LABORIOSOS”

"EMPRESARIOS Laborie"

En los estatutos de APROH no aparece nada especialmente "sospechoso".

The statutes of APROH do not see anything particularly "suspect".

Un grupo de empresarios se asocian para estudiar sus problemas, con una proyección asistencial hacia otros sectores.

A group of entrepreneurs to discuss their problems associated with a projection to other sectors of care.

El modelo económico que defendían asociados era claro: presionar por políticas de libre empresa con escasos mecanismos de control y con múltiples mecanismos para maximizar la ganancia.

The economic model associated defending was clear: to push for policies of free enterprise with few control mechanisms and multiple mechanisms to maximize the gain.

A los socios se les exigía "guardar la debida confidencialidad sobre los documentos o informaciones que conocieran mediante su participación en las actividades de APROH y que la divulgación pudiera causarles perjuicios a sus miembros.

The partners were required to "keep the confidentiality of the documents or information available through its involvement in APROH and that the disclosure would cause harm to its members.

Recién creada, en el primer semestre de 1983, APROH no llamó la atención de nadie.

Newly created in the first half of 1983, APROH no attention from anyone.

Se veía como un nuevo intento de cohesionar a los sectores más conservadores de Honduras.

It looked like another attempt to bring together the most conservative sectors of Honduras.

En noviembre de ese año, diario "Tiempo" publicó uno de esos "documentos" de uso interno: APROH recomendaba a la Comisión Kissinger, a través de un amigo personal y asesor de éste, la solución militar para Centroamérica.

In November of that year, the daily "Tiempo" published one of these "documents" for internal use: APROH Kissinger recommended that the Commission, through a personal friend and adviser of it, the military solution for Central America.

LA VERDAD DE AYER Y HOY

THE TRUTH OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY

En APROH se reúnen el fascismo militar que representaba en aquel entonces el general Álvarez -presidente de la Asociación y, ahora Romeo Vásquez.

In APROH meet military fascism was then the general Álvarez-president of the Association, and now Romeo Vasquez.

Estaba integrada como ahora por la ultraderecha empresarial del país, aunque en verdad más que ideología son empresarios corruptos enriquecidos porque lo se hace o no en el país lo determinan ellos.

It was composed as far by the business wing of the country, although in truth rather than ideology is corrupt businessmen because it is enriched or not in the country is determined by them.

Son los eternos vividores de prebendas fiscales, son los que obtienen concesiones y perdones de deudas millonarias con el Estado.

Vividores the eternal Son of tax privileges, which are obtained concessions and forgive billions of debt to the State.

Son los que financian y controlan a los partidos políticos e influyen para colocar sus cuadros en el Congreso Nacional y en el Poder Judicial.

Which are financed and controlled the political parties and have to sell their paintings in the National Congress and the Judiciary.

En suma, son los que tienen atrapado el país y niegan la superación a otros empresarios y marginan al pueblo porque para ellos es negocio que siga ignorante y con hambre, así les resulta fácil manipularlo con sus medios de comunicación como pasa en este momento con el golpe de Estado.

In short, they have caught the country and deny the passing to other employers and marginalize people because for them to continue business is ignorant and hungry, and easy to manipulate the media now as in the coup.

A fines de 1983, los rumores sobre la preocupación con que la embajada de Estados Unidos veía el consolidamiento de un grupo de presión tan conservador y tan vulnerable a la crítica al interior del país, igual que ahora, los golpistas se han vuelto un problema para los mismos Estados Unidos.

In late 1983, rumors about the concern with which the United States embassy was to consolidate a pressure group as conservative and as vulnerable to the criticism inside the country, as now, the coup has become a problem for the same United States.

Entonces la APROH fue dormida por muchos años, pero la despertaron en la madrugada del 28 de junio de 2009 para consumar su trabajo: botar al Presidente, manipular a través de los medios de comunicación, ejecuciones extra judiciales que nadie sabrá, represión a propios y extraños y guerra sicológica para confundir al pueblo.

Then APROH was asleep for many years, but awoke on the morning of June 28, 2009 to complete his work: bounce to the President, through manipulation of the media, extra judicial executions that nobody knows, repression of its own and strange and psychological warfare to confuse the people.

¿QUIÉNES ERAN LOS MIEMBROS?

WHO WERE THE MEMBERS?

El general Gustavo Alvares era el jefe, el hombre a la cabeza de la APROH, Rafael Leonardo Callejas reconoció que cuando era secretario de asuntos obreros y estudiantiles de la Aproh –que enarbolaba la bandera del anticomunismo, se impulsó a Oswaldo Ramos Soto para que llegara a la rectoría de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH).

Gen. Gustavo Alvares was the boss, the man leading the APROH, Rafael Leonardo Callejas acknowledged that when he was secretary of labor and student affairs of-Aproh flying the banner of anticommunism, it led to Oswaldo Ramos Soto arrived the stewardship of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH).

Es de señalar que la APROH fue creada en el gobierno de Roberto Suazo Córdova por Álvarez Martínez, máximo precursor de la Doctrina de Seguridad y responsable de decenas de asesinatos y desapariciones políticas en el país.

It is noteworthy that the APROH was created in the government of Roberto Suazo Córdova by Álvarez Martínez, a precursor of the maximum Security Doctrine and responsible for dozens of political murders and disappearances in the country.

Esta organización contaba con la colaboración de la “Secta Moon”, una organización religiosa conocida en todo el mundo.

This organization had the cooperation of the Moon sect, a religious organization known around the world.

Es de señalar que la Aproh fue creada en el gobierno de Roberto Suazo Córdova por Álvarez Martínez, máximo precursor de la Doctrina de Seguridad y responsable de decenas de asesinatos y desapariciones políticas en el país.

It is noteworthy that the Aproh was created in the government of Roberto Suazo Córdova by Álvarez Martínez, a precursor of the maximum Security Doctrine and responsible for dozens of political murders and disappearances in the country.

En la Aproh también estaban José Rafael Ferrari, Miguel Facussé, Fernando Casanova, Rigoberto Espinal Irías, Benjamín Villanueva y los ex dirigentes sindicales Andrés Víctor Artiles y Mariano González.

In Aproh also José Rafael Ferrari, Facussé Miguel, Fernando Casanova, Rigoberto Espinal Irías, Benjamin Villanueva and former union leaders and Artiles Víctor Andrés Mariano Gonzalez.

Esta organización también tenía entre sus miembros a Osmond Maduro, hermano del ex Presidente y golpista Ricardo Maduro Joest.

This organization also had among its members Osmond Maduro, and brother of former President Ricardo Maduro Joest coup.

Los personajes de la banca nacional y extranjera, los de las industrias química y textil, los de la agroindustria y la televisión y los de la tecnocracia.

The characters in the domestic and foreign banks, those of the chemical and textiles, agribusiness and the television and the technocracy.

Todos estaban representados en APROH.

All were represented in APROH.

Ahora usted mire en esta página a los golpistas más representativos, son los miembros de la nueva APROH.

Now you look at this page to the putschists representative are members of the new APROH.

No hay diferencia con los del pasado, es más, algunos son los mismos: Miguel Facussé, Rafael Leonardo Callejas y José Rafael Ferrari.

No difference with the past, moreover, some are the same: Facussé Miguel, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, José Rafael Ferrari.

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Conozca el “código de palabras lava cerebros”

Meet the "code words" brain washed "

de golpistas para manipular a los hondureños

putschists of Hondurans to manipulate

La feroz guerra sicológica de los golpistas a través de sus medios de comunicación, que son la mayor fuerza mediática del país, reproduce en la mente de la población códigos de manipulación de masa, por ejemplo, es legal secuestrar al Presidente, porque es amigo de Chávez; y micheletti es bueno, porque odia a Fidel a Daniel ya Chávez.

The vicious psychological warfare of the coup through its media, which are the strongest media in the country, playing in the minds of the population code of mass manipulation, for example, it is legal to kidnap the president, because he is a friend of Chavez and Micheletti is good, because they hate Fidel and Daniel Chavez.

Redacción / EL LIBERTADOR

Editorial / The Liberator

Tegucigalpa. El prototipo de la democracia hondureña en clave que los golpistas reproducen el cerebro de los hondureños, se descifra como ver lo malo como bueno.

Tegucigalpa. The prototype of Honduran democracy in the coup played key brain Hondurans, decrypted see as evil as good.

Al ilegal como legal, al usurpador como necesario porque ama el país.

The illegal and legal, the usurper as necessary because she loves the country.

El golpe de Estado como “sucesión constitucional”, el odio contra Hugo Chávez, Daniel Ortega y Fidel Castro justifica el rompimiento del Estado de Derecho y el salvajismo de los militares contra los protestantes que reclaman la vuelta al orden constitucional.

The coup d'etat as a "constitutional succession," the hatred of Hugo Chávez, Daniel Ortega and Fidel Castro justify breaking the rule of law and the savagery of the military against protesters demanding the return to constitutional order.

Los que buscan el camino de un país donde se respeten las leyes son chusma y vándalos, y los que apoyan la dictadura se visten de blanco porque son puros, son patriotas porque cantan el Himno Nacional y claman democracia, eso es igual a defender a Micheletti porque comparte el deseo de paz y armonía en Honduras, pero para muchos la incapacidad de entender que así se manipula a las masas mediante la técnica conocida como “atrapabobos” y otros igual de mentes débiles pertenecen a familias que se han lucrado con la miseria de mayor parte de la población.

Those who seek the path of a country where laws are respected mob and vandals, and they support the dictatorship because they are dressed in pure white, they are patriots because they sing the National Anthem and claim democracy, that is equal to defending Micheletti because they share the desire for peace and harmony in Honduras, but the inability for many to understand that it manipulates the masses through the technique known as "atrapabobos" and other equally weak minds are from families who have profited from the misery of Most of the population.

LA DEMOCRACIA EN CLAVE DE LOS GOLPISTAS:

DEMOCRACY IN THE KEY OF putschists:

Democracia = no Chávez-no Fidel-no Ortega;

Democracy = no-no Chavez Fidel Ortega-no;

Democracia = Rico inocente, Pobre culpable;

Democracy = Rico innocent guilty Poor;

Democracia = Sí al que viola la Ley por nuestro bien, no a Mel que viola la Ley por el bien.

= Yes to democracy that violates the law for us, not Mel violating the law for the good.

Democracia = Yo por Micheletti soy conciliador, tú, por Mel rompes vidrios;

Democracy = I am a conciliator by Micheletti, you break glass by Mel;

Democracia = yo amo al Cardenal, tú, olvidas el padre nuestro (y ofendes al Cardenal);

Democracy = I love the Cardinal, you forget our father (and offend the Cardinal);

Democracia = corrupto, mayor o que Mel, pero odia a Chávez y odia a Fidel;

Democracy = corrupt, more or Mel, but hates hates Chavez and Fidel;

Democracia = El secuestro de Mel es bueno, el derrame de sangre de los opositores es bueno y la represión es buena, el comunismo es malo: Mel es comunista; los golpistas NO respetan la vida ni la ley porque nos protegen del mal.

Democracy = The abduction of Mel is good, the bloodshed of the opponents and the suppression is good is good, communism is bad: Mel is a communist; the putschists no respect for life nor the law because they protect us from evil.

Democracia= Mel es peligroso por Chávez, Daniel y Fidel, Micheletti sólo busca el bien de todos; Micheletti es bueno, Mel es malo.

Mel = Democracy is dangerous for Chavez, Fidel and Daniel, Micheletti only seeks the good of all; Micheletti is good, bad Mel.

Democracia= Chávez y Fidel quieren imponernos ideologías extrañas a los hondureños; Mel es amigo de Chávez y Fidel; aborrecer a Mel, a Chávez ya Fidel es bueno porque somos hondureños.

Democracy = Chavez and Fidel want to impose alien ideologies Hondurans, Mel is a friend of Chavez and Fidel; hates Mel, Chavez and Fidel is good because we are Hondurans.

Fuente:

Source:

Fundacion Popol Nah Tun Para el Desarrollo Local

Popol Nah Tun Foundation for Local Development

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Aline Flores, ha jugado un papel vital

Aline Flores has played a vital role

antes y después del golpe de Estado

before and after the coup d'état

A La Cámara de Comercio e Industrias de Tegucigalpa (CCIT), cuya presidenta es la empresaria Aline Flores, admite que los empresarios han obligado a su personal a marchar de blanco contra el Presidente Zelaya.

A Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa (CCIT), whose chairman is the entrepreneur Aline Flores admits that employers have required their staff to go from white to President Zelaya.

B El gobierno de Zelaya le dio un golpe bajo a la empresa Corporación Flores (representante exclusiva de la marca Toyota en Honduras), propiedad del padre de Aline Flores, y donde ella es la gerente general, al descubrir y demandarla ante los tribunales por la venta de automóviles con dispensas falsificadas el caso sólo lo publicó este periódico con el título “Toyotazo”.

B Zelaya's government gave him a low blow to the company Corporación Flores (exclusive representative of the Toyota brand in Honduras), owned by the father of Aline Flores, where she is the general manager, to find and sue in court by selling cars with counterfeit waivers only if the newspaper published it under the title "Toyotazo.

C El padre de Aline Flores, Alan Flores, enfrenta un juicio desde hace más de dos décadas por parte del hermano menor Valentín Flores, que lo acusado de haberse apropiado de manera indebida de la participación accionaria que el papá le dejó y que la influencia de Aline y Alan en el sistema judicial y medios tradicionales de comunicación ha impedido que hasta hoy se haya emitido sentencia final.

C Aline Flores's father, Alan Flores, faces a trial for over two decades by the younger brother Valentin Flores, who has been accused of improperly appropriated the shares that the father left him and that the influence of Aline and Alan in the judicial system and traditional media has prevented so far final ruling is issued.

Redacción EL LIBERTADOR

Drafting The Liberator

Tegucigalpa. La Cámara de Comercio e Industria de Tegucigalpa ha jugado un papel importante antes y después del golpe de Estado.

Tegucigalpa. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa has played an important role before and after the coup.

Esta cámara es una versión de federación de cámaras hondureñas.

This camera is a version of the Honduran Federation of Chambers.

Dos días antes del secuestro del Presidente Zelaya, la presidenta de la cámara, Aline Flores, envió esta nota a personajes de dinero solicitando un apoyo que iba de 1,000 a 3,000 dólares y les dijo: “es necesario que el sector privado de Honduras, tome acciones urgentes encaminadas a apoyar la defensa de la democracia y de las libertades sociales y económicas”.

Two days before the kidnapping of President Zelaya, president of the chamber, Aline Flores, sent this note to people asking for money to support that ranged from 1,000 to $ 3,000 and told them: "it is necessary that the private sector in Honduras, take urgent action to support the defense of democracy and economic and social freedoms. "

Además, esa cámara repartió panfletos entre sus afiliados exhortándolos a acudir a un "gran plantón" contra Zelaya, quien según ellos "atenta contra tu libertad".

Moreover, this camera distributed leaflets urging its members to attend a "great plants against Zelaya, who according to them violates your liberty."

El panfleto dice: "Esperamos que las empresas se hagan presentes con todo su personal".

The pamphlet says: "We hope that companies will make presentations to all staff."

LA CAMARA, ANTES DEL GOLPE

The camera, before the coup

Diferentes dirigentes sociales y otras fuentes privadas en contra del golpe denunciaron que muchas de las marchas realizadas en oposición a Manuel Zelaya antes y después del golpe de Estado han estado llenas de empleados a quienes se les obligaba a marchar, con la amenaza latente que de no hacerlo serán despedidos.

Various community leaders and other private sources in the coup against alleged that many of the marches in opposition to Manuel Zelaya before and after the coup d'état have been filled with employees who were forced to march with the threat that failure doing so will be dismissed.

Esta versión, desestimada por la prensa tradicional hondureña y algunos medios internacionales, en realidad es muy fácil de confirmar: La Cámara de Comercio e Industria de Tegucigalpa (CCIT), lo confirma en su grupo de contactos en línea por Facebook .

This version, rejected by the traditional Honduran press and some international media, it is actually very easy to confirm: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa (CCIT), confirms its contact group on Facebook online.

En Facebook hallamos un panfleto que convoca a los empresarios afiliados a un "gran plantón" el 26 de junio (dos días antes del golpe de Estado) en contra de la encuesta promovida por el Presidente Manuel Zelaya, donde dice: "Participa con tu personal en defensa de la democracia".

Facebook find a pamphlet that encourages entrepreneurs affiliated with a "large plant" on June 26th (two days before the coup d'état) in breach of the survey was promoted by President Manuel Zelaya, where it says: "Join with your personal in defense of democracy. "

LA CAMARA, DESPUÉS DEL GOLPE

THE CHAMBER, THE AFTERMATH OF THE COUP

Después del golpe de Estado, la Cámara de Comercio de Tegucigalpa llamó de nuevo "a todos los empresarios y empresarias afiliadas: se les invita a participar en el Gran Plantón a realizarse el día Martes 30 de Junio de 2009 a las 10:00 am en el Parque Central de la Ciudad Capital" en apoyo al gobierno dictatorial de Roberto Micheletti.

After the coup, the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce called back "to all businessmen and businesswomen affiliated are invited to participate in the Grand Plantón which will take place on Tuesday June 30 2009 at 10:00 am Central Park in the Capital City "in support of the dictatorial government of Roberto Micheletti.

En el mismo, indican: " esperamos que las empresas se hagan presentes con todo su personal ".

In the same show: "We hope that companies will make presentations to all staff."

Estas protestas fueron mostradas por los medios locales y las cadenas internacionales como una muestra del "respaldo popular" que supuestamente tenía el gobierno golpista de Micheletti.

These protests were shown by local media and international chains as a sign of "popular" government that was supposed to putschist Micheletti.

[Magda Hassan]

Honduran Defense Ministry’s List of Drug Traffickers Links Micheletti to the Cali Cartel Jean-Guy Allard – Cubadebate
Translation: Machetera
The name of the leader of the Honduran coup d’etat, Roberto Micheletti, appears on a long undated list of drug traffickers drawn up by a senior official in the Honduran Ministry of Defense and Public Security, showing his relations with the Cali Cartel, the Colombian drug trafficking network.
The document, signed by infantry Colonel Rene Adalberto Paz Alfaro on Ministry letterhead shows ROBERTO MICHELLETI BAIN (misspelled), number SN-FF. AA. 060 – with a connection to the Cali Cartel, and under the column headed “Location,” the word “Yoro.”
Micheletti’s biographical notes indicate that he began his political career in the 1980’s, when he held the post of Local Council President in Yoro, where he was always selected as a deputy to the National Congress.
Son of an Italian citizen, Umberto Micheletti, and Donatella Bain, the present usurper of the Honduran presidency was born on August 13, 1948 in the town of El Progreso (Yoro).
He studied Business in the United States in order to dedicate himself later on to his own business, Empresa de Transporte TUTSA (TUTSA Transportation) in his hometown.
The appearance of Micheletti’s name on this list of drug traffickers leaves no doubt about the presence of his name in the files of the DEA, the U.S. anti-drug agency.
However, up to now, nothing has leaked from the North American source.
It’s worth noting that a few days ago, a group of extreme right-wing U.S. congressional representatives, headed by the Florida representatives Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, tried to sully the name of the constitutional president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, by asking President Barack Obama to investigate his supposed “links with drug traffickers,” through the DEA. Obama didn’t bother to answer.
The Diaz-Balarts have a long record of dubious relations with Colombian circles tied to drug trafficking.
On the other hand, in an interview with Pacifica Radio on July 10, Andres Pavon, the Honduran human rights leader, stated that General Vazquez Velazquez, the chairman of the Honduran Chiefs of Staff, has known ties to drug trafficking.
“He is someone from the Latin American intelligence community, close to the DEA and CIA [intelligence] framework,” he explained, in a telephone interview with the journalist Fernando Velazquez, reporting for Radio Mundial de Venezuela.
Pavon added that he had “evidence that the U.S. Embassy itself, through the DEA, has been involved in drug trafficking operations.”

Machetera is a member of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity.[B] This translation may be reprinted as long as the content remains unaltered, and the source, author, and translator are cited.[/B]

[Peter Lemkin]

AMY GOODMAN: Nikolas Kozloff, you’ve been following the coup very closely right now. Talk about the latest developments and who you feel is behind it. And what exactly is the US role here? If the US cut off aid, economic and military aid, do you feel that would end the coup?

NIKOLAS KOZLOFF: I don’t think so. I think there’s this revolving door of Washington insiders that are supporting companies like Chiquita banana. I just wrote an article about Chiquita, formerly known as the United Fruit Company. And, you know, throughout history, Chiquita banana has had enormous sway and power over Central American nations.

And we know that prior to the coup d’état in Honduras, Chiquita was very unhappy about President Zelaya’s minimum wage decrees, because they said that this would cut into their profits and make it more expensive for them to export bananas and pineapple. And we know that they appealed to the Honduran Business Association, which was also opposed to Zelaya’s minimum wage provisions.

And we also—and what I find really interesting is that Chiquita is allied to a Washington law firm called Covington, which advises multinational corporations. And who is the vice chairman of Covington? None other than John Negroponte, who your previous guest mentioned in regards to the rampant human rights abuses that went on in Honduras throughout the 1980s. So I think that’s a really interesting connection.

AMY GOODMAN: You talk about the money and the support, Chiquita, then and now. It’s interesting, this is so reminiscent of the coup against the Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He wasn’t in office but a year, 1990, 1991, when he was ousted, and one of his first acts when he became president was to increase the minimum wage, as Zelaya has done.

NIKOLAS KOZLOFF: Well, right, and this is nothing new, as I point out in a recent article. Throughout the twentieth century, Chiquita, formerly known as United Fruit, was associated with some of the most backward, retrograde political and economic forces in Central America and indeed outside of Central America in such countries as Colombia. And we know that United Fruit Company played a very prominent role in the coup d’état against democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954. And, you know, after that, that ushered in a very turbulent period in Guatemalan history, rampant human rights abuses, genocide against the indigenous people of Guatemala. And so, Guatemala is only now recovering from that.

But, you know, Chiquita has played a role in such countries as Guatemala and also Colombia, and now it maintains these ties to Covington, this law firm in Washington, to this day. And there is this revolving door, as I say before, of these Washington insiders. Covington, in turn, is tied to McLarty and Kissinger Associates, McLarty being President Clinton’s former Chief of Staff and envoy to Latin America, who was pushing the free trade agenda in Latin America, and Kissinger, who doesn’t even need an introduction. His ties to the coup in Chile in 1973 are well known. And so, it’s disturbing that there is this history of abuses in Central America throughout the twentieth century with Chiquita and the fruit companies, which continues to this day.

AMY GOODMAN: And then you have—well, we played Lanny Davis’s testimony before Congress, Lanny Davis, who we were speaking to Ken Silverstein about last week, the superb investigative reporter, about his representing the Chamber of Commerce, which is very much on the side of the coup regime right now. Lanny Davis is the former White House counsel for President Clinton.

NIKOLAS KOZLOFF: Right, and there’s these—there’s the circle of Clintonites that are still around. And as I mentioned before, you have Mack McLarty, who’s now associated with a law firm which is defending Chiquita. Also, as I point out in my recent article, you have the current Attorney General, Eric Holder, who was also Deputy Attorney General under Clinton, who defended Chiquita and its actions in Colombia, when Chiquita was allied to right-wing paramilitary death squads in the 1990s, was found guilty of paying off paramilitaries. And Eric Holder, the current Attorney General, who was also in the Clinton administration, was the lead counsel for Chiquita.

AMY GOODMAN: And explain the significance of what he was representing Chiquita around. I mean, we know the story of the Cincinnati Enquirer that did this remarkable exposé of Chiquita, which they were forced to apologize for, not because they were wrong, but because the reporter had gotten access to voicemail system within Chiquita, and they said that it was illegal how he had gained access to that voicemail system. But what he exposed was quite astounding.

NIKOLAS KOZLOFF: Right. Well, Chiquita claimed that it was merely paying protection money to the paramilitaries in Colombia. But the victims of the paramilitary violence in Colombia claim otherwise. They say that Chiquita was engaged in this systematic campaign to control banana production in Colombia and terrorize the population. And Chiquita was the only company in US history to be found guilty of paying bribes to a terrorist organization, as defined by the United States.

Eric Holder was the lead counsel defending Chiquita. He’s the top justice official in the United States with ties to this fruit company that was complicit in right-wing paramilitary violence.

AMY GOODMAN: So, the latest right now—the developments of the EU dropping support for Honduras, the talks with Oscar Arias breaking down. Though the elected president, Zelaya, has fully accepted what he proposed, the coup regime has said no. What’s going to happen? Oscar Arias said there could be a civil war, the President of Costa Rica and the Nobel Prize winner.

NIKOLAS KOZLOFF: Well, I don’t really—I don’t see how this is going to be resolved, because he’s already tried to come back militarily—I mean, not militarily, but force his way back into the country.

And I think that the problem is that, you know, up until recently, Honduras was a very—had very traditional right-wing politics, was one of the most reliable countries, most compliant regimes in Central America towards the United States. And now you see the resurgence of these right-wing forces. And so, there is this vibrant—these vibrant social movements in Honduras—for example, the Garifuna people, the Afro-Honduran, the indigenous people, and labor. But I think perhaps this could be the resurgence of these right-wing forces that really haven’t gone away, that it seemed for a while that we had the pink tide from South America, the rise of the left spreading into Central America. This could be, perhaps, a disturbing sign that those old retrograde forces are now trying to prove that they can stage a comeback. And I think that’s disturbing for other countries that are, say, allied to Venezuela, you know, such as small nations in the Caribbean, and this could be a very disturbing message to other countries that are following and trying to cultivate ties to Venezuela.

AMY GOODMAN: Nikolas Kozloff, I want to thank you for being with us, author of the book Revolution!: South America and the Rise of the New Left. His latest piece, “From Arbenz to Zelaya: Chiquita in Latin America.”