Zelaya-Micheletti clash in expected Saturday

New Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez Colindres (center) and new Finance Minister Gabriella Nunez (right) are sworn in before Roberto Micheletti (left) who took power on Sunday after a military coup ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Micheletti swore in the first ministers who will join him during the six months of his planned interim presidency. (Xinhua/David De La Paz)

Things are about to get uglier in Honduras, with ousted President Manuel set on returning despite a warrant for his arrest if he does, and interim President Micheletti claiming it will take a foreign invasion for Zelaya to be restored.


Zelaya "has already committed crimes against the constitution and the law," said Micheletti, a member of Zelaya's Liberal Party who was named interim leader by Congress hours after coup.

"He can no longer return to the presidency of the republic unless a president from another Latin American country comes and imposes him using guns."

Oh, brother...is he asking for it?

Micheletti said he would not resign, defying the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Obama administration and other leaders that have condemned the military coup d'etat that overthrew Zelaya, and insisting Honduras would be ready to defend itself against any invasion.

"No one can make me resign if I do not violate the laws of the country," Micheletti told AP. "If there is any invasion against our country, 7.5 million Hondurans will be ready to defend our territory and our laws and our homeland and our government."

The OAS said Wednesday called for the "immediate, safe, and unconditional return of the president to his constitutional functions," giving coup leaders three days to restore Zelaya to power before Honduras risks being suspended from the group.


If that's all the leverage they've got--a suspension from the OAS--they've got nothing...if you ask me.

"We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted," OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said. "We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere."

Zelaya, who had planned to return to his country Thursday, said he will wait until Saturday, when a three-day deadline expires. He was on his way to Panama today, Reuters reported.

Micheletti again vowed Zelaya would be arrested if he returns, even though the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador have signed on to accompany him along with the heads of the OAS and the U.N. General Assembly, AP reported.

"As soon as he enters he will be captured," he said. "We have the warrants ready so that he stays in jail in Honduras and is judged according to the country's laws," Enrique Ortez, the interim government's foreign minister, told CNN.

Warrants for Zelaya's arrest on charges of violating the constitution and drug trafficking were issued earlier this week. Ortez said Zelaya had been letting drug traffickers ship U.S.-bound cocaine from Venezuela through Honduras, noting the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was aware of Zelaya's ties to organized crime, CNN reported.

That's a heck of a low blow if it isn't true. And if it's true...he's toast.

DEA spokesman Rusty Payne could neither confirm nor deny a DEA investigation.

Well, if the U.S. is set on standing by Zelaya, shouldn't it clarify this allegations?

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Washington saw no acceptable solution other than Zelaya's return to power, AP reported. He said the U.S. is considering cutting off aid to Honduras, which includes $215 million over four years from the U.S.-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation.

All this foreign aid...and meanwhile we can't afford a healthcare reform.

Micheletti has promised that he would step down in January and that he has no plans to ever run for president, AP reported. He said a key goal of his short term in office would be fixing the nation's finances. Zelaya never submitted the budget to Congress that was due last September, raising questions about what he was spending state money on, according to the report.

In a military coup at dawn Sunday, troops took Zelaya by force and flew him out of the country to Costa Rica, effectively blocking a referendum he intended to hold that day asking Hondurans if they wanted to reform the constitution. The Supreme Court, Congress and the military all deemed his planned ballot illegal.

The Honduran constitution limits presidents to a single, four-year term. Congress claims Zelaya, whose term ends in January, modified the ballot question at the last minute to help him eventually try to seek re-election. Chavez has used referendums in Venezuela to win the right to run repeatedly, AP reported.

Zelaya, who is an ally of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, backed down from the referendum Tuesday, saying he would no longer push for the constitutional changes he wanted.

Isn't it a little too late for that? Surely he had the time to give up on his plans before the coup. Congress, the courts and the military were clear on their opposition to the referendum.

Zelaya's popularity has sagged in recent years, but his criticism of the wealthy and policies such as raising the minimum wage have earned him the loyalty of many poor Hondurans, and thousands have rallied to demand his return, AP reported.

Thousands of others rallied in favor of Micheletti, accusing Zelaya of trying to bring Venezuelan-style socialism to Honduras. Yet beyond the demonstrations at the presidential palace and the capital's central square, there has been little sign of major disruption to daily life, according to the report.

I think Honduras coup leaders are hoping the issue will blow over just as the Iran election fallout is sliding toward the back burner, especially when there's no revolt in Honduras, just a few scattered protests, so there's much less pressure from the public to undo what has been done.

Sources: AP, Reuters, CNN
Copyright © 2009

U.S. not ready to declare coup, cut aid to Honduras

Ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya speaks during a press conference Sunday before boarding flight to Nicaragua for a meeting with regional leaders. (AP Photo/Kent Gilbert)

The U.S. said Monday it views the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as a coup but is not legally declaring this for now, a step that would require Washington cut off most aid to Tegucigalpa, Reuters reported.

Obama said Monday that removal of Zelaya was "not legal" and that he still is the president of Honduras.

Zelaya, in office since 2006, was overthrown in a dawn coup after he angered the judiciary, Congress and the army by seeking constitutional changes that would allow presidents to seek re-election beyond a four-year term.

The Honduran Congress named congressman Roberto Micheletti as interim president of Honduras, and the country's Supreme Court said it had ordered the army to remove Zelaya.

Hours before the swearing-in, heavily armed troops burst into the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, broke through the door of Zelaya's bedroom, took him by force and flew him into exile in Costa Rica.

President Obama's administration, the European Union and a string of other foreign governments voiced support for Zelaya, who was snatched by troops from his residence and whisked away by plane to Costa Rica, Reuters reported.

"We do think that this has evolved into a coup," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters.

Whether the U.S. legally declares the event a military coup--a determination that Clinton said it was "withholding" for now--is vital because it could force Obama to cut off most aid to the country.

Under U.S. legislation, no aid, other than for the promotion of democracy, may be provided to a country whose elected head of government has been toppled in a military coup, according to the report.

Asked if the U.S. was currently considering cutting off aid, Clinton shook her head no.

The State Department said that it was unable to immediately say how much assistance the U.S. gives Honduras.

Clinton stressed the U.S. was working with other nations in the hemisphere to restore full democratic and constitutional order but stopped short of specifically calling for Zelaya to be restored to power, Reuters reported.

Analysts said quick criticism of the coup by Obama and Clinton on Sunday pleased Latin American countries bitter about the long history of U.S. intervention in the region, Reuters reported.

The Obama administration's stance contrasted with the equivocal position taken in 2002 by former President George W. Bush's administration, which was seen as tacitly accepting a coup against Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez.

Chavez has pledged to "overthrow" Micheletti.

This coup will be defeated," Chavez said in the meeting in Managua, also attended by the leaders of Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and other countries allied with Honduras, The Washington Post reported. "We have to be very firm, very firm. This cannot end until Jose Manuel Zelaya is returned to power, without condition."

Micheletti responded to Chavez's threat Monday on Honduran radio, saying "Nobody scares us."

"I am sure that 80 to 90 percent of the Honduran population is happy with what happened," he said. Micheletti also said that he had not spoken to any other Latin American head of state, according to a Washington Post report.

Zelaya, speaking to reporters in Managua, Nicaragua, demanded that he be restored to power but said that violence was not an option. He also said that many Hondurans had no idea about the worldwide condemnation of the coup because private television stations in his country blacked out coverage, playing cartoons and soap operas instead, The Washington Post reported.

"Are we going to go back to the military being outside of the control of the civil state?" Zelaya said in comments to the press. "Everything that is supposed to be an achievement of the 21st century is at risk in Honduras."

Zelaya, 56, was in the last few months of his presidency when the coup took place.

Senior Obama administration officials said Sunday that U.S. diplomats had been negotiating behind the scenes to stop the coup.

"We have worked hard to avoid this," a senior Obama official said in a background briefing with reporters. "This has been brewing a long time."

Zelaya was removed from office as Hondurans prepared to vote Sunday in a nonbinding referendum asking them whether they would support a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Zelaya's critics said he wanted to use the referendum to open the door to re-lection after his term ends in January, an assertion that he denied.

The referendum was condemned as an obvious power grab, with the Honduran Supreme Court calling the referendum unconstitutional and leaders of Zelaya's own party denouncing the measure, according the WP report, among others.

On Sunday, the Honduran Congress voted to accept what it claimed was Zelaya's resignation letter. Zelaya denied that he had signed such a letter. A senior U.S. official said, "It is hard to take that letter seriously given how President Zelaya was removed from office."

Honduras is a poor, coffee- and banana-growing country in Central America with a population of 7 million.

Source: Reuters, The Washington Post

Coup d'etat in Honduras, Zelaya safe in Costa Rica

Honduras President Jose Manuel Zelaya during the 61st session of the United Nations Assembly in June 2007. (UN photo)

Honduras President Manuel Zelaya has been arrested by troops over a disputed re-election bid and flown on board a military plane to an undisclosed location in Costa Rica.

Zelaya was pushing for a referendum to change the constitution of the Central American country so that he could run for re-election, and the arrest came minutes before polls in the controversial vote were to open.

In a press conference at the San Jose Airport in Costa Rica, Zelaya said he was awaken by bullets and kidnapped after his bodyguards fought off soldiers for about 30 minutes.

"They invaded my house...broke down doors...threatened to shoot me. This was a brutal kidnapping with no justification," the 56-year-old leftist leader said, noting he was taken in his pajamas. "There are ways to protest without arms."

Zelaya, who was elected in 2005, is not asking for political asylum. "I only ask for hospitality," he said.

The Honduran Congress has voted in favor to accept Zelaya's resignation and appoint Congress chief Robert Micheletti as acting president.

The Honduran Supreme Court said today it told the army to oust president Zelaya due to his attempt to hold illegal re-election vote, noting the presidential election will go ahead as planned on November 29.

Some 200 soldiers surrounded the presidential palace and heavy gunfire followed before arrest. The troops reportedly fired tear gas at a crowd of people gathered outside the palace to protest the coup. Armed troops roamed the streets urging residents to stay inside.

Moments after calling on supporters of the president to stage rally in the capital, the pro-government TV channel was taken off the air, radio stations played only music, and several websites of national media outlets went offline. Electricity, too, went out in parts of Honduras right after the arrest.

First Lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya is hiding "in a mountain at the east of the country," news agency EFE reported; however, according to other reports, she was hiding in the capital city of Tegucigalpa in the southwest region of the country.

"We're in the process of filing an international complaint," the presidential secretary said according to local newspaper reports. I communicate with the international community to do something about it."

The Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and Cuban ambassadors in Honduras, as well as San Pedro Sula Mayor Carlos Padilla Sula, and the Honduras foreign minister were also "kidnapped" and/or arrested by troops, local media reported.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez put his country's armed forces on alert, warning of military action if.said he will do "everything necessary" to abort the military coup and "bring down" any new government sworn-in in Honduras. Chavez threats intensified after he heard the Venezuelan ambassador had been kidnapped, beaten and left by a roadside. Venezuela is in the northern coast of South America, closest to Central America.

Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina, also in South America, blasted the coup and called for the international community to reject it. Ecuador said it would not recognized a new government, adding it would support military action if any of its diplomats or allies were threatened.

Military troops took over the streets of Honduras' capital city Tegucigalpa during a coup d'etat today . (Amateur YouTube video)

The Organization of American States was meeting about the crisis unfolding in Honduras, AFP reported.

"This is a tragic day," said Carlos Sosa, Honduras's ambassador to the Organization of American States."Hopefully it will be a historic day."

Zelaya called for "peaceful resistance" against the coup and asked the U.S. to "clarify if it had a role" in military coup, adding that the U.S. should demand the restitution of the legitimate government in Honduras. (Demand? Do we really rule the world?)

Wonderful. First we "interfere" with Iran's June 12 presidential elections and somehow incite massive, violent anti-government protests--Iran leaders had nothing to do with it, of course--and now we somehow mastermind a coup d'etat in Honduras. WTF? Before long, the U.S. government will be blamed for the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays...Jeez.

The Obama administration worked in recent days to prevent President Zelaya's ouster, a senior U.S. official said according to a Wall Street Journal report. The State Department, in particular, communicated to Honduran officials on the ground that President Obama wouldn't support any non-democratic transfer of power in the Central American country, WSJ reported.

"We had some indication" that a move against Mr. Zelaya was a foot, said a U.S. official briefed on the diplomacy. "We made it clear it was something we didn't support."

The White House rejected any involvement in the coup and released the following statement from President Obama:

"I am deeply concerned by reports coming out of Honduras regarding the detention and expulsion of President Zelaya. As the Organization of American States did on Friday, I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference."

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton said the military coup "violates democratic precepts" and should "condemned by all."

"We call on all parties in Honduras to respect the constitutional order and the rule of law, to reaffirm their democratic vocation, and to commit themselves to resolve political disputes peacefully and through dialogue," Clinton said.

The European Union is demanding Zelaya's release. "Military coup is unacceptable violation of the constitutional order in Honduras," the EU said in a statement.

"The EU strongly condemns the arrest of the constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras by the armed forces," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout told reporters.

The military had ruled Honduras for 25 years, until a democratically elected civilian government came to power in 1982.

Zelaya won the presidency in 2005 with 49.8% of the vote. His term ends in January.

Sources: BNO, AFP, WSJ, AP, Reuters
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