2009 Honduras Coup: Responsibility and Repercussions on the U.S.

By Poetry X
10 August, 2014
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2009, Jun 28th – Honduras: Military Coup. Roberto Michiletti takes power of the de-facto government.

The US has a crisis in the border with Mexico, but not with Mexican children but with children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. From May to June 1939, the United States refused to admit over 900 Jewish refugees who had sailed from Hamburg to escape the Holocaust. Then, why this time the US would accept these refugee children to be saved from extreme crime like murder, organ theft and child prostitution?

Let’s take a look to the coup in Honduras that took place in 2009 and how the US was involved.

EVENTS

The Honduran Supreme Court accused Zelaya of trying to perpetuate himself in power by adopting a new constitution.
The military took president Zelaya out of his home in middle of the night to terminate his functions as president. Zelaya was taken to the Soto Cano military base in Palmerola to be later taken to Costa Rica. This was a former US military base.
Roberto Michiletti is installed as the de-facto president.
Once the coup took place, a national coalition immediately went to the streets to demand the return of Zelaya.
As stablished under CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) Honduras was immediately suspended from its membership in order to put pressure to let the President put back in power.
Under its own law, the US had to cut all kind of assistance to a government installed by a coup, but the US took months to cut only a half of that assistance.
Regardless of the condemnation of the majority of nations, elections were called [Reuters].
The de-facto elections were boycotted by almost all left leaning parties. The vote-turnout was about 35%.
The elections were so fraudulent that even the Organization of American States and the European Union refused to send observers.
The US recognized the de-facto elected president Lobo as legitimate, in contrast to the majority of the world that recognized major irregularities.

CONTEXT

Zelaya was about to step down from power, and what he was actually about to make a poll asking the population if they wanted a new constitution.
Previous to the coup, Zelaya introduced a law that required community approval for mining concessions which affected the multinational Goldcorp.
Zelaya also banned open-pit mines and the use of cyanide and mercury to avoid pollution.
In addition, Zelaya joined Petrocaribe and signed a competitive contract with Conoco Phillips which angered Exxon and Chevron because those corporations wanted the contracts.
Zelaya, by joining the ALBA, would stop importing medicaments from multinationals to replace them with generic medicine from Cuba. [GreenLeft.org Feb 25th 2013]
The ALBA agreed to fund Honduras to transform the Soto Cano militar base into an international airport. This base has been used by the US since the 1950’s [Eva Golinger].

FINDINGS

3 weeks before the coup, John Negroponte, Hugo Llorens, the military elite, the business elite, and religious elite had had meetings.
Llorens,the actual US ambassador, has accepted he knew about the coup, but he didn’t want to interfere in these affairs. [Democracy Now Jun 28th 2010]

AFTERMATH

During the coup and after the de-facto elections, many protesters have been victims of multiple abuses.
About 70% of the protesters were women, and many were beaten, raped and tortured by police.
More than 3,000 people were illegally detained & at least 41 opposition leaders were murdered right after the coup.
Independent radio received bombing threats like Radio Progreso. Radio Faluma Bimetu got burned.
Palm planters have recruited 40 members of Colombia’s AUC after overthrow of President Zelaya.
Congress members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, & Connie Mack have taken a aggressive stand against Zelaya. [The Nation Jan 31st 2011]
After the coup, the US constructed 2 military bases in Honduras. The Soto Cano base in Palmerola was reopen and nowadays about 600 US army personnel work there.
The de-facto elected pres Lobo put General Vasquez Velasquez as head of Hondutel, a company that the elite wanted to privatize.
Vasquez Velasquez was trained in the school of the Americas.
De facto presidente Lobo banned any manifestations.
The level of violence is so alarming that even the state regularly use terror as a means of social control [CCTV Nov 24-2013].
However, the US has seen no problem in this massive wave of state terror and keeps funding its murderous police that for many resemble a lot to the Reagan era death squads [Guardian Mar 30-2014].
Mr. Zelaya eventually was allowed to return to Honduras.
Five years later, about 200 members of Zelaya’s active supporters have been murdered [TeleSur Jul 7-2014].
Government officials have admitted around 70% of police force is totally corrupt.
Senator Tim Kaine said the level of military terror is worse than in the early 1980’s during the Contra war with Nicaragua. In fact, police has been involved in kidnapping, torture, rape, murder and disappearance [TeleSur Sep 18-2014].
Women and children find themselves in the necessity of flying, since the government instead of helping, actually repress groups that provide assistance to this kind of victims.
There have been event so bloody that could be described as massacres. The violent groups have been armed with weapons made in the US, and some criminal organizations have found to be assisted by US organizations [Democracy Now July 17-2014].
Nowadays, Honduras has become one of the most violent nations of the hemisphere [TVC Aug 12-2014].

[The Nation Apr 5th 2010 & Democracy Now May 31st 2011]

Untwisting Reality