Two local leaders of the Popular Bloc of grassroots groups demanding the return of President Zelaya were killed by unknown gunmen in Hondurasâone in San Pedro Sula, the other in the countryside.
The appearance of unity within the Honduran military and the de facto government is deceptive, according to statements by Argentine deputy defense minister Alfredo Forti published in the Buenos Aires daily ClarĂn on July 11. “People with the rank of… Read moreHonduras: army and business owners wavering?
LucĂa Pinochet Hiriart, daughter of late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, expressed her support for the Honduran coup, saying Zelaya left the military no choice but to do “something unconstitutional.”
Seven US trade associations sent a letter to President Obama, calling on the US to assure “predictability and stability” in Hondurasâbut said nothing about democracy or constitutional order.
An LA Times op-ed by Miguel A. Estrada, “Honduras’ non-coup,” is the latest in a barrage of legalistic sophistries in defense of the Honduran putsch being assembled by the political right.
4,000 supporters of ousted President Mel Zelaya blocked the main road through Hondurasâwhile in Venezuela, Hugo ChĂĄvez warned the dialogue underway in Costa Rica is a “trap for democracy.”
Both Mel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, arriving in Costa Rica for talks on the Honduran impasse, denied there is anything to discussâas more repression of pro-Zelaya protesters is reported.
Hillary Clinton announced that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias will mediate in the Honduran crisisâwhile Zelaya-loyal chancellor Patricia Rodas told TeleSur the US has withdrawn recognition.
Father JosĂ© AndrĂ©s Tamayo, recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work defending the forests of Honduras, has been forced into hiding after leading protests against the coup d’etat.
Deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya, speaking from exile to his own armed forces, said: “In the name of God, soldiers of Honduras… I beg and command you: do not repress the Honduran people!”
Popular organizations in Honduras charge that ex-US under-secretary of state Otto Reich masterminded a campaign of “sabotage and disinformation” in the prelude to the coup d’etat.
Guatemala’s special anti-corruption Court for High Risk Crimes sentenced former vice president Roxana Baldetti to prison for 15 years and six months for her role in the so-called "Magic Water" scandal. The case concerned the awarding of an $18 million dollar contract to decontaminate Lake Amatitlán, an important water source for peasant communities. The contract went to Israeli firm M. Tarcic Engineering Ltd, which claimed it had a "special formula" that could clean the lake within months. An investigation revealed that the "formula" consisted of water, salt and chlorine. The Authority for the Sustainable Management of Lake Amatitlán (AMSA), establsihed to oversee the clean-up, documented illegal dumping of agricultural and municipal waste into the Río Villalobos, which empties into the lake. The UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) supported Guatemalan prosecutors in the conspiracy case against Baldetti. (Photo via EmisorasUnidas)
