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Honduras and the United States: What’s Wrong With This Picture?
The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College ^ | October 12, 2009 | By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

Posted on 10/12/2009 9:36:44 AM PDT by Texas Fossil

As this is being written, Manuel Zelaya, the ousted and exiled ex-president of Honduras, is holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, having been smuggled there on Sept. 21. His followers acted like the anti-capitalist protesters who haunt G-20 meetings, smashing windows, spraying graffiti, attacking police cars, and suchlike.

Here is how we got to this point: Zelaya was elected president of Honduras in 2005. His administration has been plagued by charges of corruption, with the impartial group, Transparency International, ranking Honduras under Zelaya as corrupt as Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya.

In 2008, Zelaya joined the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas, the anti-American political and economic bloc of Latin American countries led by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, who has succeeded Fidel Castro in becoming the leading leftist autocrat in Latin America. Zelaya has received financial aid from Chavez, and has been alleged to be involved in the illicit drug trade.

On March 28 of this year, Zelaya initiated steps to alter the Honduran constitution. He wanted to change the provision stipulating that presidents are limited to one term. Article 239 of that constitution explicitly states that a president who takes any steps to tamper with that provision forfeits the office. This may seem jarring to North Americans, but if one is familiar with Latin American history, which has been plagued by the caudillo syndrome (a “strong man” installing himself as leader for life), one can see why a freedom-loving people would institute such a safeguard.

Venezuela’s Chavez publicly endorsed Zelaya’s bid to revise the Honduran constitution. Chavez has a long record of intervening in the domestic affairs of Latin American neighbors, granting millions of petrodollars and sending “community organizers” to perform on-the-ground legwork. He has helped install leftist allies into the presidencies of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, and clearly had Honduras in his sights.

Zelaya was warned by Honduras’ supreme court to cease stirring up mobs in support of his bid to prolong his presidency. He refused. On June 28, the court—backed by both political parties (including Zelaya’s), the congress, the Catholic Church, and the business sector—removed Zelaya from office. In a desire to avoid violent clashes with Zelaya’s allies (anti-Zelaya crowds of Hondurans had already begun public protests), the court asked the military to fly Zelaya to Costa Rica. The military complied. Then the constitutional successor, Roberto Micheletti, was sworn in as president. From day one, Micheletti has promised to yield to his constitutional successor, who will be elected in November.

Also from day one, Chavez has worked to return Zelaya to power. On the day of Zelaya’s expulsion, Chavez immediately called on the Honduran military to mutiny, contacted Zelaya allies in Honduras to fight, and vowed to depose Micheletti. In short, Chavez showed himself to be an enemy of the Honduran constitution, the rule of law, and the aspirations of the Honduran people to live in freedom instead of under a strong man.

And where does the Obama administration stand on this?

On the day Zelaya was deposed, the White House and State Department demanded Zelaya’s return, declaring him to be the legal president. An August report by the Congressional Research Service concluded that Zelaya’s removal was entirely legal; nevertheless, in September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton terminated U.S. aid to Honduras. She declared all those Hondurans who participated in the constitutional process to depose Zelaya to be persona non grata in the United States. Furthermore, the Obama administration vows not to recognize the winner of Honduras’ November presidential election.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Is it honorable for the Obama administration to break its promise not to interfere with sovereign matters?

Is it consistent with American values to support a law violator, repudiate constitutional government, and subvert a country’s institutional safeguards against would-be despots?

Is it in our country’s interest to ally ourselves with Hugo Chavez, and indeed, to increase his pernicious influence by actively supporting one of his antidemocratic campaigns?

Just as jihadist terrorists accelerated their aggressions against American interests before 9/11, when they concluded that we didn’t have the backbone to resist them, do we want to send a message to Latin America that Chavez is its future and we no longer care if our Latin American friends lose their liberty?

We ought to be worried by the fact that Zelaya has chosen the Brazilian embassy as his base of operations, because it signals that Brazil’s president, Lula da Silva, has abandoned his prudent, pragmatic policy of not wanting to offend either Chavez to his left or the United States to his right. Lula must now feel constrained to appease Chavez’ antidemocratic ambitions, because clearly, if the United States is not willing to stand up against him, how may Brazil risk getting on the wrong side of Chavez?

Does President Obama really want to drive Brazil, the largest and wealthiest South American country, closer to Venezuela?

Do the American people want their government to take the side of antidemocratic bullies against the freedom-loving people of Honduras?

Everything is wrong with this picture. Our Honduras policy is unconscionable.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2005; 2008; 200903; 20090328; brazil; chavez; constitution; honduras; latinamerica; lula; manuelzelaya; micheletti; porfiriolobo; venezuela; zelaya
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Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

Comment by TF: The desent of responsible voices are increasing.

It is now obvious that Washington is committing Treason.

1 posted on 10/12/2009 9:36:45 AM PDT by Texas Fossil
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To: Texas Fossil

I think you mean dissent?


2 posted on 10/12/2009 9:41:37 AM PDT by benjibrowder (For Neda. May God bless those fighting for freedom.)
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To: benjibrowder

Yes, I did. Sorry.


3 posted on 10/12/2009 9:44:58 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil
Honduras has the ball now.

The Honduran government, and military which is united against Zelaya, and acting within their Constitution, should withdraw from Treaties and diplomatic relations with the United States and Brazil, charge ALL cooperatives of Zelaya with espionage or insurrection, and authorize the military to support the police in enforcing the law and take Zelaya into custody.

4 posted on 10/12/2009 9:56:58 AM PDT by Navy Patriot (Sarah and the Conservatives will rock your world.)
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To: Navy Patriot
Why don't they just revoke the Brazilian Embassies Charter, that way they can arrest him, because it would no longer be considered sovereign territory?
5 posted on 10/12/2009 10:06:16 AM PDT by sniper63 (Silent and stealthy - one shot - one kill)
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To: Texas Fossil

He must be getting bored sitting in that embassy. It looks like he put himself under house arrest, just in someone elses house.


6 posted on 10/12/2009 10:07:41 AM PDT by BlueStateBlues (Blue State business, Red State heart. . . . .Palin 2012----can't come soon enough!)
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To: BlueStateBlues

Zelaya is a traitor just like Obozo.

He is busy using cell phone to plot his return to power.

We will have the same problem when it is time for Obozo to “exit stage Left”.


7 posted on 10/12/2009 10:09:28 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil

Beautifully written paper....


8 posted on 10/12/2009 10:24:51 AM PDT by Former MSM Viewer
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To: sniper63
Why don't they just revoke the Brazilian Embassies Charter

That would be one of the steps in the process I roughly described.

The important thing is it must be done correctly. Both the US and Brazil must be removed from diplomatic immunity BEFORE enforcement action.

To do that Honduras must repudiate the necessary treaties (a legal act), close their Embassies and withdraw their personnel.

Then they withdraw diplomatic immunity from the US and Brazil, cut a check for the Embassy properties, and demand the US and Brazilians leave. If they refuse, they are now criminals engaging in espionage and insurrection, and subject to the laws of Honduras.

The likely result will be Zelaya abandoned in an empty Brazilian embassy, and he wouldn't bother to try to get to the US Embassy (the backup plan) because it's empty, too.

9 posted on 10/12/2009 10:28:14 AM PDT by Navy Patriot (Sarah and the Conservatives will rock your world.)
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To: Texas Fossil
He is busy using cell phone to plot his return to power.

They should disable his cell phone account.

10 posted on 10/12/2009 10:28:27 AM PDT by Dan(9698)
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To: Former MSM Viewer

I thought so. This link came from one of my new friends in Honduras. The people I have come to know there are great.

Viva! Honduras.


11 posted on 10/12/2009 10:28:46 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: Dan(9698)

They probably have by now. They cut off power and water to the embassy, from reports that I read.

I hope Lula in Brazil is removed because of his actions.

Obozo has been accused to buying-off Lula with 2 billion financing for an offshore oil project through the Export-Import Bank.


12 posted on 10/12/2009 10:32:15 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil

I thought so. This link came from one of my new friends in Honduras. The people I have come to know there are great.

Viva! Honduras.”

Just think...if we sent home the hundreds of thousands of illegal alien Hondurans they’d be even greater!

http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc0903/article_219.shtml


13 posted on 10/12/2009 10:33:56 AM PDT by AuntB (If the TALIBAN grew drugs & burned our land instead of armed Mexican Cartels would anyone notice?)
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To: Former MSM Viewer

Here is another part of the plot.

“Did Obama bribe Brazil with $2 billion to help put Honduras’s Zelaya back into power?”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2352071/posts


14 posted on 10/12/2009 10:37:49 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: AuntB

I understand you concern. Illegal immigration is a serious matter.

You however cannot judge a nation by the ones who come here illegally. I still have great respect for the spunk of the Hondurans, when dealing with Obozo, the OAS, and the criminal nations that surround theirs.

I truly believe that we need an Amerian trans-national Citizens Organization to promote Freedom within the countries of this hemisphere. Not have them all move to the United States, but promote freedom in their own countries.


15 posted on 10/12/2009 10:47:44 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil
According to Hendrickson,

...the court asked the military to fly Zelaya to Costa Rica.

If that is true, the Supreme Court suborned violating Article 102 of the Constitution and kidnapping Zelaya.

Of course, the author is wrong on several "facts" that he asserted. So he's probably wrong on the assertion I cited, too.
16 posted on 10/12/2009 12:44:28 PM PDT by normanpubbie
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To: Texas Fossil

http://www.collinsreport.net/2009/09/12/former-honduran-president-zelaya-hugo-chavez%e2%80%99s-drug-runner/


17 posted on 10/12/2009 12:59:48 PM PDT by jmaroneps37 (Conservatism is truth. Liberalism is lies.)
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To: normanpubbie

“the author is wrong on several “facts” that he asserted.”

Which “facts” are you referring to?


18 posted on 10/12/2009 2:14:23 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: jmaroneps37

As per Collins report cited:

I had read that Chaves and Zelaya were both heavily involved in drug trade.

A lot of our enemies are like that. Another way to attack us.


19 posted on 10/12/2009 2:16:00 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil
I thought the article was one of the best written to describe what is happening in Honduras and how Obama is trying to get the commie Z back in power. All I know is Norman supports the communist Z and has an agenda.
20 posted on 10/12/2009 2:56:25 PM PDT by mickey finn
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