Zelaya Reveals Assassination Plot/U.S. boosts Zelaya with Obama comments, Clinton talks

[Poll_Blind]

Source: Ahora English (Cuba)

Another two-fer so as not to spam Late-Breaking News.

First story from Ahora English edition, from Cuba- Zelaya Reveals Assassination Plot:

The group that ordered the coup in Honduras gave specific directions to assassinate President Manuel Zelaya, according to declarations by the constitutional president, published on Monday in this capital.
According to Zelaya, Gen. Romero Vasquez, involved in the coup, confessed to him that the intention was to eliminate him, but the military man decided, at the last minute, to send him to Costa Rica.

"This opposing group wanted you dead," said Zelaya, paraphrasing General Vasquez.

The Honduran president was taken out of his home violently on June 28, by a group of military men, and taken by force to an air force base and from there to Costa Rica.

Read more: http://www.ahora.cu/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1787&Itemid=29

---

Source: Reuters

Second story from Reuters: U.S. boosts Zelaya with Obama comments, Clinton talks(emphasis mine):

Signaling more forceful U.S. support, President Barack Obama called for the reinstatement of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday even while noting he has been no friend of American policies.

--snip--

"America supports now the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies," Obama said. "We do so not because we agree with him. We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not," he said in a speech in Russia.

--snip--

But wary of being accused of meddling, the United States has sought to play a behind the scenes role on reinstating Zelaya, with the Organization of American States (OAS) leading the effort. The OAS took the rare step of suspending Honduras on Saturday in an effort to isolate the country's interim government. Critics have long accused the United States of interfering in its "backyard." During the Cold War Washington backed right-wing dictatorships to stop the spread of communism, and more recently the Bush administration caused a stir in 2002 when it initially appeared to welcome a short-lived coup against Chavez.

First story, I'm not really surprised. The Honduran Elite try to play Zelaya's removal from power as part of some sort of constitutionally-sanctioned process. But think about it- any time you have armed men bust into the presidential palace, kick in two doors and drag the president out of bed- how does that in any way resemble anything like due process or an orderly transition? Of course it doesn't. It's bullshit. I have little doubt that the coup plotters would have liked to see Zelaya dead.

Second story, this is how real politics is done. I've disagreed with other posters about the United States' influence in the Zelaya matter and one of my key points has been "at THIS time we're doing what we need to- anything more would cause more problems than it would solve".

And after the region has tried the tools at its disposal and after Zelaya himself has asked the U.S. for help, personally...now if the U.S. intervenes in some sense (could be more economic sanctions, could be some form of military assistance) it will "play" much better to the South American governments and citizens who are, with good historical reasons, wary of U.S. intervention in anything. The U.S. needs a good relationship with Latin America and this is how you influence the region in your favor without turning anyone off. You wait until they ask you for help. Earth-shattering concept, isn't it?

If you have just a few minutes, read that whole Reuter's article, it's really worth your time to understand the position the U.S. appears to be taking on this (vis-a-vis the comments Obama made in Russia that are highlighted above). This is not the typical bullshit Bush-idiot response...this is actual, savvy, international politics. It's admittedly taking a while for me to get used to a President who is as intelligent as Bush was an idiot...and it's a welcome transition!

[redqueen]

1. K&R

Thanks. Glad to see Obama's comments on this.

[L. Coyote]

3. Previous thread is here:

UN official to accompany Honduran president home/Military ordered to turn back Zelaya's jet
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3954412

[L. Coyote]

2. Putting a President on a plane in his pajamas is certainly a coup!

It was in Peru in the 60s for Belaunde, it is today for Zelaya.

Good thing some sober minds realized they had been asked to commit murder (of their President).

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

4. Not according to some of our new found "experts". nt

[Poll_Blind]

5. One thing that I find interesting, a harmonic from the coup against Chavez....

...is that the military in both cases seemed reluctant to kill the leader, mindful that by following the orders of a corrupt few (to the extreme) was not something they wanted to tarnish their armed services with.

Not everywhere and not all the time, but I found it interesting.

PB

[EFerrari]

11. Yes! The thing is, in Chavez case, he had been a popular leader

in the army. Not true of Zelaya. There is a thread in the LatAm forum that compares this coup to the one in Venezuela, and also, to what we did in Haiti, if you want to look at it. I'll go look for the links for you.

Re Ven:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x18223

Re Haiti:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x18099

(This isn't the one I was looking for but if I find it, I'll pm you. ef

[Poll_Blind]

12. Hey, thanks for the links!

PB

[Flaneur]

6. Has the US now frozen military assistance to Honduras?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we required to do that with any country that has deposed the lawfully elected leadership via unconstitutional means?

I am happy to see Sec of State Clinton and Obama saying the right things, but are they also doing them?

[Poll_Blind]

7. Yes. Five days ago the U.S. suspended all military relations with Honduras.

One of the many news articles about it can be found here- this is just the first one I pulled up on Google.

PB

[Flaneur]

15. I am pleasantly surprised. Good work, team Obama.

[HamdenRice]

8. But there are many non reality based posters who think Obama is doing what Bush would do

or what Reagan would do or what Bush I would do. These are obviously people with zero knowledge of history, but hey, they're here.

Reagan, Bush or Bush would have given the militarists the green light to kill the president, or would have sent the US Marines in to do the job for them.

Some people are so far out of touch with reality that it's impossible for me to fathom the depths of their ignorance.

Thanks for the actual ***information*** but sadly, it won't affect certain people who have their football helmets on so tightly to prevent any facts or information or logic to get into their brains.

[EFerrari]

10. Why don't you argue the issues instead of insulting people?

Good grief. And how has it escaped your attention that we do soft coups now, not the Marines? Maybe you need to update your own "knowledge of history".

[HamdenRice]

13. How have I insulted anyone by stating obvious unbiased facts?

If the shoe fits, wear it.

[EFerrari]

14. You also seem to be confusing your ugly estimations of others

with facts.

[HamdenRice]

20. If someone says that Obama's policy toward this coup is the same as Bush's

that person is not engaging with the reality of historical facts. That person is not "reality based."

That's not my estimation. That is also a fact.

[EFerrari]

21. Bush was largely disengaged with Latin America, being too interested

in the Middle East. So, the comparison at that level is meaningless.

But, it's too soon to know what Obama is doing. So far, the coupsters are still in power with few real consequences and with $49 million dollars in USAID still flowing into the country.

[HamdenRice]

32. Have you forgotten Haiti?

That was an example of typical rethug behavior toward the Latin America/Caribbean region -- exactly like the behavior of Reagan and Bush I.

In that case it was the US military that hustled off Aristide. If the rethugs were in power, that's what would have happened in Honduras.

If you are saying it's "too soon" to know what Obama is doing, then you cannot be saying you've already concluded that Obama is doing what Bush or Reagan would do, which is to say, you're part of the reality based community. I would disagree with you, but I would consider that a reasonable disagreement. But lots of DUers are already saying Obama is behaving like Bush. That is at this point simply not reality based thinking.

[EFerrari]

9. If Velasquez had killed Zelaya, then their cover story would have been blown.

What Velasquez means is, we will kill you -- in case you had any doubt about that. And Velasquez is likely one of the top plotters himself, not some more neutral agent.

[Odin2005]

16. And Chavez's head explodes.

That's the change I voted for!

[EFerrari]

17. Why in the world would Chavez's head explode?

He backed Obama's run for the White House. And he has been very careful to distinguish between Obama and the entrenched interests in our government during this whole episode.

[grantcart]

18. but but Obama is supporting the coup

[happydreams]

22. He is supporting it...

by not opposing it substantively. Like how about closing the School of the Americas.
Obama is working Psy-ops only on a higher level than Bushler

[grantcart]

24. Grandstanding your options is a very limited form of diplomacy, its sad

that so many people have gotten so addicted to it.

[happydreams]

33. Yea, and acting like you have some bigger fucking plan to solve

these very complex (actually not that complex) problems is a great way to bullshit the public into apathy.
It's all bullshit! He has done no fucking thing to change anything.

So, answer me this Mr. Obama: Why don't you close the SOA???
Or at least reply to the question.

[SpartanDem]

23. You can hear their heads exploding

[L. Coyote]

26. Take that cart of BS and go back to where you found it.

[grantcart]

27. the stuttering "but but" is an obvious sarcastic reference to the Obama haters

at DU who argue that he is supporting the coup even as there is substantial evidence that the US is taking decisive steps to reinstate the President.

[IndianaGreen]

31. Freezing Honduran assets would terminate the coup within 24 hours

but the Honduran elites are clones of the US elites, and US elites own the two major parties.

[Ken Burch]

35. It is a valid point that this incident proves that the SOA should be closed.

There was never any reason for the U.S. train Latin American militaries to believe that everyone on the left of the political center in their home countries, as well as all poor people, were "the enemy within". And there was never any excuse for us to teach those armies to torture.

The problem in Latin America was ALWAYS poverty, class, and racism, not "subversion".

[IndianaGreen]

30. US refused to categorize the coup as a coup, so as to not being force to cutoff all aid

as required by US law. In addition, US refused to recall its ambassador to Honduras as the EU and OAS have done with theirs, and our ambassador Hugo Llorens (a Cuban exile) knew of the coup weeks before and did nothing to alert Zelaya.

[happydreams]

34. Now this is some decent jerky to chew on. Thanks a mill for that IG.

:thumbsup:

Very slick ODrama is, very goddamn slick!

[Judi Lynn]

19. Honduras crisis: wife of deposed president leads protest

Honduras crisis: wife of deposed president leads protest
The wife of the deposed Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has emerged from hiding to lead the daily protest by his supporters on the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa.

By Philip Sherwell in Tegucigalpa
Published: 6:22PM BST 07 Jul 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01438/Tegucigalpa_1438782c.jpg

Honduras' First Lady Xiomara de Zelaya (C), wife of ousted President
Manuel Zelaya, joins a march demanding the restitution in power of
her husband Photo: AFP/GETTY

Honduras crisis: wife of deposed president leads protest
The wife of the deposed Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has emerged from hiding to lead the daily protest by his supporters on the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa.

By Philip Sherwell in Tegucigalpa
Published: 6:22PM BST 07 Jul 2009

Honduras' First Lady Xiomara de Zelaya (C), wife of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, joins a march demanding the restitution in power of her husband Photo: AFP/GETTY
Xiomara Castro de Zelaya made her first public appearance, along with one of her daughters, since slipping clandestinely back into the city from the family's country home and taking refuge at the US ambassador's residence after her husband was overthrown on June 28.

"The eyes of the world are on Honduras," she said. "President Zelaya will

~snip~
When violent clashes broke out as protestors awaited her husband at the airport, Mrs Zelaya revealed that she picked up the phone and called Gen Romeo Vasquez, the army chief who ordered his troops to depose her husband.

"I asked him to stop the army shooting and said 'don't stain your hands with blood'. But the phone went dead," she said.

Asked how she felt when her husband's plane was just a few hundred feet overhead above the capital, tears welled. "You can only imagine," she said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/honduras/5770195/Honduras-crisis-wife-of-deposed-president-leads-protest.html

[Poll_Blind]

29. Those last few paragraphs in the article are pretty intense. I worry about her safety in...

...that environment.

PB

[Odin2005]

36. Brave lady!

[L. Coyote]

25. Sec. Stae Clinton up right now on C-SPAN reporting on Zelaya meeting.

[anonymous171]

28. I agree with you. If we must intervene, we should do it slowly and deliberately.

Acting in secrecy only generates distrust, which would be bad if we are trying to repair our image among the Latin American nations.