Kidnapping puts crisis-bound Honduras on edge

[Zorro]

Source: AFP

Assailants kidnapped the father of Honduras' acting defense minister Tuesday in a case that immediately took on political overtones amid a bitter, unresolved political crisis.

The kidnapping of Alfredo Jalil, a wealthy businessman and father of acting deputy defense minister Gabo Jalil, followed by just days the murder of a nephew of the country's de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti.

No evidence has been presented linking either case to the rising political tensions over deadlocked diplomatic efforts to end the crisis set off by the June 28 ouster of President Manuel Zelaya.

But Jalil's wife, who witnessed her husband's kidnapping Tuesday morning, publicly blamed Zelaya, calling on him to "stop generating chaos" and to "order" her husband's release.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091027/wl_afp/honduraspoliticscoupviolence_20091027235226

[thunder rising]

1. gotta be Zelaya...right I mean it couldn't be any group of the millions that despise Micheletti

I have to think Jalil's wife might want to STFU right now. Or, those that perpetrated the crime might think they got the wrong Jalil.

[Downwinder]

2. Thought Zelaya was under guard in the Embassy

and they were monitoring and jamming his cell phone.

[L. Coyote]

3. Suddenly Honduras is on edge? ROFLMAO

Honduras has been on edge since the Junta started shooting demonstrators point blank!

[rabs]

4. U.S. mission walking into a political bog

From the link:

In Washington, meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that she is sending three senior US officials to Honduras on Wednesday, taking a leading role for the first time in diplomatic attempts to settle the crisis.
The US delegation was to be led by Thomas Shannon, the assistant secretary of State for Latin American affairs.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said "the clock was ticking" for a deal to be reached restoring Zelaya to power ahead of November 29 elections.
Kelly said diplomatic efforts by the Organization of American States continued to have US support, but the need for a deal paving the way for a "open and transparent" election was "getting quite urgent.

-----------------------------

Hillary sending Shannon and another top diplomat; Obama sending Don Restrepo, White House National Security Council expert on Latin America. Heavy duty dudes regarding the Western Hemisphere.

They are walking into a golpista snake pit in Tegucigalpa.

Martha Alvarado, the golpista regime's deputy Foreign Minister, today said that the U.S. delegation would not be allowed "to propose (solutions to the crisis)" because "they are from another country and the problem is Honduran."
"What they can do is to suggest, they know perfectly well that this problem is one that Hondurans should resolve."

03:36pm
La vice canciller hondureña Martha Alvarado, declaró que los funcionarios de EE UU que visitarán el país no vendrán a proponer, pues ellos son de otro país y el problema es hondureño
Sugerir. “Lo que pueden hacer ellos es sugerir, pues saben perfectamente que este problema es que los hondureños deben resolver”, dijo la funcionaria.

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The buzz today in Tegucigalpa was that the gringos will propose what is known as a "terceria" in Honduras. That would be a third-party, caretaker president until the elections on Nov. 29. Goriletti would have to resign his illegitimate, coup d' etat presidency and Zelaya would have to resign his legitimate, democratically elected presidency.

Doubt that Zelaya would accept such a deal. Micheletti probably would, because he is a cornered rat looking for a way out.

But the stage could be set for a humiliating diplomatic slap in the face to both Hillary and Obama if the U.S. mission fails. The gringo mission has two days, according to the schedule.

[struggle4progress]

5. Honduras Kidnappings on the Increase (Mar 2009)

Safety & Security
Americas - Honduras
6 Mar 2009

Over the past three years, kidnappings for ransom in Honduras have steadily increased. According to Government of Honduras statistics, kidnappings rose from five in 2005, to 16 in 2006, 42 in 2007, and 121 in 2008. Ransoms were paid in 40 percent of the kidnappings in 2008, totaling an estimated US$ 850,000. The Regional Security Officer in Tegucigalpa notes that kidnappings are often underreported throughout Honduras, and these figures may not be representative of the real amount.

Honduran kidnapping gangs prefer to target affluent Honduran entrepreneurs or their family members. These gangs have targeted, to a lesser extent, foreign and local business managers of multinational corporations or their family members. U.S. citizens, although not specifically targeted for kidnapping, have been kidnapped in Honduras. There have been three kidnappings of U.S. citizens in February alone. In these cases, however, their abductions appear to have little to do with their U.S. citizenship but more to do with the victim’s family connection to an affluent Honduran entrepreneur ...

http://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=98328