Honduras Coup

Army Ousts Democratically Elected President Manuel Zelaya

Honduran soldiers roused democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya from his bed at gunpoint and flew him to Costa Rica on the night of June 28th. The coup d’etat is the first in Central America in over a quarter century.

The coup, led by the Honduran Gen. Romeo Vasquez, has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the Organization of American States and all of Honduras’ immediate national neighbors.

The Obama administration has refused to legally classify Zelaya’s ouster as a coup, which would automatically trigger a suspension of aid. However the administration has suspended military cooperation with the country.

Mass protests have erupted on the streets of Honduras, with reports that elements in the military loyal to Zelaya are rebelling against the coup.

Amy Goodman’s Columns:

Read President Zelaya and the Audacity of Action or Listen

Read ‘Undo the Coup’ or Listen

Read ‘A Coup for Lobbyists at the White House’ or Listen

Watch/Read/Listen to Democracy Now! Coverage:

October 26, 2009: 100 Days of Resistance: Al Jazeera’s Avi Lewis Reports from Honduras
The Canadian journalist and Al Jazeera English correspondent Avi Lewis recently traveled to Honduras for a rare look at the grassroots movement against the coup regime. This is an excerpt of his report, which aired on the Al Jazeera English program Fault Lines. [includes rush transcript]

October 05, 2009: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Speaks from the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa
The deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya remains within the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he has been staying, surrounded by soldiers and riot police, since returning to his country two weeks ago.

September 29, 2009: Internal Pressure Forces Honduran Coup Regime to Reverse Civil Liberties Crackdown, But Repression Continues
The Honduran coup regime has been forced to reverse a harsh crackdown on civil liberties amidst growing protests for the restoration of the ousted President Manuel Zelaya. But Honduran forces still blocked a large protest march and shut down two media outlets that have criticized the coup regime.
Meanwhile a top US diplomat criticized the coup regime’s decision but then turned around to issue a harsh condemnation of ousted Zelaya. We go to Honduras to speak with Andres Contreras from inside the embassy where Zelaya is hiding and speak to Luther Castillo, a Honduran doctor who is in Washington to speak with U.S. lawmakers.

September 22, 2009: Report from Honduras: Ousted President Manuel Zelaya Returns to Honduras in Defiance of Coup Government
We go live to the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, where Manuel Zelaya has sought refuge. After Zelaya’s dramatic return, the coup government ordered a curfew, but thousands of Zelaya supporters defied the ban and rallied outside the Brazilian embassy. Earlier this morning police fired tear gas outside the embassy to disburse the crowd. We hear Zelaya speak from inside the embassy and speak to Andres Conteris and Mark Weisbrot.

August 20, 2009: Amnesty: Honduran Forces Using Arrests, Beatings to Punish Zelaya Supporters
Amnesty International is accusing Honduran forces of beating and arresting supporters of the ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Amnesty says the “mass arbitrary arrests and ill treatment of protesters” remains a “serious and growing concern.” We speak with Amnesty’s Esther Major and Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, who’s urging President Obama to take further measures against the coup.

August 07, 2009: Debate on Honduras: Pro-Coup Regime Lobbyist, Former Clinton Aide Lanny Davis vs. NYU Historian Greg Grandin
The Obama administration appears to be backing off its opposition to the Honduran coup regime just as internal resistance is growing in the Honduran streets. We host a debate between Latin America historian and New York University professor Greg Grandin and Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to President Clinton who’s now a paid lobbyist for Honduran business leaders backing the coup government.

July 30, 2009: EXCLUSIVE: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Speaks from Nicaraguan Border on Who’s Behind the Coup, His Attempts to Return Home, the Role of the United States and More
In a Democracy Now! national broadcast exclusive, ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya joins us from the Nicaragua-Honduras border for a wide-ranging interview on his attempts to return home, who’s behind the coup, the role of the United States, and much more.

July 29, 2009: US Revokes Visas for Honduran Coup Officials; Human Rights Abuses Escalate
The US has revoked the visas of four officials serving in the Honduran coup government. Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya had asked the Obama administration to revoke the visas in order to increase international pressure on the coup regime.

July 27, 2009: National Exclusive…Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Wife of Ousted Honduran President, Calls on U.S. to Aid Her Husband’s Return Home: ‘We Want Justice, We Want Peace, We Demand the Return to Democracy’
We speak with the wife of the ousted Honduran president, First Lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya. She’s spent the past day trying to get to the border with Nicaragua, and she joins us now from the town of Jacaleapa.

July 24, 2009: Defying Coup Regime, Zelaya Attempts Return to Honduras
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is attempting a risky return home after last month’s military coup. The coup regime has threatened to arrest him if he sets foot in the country. We go to Honduras to speak with Latin America historian Greg Grandin.

July 21, 2009: Despite Pledge to Cut Military Ties to Coup Regime, U.S. Continues to Train Honduran Soldiers at School of Americas
While the European Union cut off aid to the coup regime in Honduras, the United States continues the money flow and, while the U.S. says it has cut military ties, the National Catholic reporter reveals Honduran army officers are still receiving military training at the notorious the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.

July 21, 2009: ‘From Arbenz to Zelaya: Chiquita in Latin America’
Honduran military overthrew the democratically elected government of Manuel Zelaya two weeks ago there might have been a sigh of relief in the corporate board rooms of Chiquita banana,” writes journalist Nikolas Kozloff. ‘Earlier this year the Cincinnati-based fruit company joined Dole in criticizing the government in Tegucigalpa which had raised the minimum wage by 60%.’ Kozloff goes on to trace Chiquita’s ‘long and sordid’ political history in Central America.

July 15, 2009: US Lobbyists with Clinton Ties Hired to Defend Honduran Coup Regime
US Lobbyists with Clinton Ties Hired to Defend Honduran Coup Regime
Supporters of the coup in Honduras have begun hiring advisers and lobbyists with close ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an attempt to strengthen support in Washington for the coup.

July 10, 2009: Costa Rica Hosts Talks Over Honduras Coup
Talks between the ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the leaders of last week’s military coup began on Thursday in Costa Rica. Zelaya and the military-backed Roberto Micheletti met separately with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias but there were no face-to-face meetings between the two sides.

July 09, 2009: In Rare U.S. Broadcast, Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Discusses Coup, Costa Rica Talks, U.S. Role and More
Talks between the ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the leaders of last week’s military coup begin today in Costa Rica. Shortly before leaving Washington DC for Costa Rica, Zelaya sat down with us for a rare U.S. television interview. He discusses how military coup forces forced him out, the upcoming talks in Costa Rica, his domestic policies in Honduras, the role of the United States and more.

July 06, 2009: Honduran Coup Regime Blocks Ousted President Zelaya’s Return; Troops Open Fire on Supporters at Airport Killing Two
One week after a military coup in Honduras, soldiers and riot police blocked the airport runway Sunday evening preventing ousted President Manuel Zelaya from returning to the country. Heavily armed Honduran soldiers also used tear gas and machine guns to disperse an unarmed crowd of tens of thousands of people who had come from all over the country, despite military blockades, to wait at the airport and welcome back their ousted President. At least two people were reportedly killed and more wounded.

July 02, 2009: Zelaya Vows to Return to Honduras Despite Threats of Arrest by Coup Leaders
The ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has vowed to return to Honduras within the next few days in an attempt to reclaim power. Zelaya was forced out of office in a military coup d’etat on Sunday. He will reportedly return to Honduras accompanied by the OAS Secretary General, the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador, and the head of the UN General Assembly.

July 01, 2009: "Generals Who Led Honduras Military Coup Trained at the School of the Americas
Romeo Vasquez, a general who led the military coup in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya, received training at the US School of the Americas. The SOA has trained more than 60,000 soldiers, many of whom have returned home and committed human rights abuses, torture, extrajudicial execution and massacres.

July 01, 2009: "What’s Behind the Honduras Coup? Tracing Zelaya’s Trajectory
We take a look at ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya with journalist Nikolas Kozloff, author of Revolution!: South America and the Rise of the New Left. Despite initial conservative leanings, Zelaya took on powerful vested interests in Honduras.

July 01, 2009: "Military Using ‘Brutal’ Force Against Anti-Coup Protests in Honduras
The ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is expected to meet with US diplomats in Washington today before attempting to return to Honduras Thursday, five days after being deposed by a military coup. Meanwhile, the streets in Honduras remain tense, and the crackdown on the media has reportedly not been lifted.

June 29, 2009: Coup in Honduras: Military Ousts President Manuel Zelaya, Supporters Defy Curfew and Take to the Streets
In the first military coup in Central America in a quarter of a century, the Honduran military has ousted the democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. Former Parliamentary speaker Roberto Micheletti, who was sworn in as Zelaya’s replacement on Sunday, has imposed a two-day nationwide curfew.