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Venezuela
President Urges U.S. To Do More
About Honduras Coup
Caracas - Venezuela's President
Hugo Chavez on Sunday made an open call on the
United States to push for the downfall of coup
leaders in Honduras.
In his regular Sunday broadcast "Alo Presidente,"
Chavez said he had spoken to Thomas Shannon, the
deputy U.S. secretary of state for Latin America, on
the phone and told Shannon that U.S. President
Barack Obama should see the reality of what is
happening in Honduras.
"If the U.S. really does not back the coup it should
withdraw its troops from the Palmerola military
base," Chavez said. Palmerola is a joint Honduras-U.S.
military base some 80 km from Honduras' capital
Tegucigalpa.
The United States canceled around 16.5 million
dollars of military aid promised for Honduras after
the June 28 coup, but has left millions more in
other types of aid untouched. Chavez urged the
United States to show that it is willing to halt all
aid, freeze coup leaders' bank accounts overseas and
cancel their visas, in order to bring down the
post-coup government.
Chavez said that his government would not recognize
any government that arose from the coup, even one
that arises from elections organized by the
post-coup government. Roberto Micheletti, the former
legislature leader who took power after the coup,
has repeatedly said that scheduled elections will go
ahead in November, and that he will hand over to a
new president in January.
Chavez also said that ousted President Manuel
Zelaya, who was forced into exile on June 28, would
quickly return to Honduras in a surprising way.
"Zelaya is ready to turn up anywhere, now the
post-coup government has to see if it will kill him.
Zelaya is ready to die," he said.
Chavez also said that Honduras' working class will
soon bring down the post-coup government.
"The peasants have put down their tools so they can
blockade highways. Trade, banks and factories are
closed. There is nearly no fuel. This is a nation
that is ready to explode," Chavez said. He predicted
that Honduras' military would not last much longer
after two weeks without a break, and that it was
desperately and fruitlessly trying to recruit
children and adolescents and to call up reservists.
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