Spain Bars Entry to 10 Members of Honduran
Regime
Madrid – The Spanish government has barred
entry to 10 senior officials associated with
the de facto regime that took power in
Honduras after the June 28 ouster of elected
President Mel Zelaya.
Affected by the prohibition are the speaker
of the Honduran Congress; two members of the
Supreme Court, including the chief justice;
the attorney general, and six Cabinet
ministers appointed by “interim” President
Roberto Micheletti, the Spanish Foreign
Ministry said in a statement.
Spain “reiterates its support for the
mediation effort of the president of Costa
Rica, Oscar Arias, and hopes that these
measures contribute to the re-establishment
of constitutional normality in Honduras,”
the ministry said.
The statement went on to note that foreign
ministers from the European Union’s 27
member-states agreed Tuesday to prepare new
“restrictive measures” against Honduran
officials seen to be blocking a negotiated
solution to the crisis sparked by the coup.
“Until a peaceful settlement is found, the
EU will stand ready to take further
restrictive measures, including targeting
those members of the de facto government who
are seen to be blocking progress on a
negotiated solution based on the San Jose
Accord,” the bloc’s External Relations
Council said.
Drafted by Costa Rica’s Arias, the accord
calls for Zelaya to return and lead a
national unity government for the few months
left in his term, and for a political
amnesty that would protect both the coup
plotters and the ousted head of state, who
stands accused of various offenses by the de
facto regime.
While Zelaya has accepted the plan,
Micheletti flatly rejects the reinstatement
of the elected head of state.
The European bloc earlier decided to limit
contacts with the de facto government and to
freeze 65.5 million euros ($95.5 million) in
aid to Honduras.
Zelaya’s ouster has also led the EU to
freeze negotiations on an association accord
with Central America, including Honduras, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and
Nicaragua.
The European Commission announced last week
that the EU would not send observers to the
Nov. 29 general elections in Honduras,
citing the absence of conditions for the
vote to be held within a framework of
democracy and freedom.
The U.S. government has said that if the
Micheletti regime remains intransigent on
the question of Zelaya’s reinstatement,
Washington will not recognize the winner of
the presidential vote. EFE |
