Smart Diplomacy: Mrs. Clinton Helps Re-install Ousted Honduran Thug

To think these people will actually consider this some sort of diplomatic victory. Let's forget the fact Manuel Zelaya was justifiably removed from office. He's a far left thug, so obviously our current government must side with him. I can't wait to see their reaction when he refuses to leave after the upcioming election.

A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end on Friday after the de facto government agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office.

The government of Roberto Micheletti, which had refused to let Mr. Zelaya return, signed an agreement with Mr. Zelaya’s negotiators late Thursday that would pave the way for the Honduran Congress to restore the ousted president and allow him to serve out the remaining three months of his term.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed on Friday that Mr. Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti had approved what she called “an historic agreement.”

“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue,” Mrs. Clinton said Friday in Islamabad, where she has been meeting with Pakistani officials.

The accord came after a team of senior American diplomats flew from Washington to the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on Wednesday to press for an agreement. On Thursday, the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, Thomas A. Shannon Jr., warned that time was running out for an agreement.

Mr. Micheletti’s government had argued that a presidential election scheduled for Nov. 29 would put an end to the crisis. But the United States, the Organization of American States and the United Nations suggested they would not recognize the results of the elections without a pre-existing agreement.

“We were very clearly on the side of the restoration of the constitutional order, and that includes the elections,” Mrs. Clinton said in Islamabad.

If she was interested in constitutional order, she'd have realized Zelaya violated his own constitution, which is why he was removed form office.

"What I Heard In Honduras"

Unless you read a lot of blogs you may not be aware of the Obama's administration strange behavior in regards to the situation in Honduras, where they removed a sittng president in compliance with their constitution. Don't take my word for it, here is the report from the Law Library of the Congress. It says in part:

Article 313, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the Supreme Court of Justice the power to hear cases against the highest officers of the State and the Deputies.⁸ In harmony with this provision, the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that cases against these officers must be heard by the Supreme Court, following the procedures established in that Code.⁹ According to available sources, this procedure was applied in the case filed by the Chief Prosecutor (Fiscal General de la República) against President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales. On June 26, 2009, the Supreme Court, upon the Chief Prosecutor’s complaint, accepted the case and unanimously voted to appoint one of its Justices to hear the complaint in the preparatory and intermediate
phases. The appointed Justice carried out the request to issue an arrest and raid warrant¹⁰.

So it has been established that the Honduran Supreme Court acted in accordance with it's constitution, and continues to act in accordance with it's constitution, so why is it that the Obama administration continues to characterize the actions taken as a coup?

In a day packed with meetings, we met only one person in Honduras who opposed Mr. Zelaya's ouster, who wishes his return, and who mystifyingly rejects the legitimacy of the November elections: U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens.

That is from a column written by Sen Jim Demint in the WSJ, who over the objections of the administration, went down to Honduras himself to find out what the facts on the ground were.

So far, the Obama administration has ignored these requests and instead has repeatedly doubled down. It's revoked the U.S. travel visas of President Micheletti, his government and private citizens, and refuses to talk to the government in Tegucigalpa. It's frozen desperately needed financial assistance to one of the poorest and friendliest U.S. allies in the region. It won't release the legal basis for its insistence on Mr. Zelaya's restoration to power. Nor has it explained why it's setting aside America's longstanding policy of supporting free elections to settle these kinds of disputes.

The actions of the Barack "Nobel Peace Prize Laureate" Obama are indeed troubling.

I am not sure what Honduras has done to be on the receiving of such treatment from this administration other then defy the model of most governments in South America which are based on socialism. Maybe they realize democratic capitalism is the way to emerge as a viable, economically strong country.

All that remains to be seen is what will the actions of the Obama administration be after the regularly scheduled elections are held in November.

Honduras, Alone Against The World

President of Honduras Roberto Micheletti

By now everybody should be aware of what is happening in Honduras and the despicable actions of our government in regards to the situation. While this administration is bending themselves into pretzels to appease Holocaust-denying dictators, they have joined what appears to be the rest of the world in condemning Honduras for enforcing their constitution.

Reuters is still characterizing the removal of the former president as coup, if your definition of a coup involves the Supreme Court of your country ruling that actions taken by the president as being unlawful and issuing a subpoena for your arrest to stand trial in a court of law to explain your actions.

Zelaya slipped back into Honduras on Monday, ending almost three months of exile after he was toppled in the coup and bringing the world's attention to his cause again.

This though appears to be just further proof of how far left our executive branch has moved. In addition to their attempt to apologize to every country on the planet, they are also very eager to hang out with all of the cool kids and getting a group hug on the international stage. Caesar got hugged too.

The United States, European Union and Organization of American States have urged dialogue to bring Zelaya back to office.

Brazil and Venezuela called at the United Nations for Zelaya, a former rancher and timber magnate who took office in 2006, to be returned to power. Concerned about the rising tension in Honduras, the United Nations suspended assistance in preparing the presidential election set for November.

For more of the details of the ongoing situation and for all things related to Latin America I recommend reading Fausta Wertz's blog.

Gateway Pundit has also done a good job of keeping updated on the ongoing snubbing by the United States to Honduras also.

Reuters also likes to paint the picture of former president Zelaya having to flee in the night in his pajamas as soldiers forced him to run. These soldiers were armed with a subpoena and there was no need for this friend of Hugo Chavez to escape out the back door. There is no doubt they would have afforded him the benefit of getting clothed and would have escorted him down to wherever they were going to formally charge him. All of this reporting to try and make this socialist who was trying to undermine the constitution of his country as some sort of wrongly persecuted hero figure is also one of the biggest examples of hypocrisy exhibited by our State Department, under the guidance of Hillary Clinton, but who no doubt take their marching orders from the president, who have proven time and time again that there is no socialist regime on the planet that they do not endorse.

Reuters even refers to the current president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, as the de-facto leader. Get over it guys. He is the president as authorized by their laws and their constitution.

UPDATE: This story just gets better and better. Via Hot Air Zelaya now claims the Israeli's are trying to kill him with some sort mind ray.

There is, however, one disturbing aspect to this whole story and that involves our intelligence gathering agencies. Did they not have a psychological profile of this guy and if they did, what was their assessment? Did they share the information with the State Department? Was their assessment wrong or was it ignored?

Ousted Honduras Leader Accused of Drug-Running

No wonder Hugo Chavez threatens to take military action. His narcotics shipments are apparently being interrupted.

The regime that ousted Manuel Zelaya in Honduras claimed Tuesday that the deposed president allowed tons of cocaine to be flown into the Central American country on its way to the United States.

"Every night, three or four Venezuelan-registered planes land without the permission of appropriate authorities and bring thousands of pounds ... and packages of money that are the fruit of drug trafficking," its foreign minister, Enrique Ortez, told CNN en Espanol.

"We have proof of all of this. Neighboring governments have it. The DEA has it," he added.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Rusty Payne in Washington said he could neither confirm nor deny a DEA investigation.

Zelaya was traveling from New York to Washington and could not immediately be reached to respond to the allegations.

Honduras and other Central American nations have become major transshipment points in recent years for Colombian cocaine, particularly as Mexico's government cracks down on cartels.

Naturally this makes you wonder why on earth Barack Obama is taking this guy's side.

Extreme Makeover: Gangbanger Edition

A Mara gang member who identifies himself as 'Psycho,' 23,

poses for his portrait in prison in Chimaltenango, Guatemala

I guess when you're a gangbanger, sporting such a look may make you easily identifiable. Not to mention an object of ridicule.

For gangs, tattoos out; college look in

Tattoos, baggy pants and tank tops are out. Smart blazers and university recruits are in. It's an extreme makeover for Central America's gangs. Facing harsh crackdowns by government security forces and citizen vigilante groups, they are trying to lower their profile.

The Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs are known throughout Central America and the U.S. for their brazen tactics, including beheading their enemies and covering entire buildings and even their bodies with gang symbols.

Now, according to anti-gang operatives, these traditionally uneducated and aimless youth have begun recruiting high school and college students, and are expanding their criminal repertoire from minor robbery to large-scale extortion, prostitution, car theft and kidnappings.

The gangs first formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s, attracting Salvadorans who fled to the United States to escape civil war. A decade later, after many of the members were deported for crimes committed in the United States, the gangs established themselves in Central America.

The maras are believed to number about 100,000 in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. As many as 30,000 also operate in the United States, mostly in Los Angeles, according to U.S. federal authorities.

Setting themselves apart by tattooing themselves head to toe with threatening symbols and hanging out in large crowds on street corners, their goal was to intimidate law-abiding citizens and rival gangs alike, experts say.

That has changed recently, after El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras adopted tough anti-gang policies, including graffiti-removal campaigns and harsh punishments for gang-related crimes. Many youths have been arrested or killed, allegedly in operations by police or citizen's groups.

"These days we can't even go out onto the street, where the police look at us and we end up dead," said Giovanni Estrada, 25, an imprisoned gang member with tattooed face who goes by the nickname of "Little Crazy." "That's why we tell (new gang members) not to paint their faces."