punditman says...The headline does not surprise Punditman, considering the history of US involvement in the Central American region and its training of human rights violators and death squad leaders.
There has been a coup in Honduras. Leftish reformer President Manuel Zelaya has been removed from office and sent to Costa Rica. The Honduran armed forces have historic links with the US including during the brutal Contra War, in which the Reagan administration used the CIA to fund and train armed groups to attack the Leftish Sandinista regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, who is once again Nicaragua's president. They also directly funded and trained Honduran death squads that were responsible for thousands of disappeared and assassinated throughout the region. Honduras was a military dictatorship from 1956 to 1982. Apparently the days of Honduran army involvement in politics are far from over.
The Organization of American States has demanded Mr Zelaya's immediate reinstatement. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the international community should teach the Honduran government "a lesson." US President Barack Obama has said that "any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference." People are out on the streets protesting and demanding their leader be returned. It remains to be seen what will transpire.
But Punditman wonders what kind of coverage this will get compared to Iran.
At least two leaders of the coup launched in Honduras today were apparently trained at a controversial Department of Defense school based at Fort Benning, Georgia infamous for producing graduates linked to torture, death squads and other human rights abuses.
Leftist President Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped and transported to Costa Rica this morning after a growing controversy over a vote concerning term limits. Over the last week, Zelaya clashed with and eventually dismissed General Romeo Vasquez -- who is now reportedly in charge of the armed forces that abducted the Honduran president.
According to the watchdog group School of Americas Watch, Gen. Vasquez trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at least twice -- in 1976 and 1984 -- when it was still called School of Americas.
Keep Reading...
There has been a coup in Honduras. Leftish reformer President Manuel Zelaya has been removed from office and sent to Costa Rica. The Honduran armed forces have historic links with the US including during the brutal Contra War, in which the Reagan administration used the CIA to fund and train armed groups to attack the Leftish Sandinista regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, who is once again Nicaragua's president. They also directly funded and trained Honduran death squads that were responsible for thousands of disappeared and assassinated throughout the region. Honduras was a military dictatorship from 1956 to 1982. Apparently the days of Honduran army involvement in politics are far from over.
The Organization of American States has demanded Mr Zelaya's immediate reinstatement. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the international community should teach the Honduran government "a lesson." US President Barack Obama has said that "any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference." People are out on the streets protesting and demanding their leader be returned. It remains to be seen what will transpire.
But Punditman wonders what kind of coverage this will get compared to Iran.
At least two leaders of the coup launched in Honduras today were apparently trained at a controversial Department of Defense school based at Fort Benning, Georgia infamous for producing graduates linked to torture, death squads and other human rights abuses.
Leftist President Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped and transported to Costa Rica this morning after a growing controversy over a vote concerning term limits. Over the last week, Zelaya clashed with and eventually dismissed General Romeo Vasquez -- who is now reportedly in charge of the armed forces that abducted the Honduran president.
According to the watchdog group School of Americas Watch, Gen. Vasquez trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at least twice -- in 1976 and 1984 -- when it was still called School of Americas.
Keep Reading...
