HONDURAN President, Manuel Zelaya, was awakened from his bed last Sunday morning by military personnel, who stormed the national palace amid a hail of bullets, which Zelaya was forced to dodge, and allowed just enough time to change from his pajamas before being forced into exile in Costa Rica, having been ferried there by an airforce plane.

At the head table during yesterday’s news conference are Venezuelan Ambassador, Dario Morandy, Cuban Charge d’ Affaires, Jose Rodriguez Hernandez, and Commercial and Economic Counselor in the Embassy of Cuba, Pedro Arteago Cardenas. (Adrian Narine photo)

Congressional leader, Roberto Michellati, a member of Zelaya’s own Liberal Party, was subsequently sworn in as President after the army had seized the national palace. Michellati will serve until 27th January, when Zelaya’s term ends. Zelaya is purported to have sent in his resignation as President.

However, Zelaya has refuted this, saying that the document has been forged and that he wants to return home.

This was the first military takeover of a Central American government in over sixteen years, but Zelaya is receiving support worldwide and his strong ally, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has vowed to intercede on Zelaya’s behalf. Chavez, who says that the Venezuelan ambassador was assaulted and detained for a while, has put his military forces on alert.

At a press briefing yesterday at the Cuban embassy here in Georgetown, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Dario Morandy, and Charge d’ Affairs of the Embassy of Cuba, Jorge Rodriguez Hernandez, denounced, on behalf of their respective countries, the overthrow and exile of the Honduran President.

A prepared statement from retired Cuban iconic leader Fidel Castro, dated 28th June, was also circulated to the media.

In his statement, Castro described the forcible removal of Zelaya from his bed, his home, and his country as a “kidnapping.”

By any definition of the word he is right, and kidnapping in any country is a criminal offence; and kidnapping of the head of a state is a treasonous act.

At the press conference yesterday, both Hernandez and Morandy insisted that there has been an information blackout in Honduras, with a curfew put in place, because the masses are fully in support of Zelaya. They contend that if the population was supportive of the coup then there would have been no need for a curfew. They said that Zelaya’s supporters, including Cabinet members, are being arrested and detained.

Rights group, Freedom of Expression, said that legislator Cesar Ham was killed when soldiers tried to detain him.

Castro’s statement averred that the soldier’s weapons were falling out of their hands as Zelaya supporters attacked them, while the soldiers seemed nervous and confused. Two women were seen punching soldiers with their fists. The retired Cuban leader said that when the people advanced the troops stepped back.

Castro said that the plotters, who comprise main players of Honduras’ legislative, judicial, and military arms, had placed themselves in a ridiculous situation in the eyes of the world by producing a fake resignation which they claim was signed by Zelaya.

Castro, in his statement, described some of the incidents as follows: “Honduran foreign Minister, Patricia Rodas, was the putschists’ main target, second only to Zelaya. Another detachment was sent to her house.

“She was brave and determined, and she acted quickly; she did not waste time and started denouncing the coup in every way possible.

“Our ambassador contacted Patricia to learn about the situation; other ambassadors did likewise.

“At a given moment, she asked the diplomatic representatives of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba to meet with her since she was being fiercely hounded and required diplomatic protection.

Our ambassador, who from the first moments was authorized to offer the minister all the constitutional and legal support, proceeded to visit her in her own residence.

“When the diplomats were already in her house, the putschists’ command sent Major Oceguera to put her under arrest.

“The diplomats stood between the woman and the officer and claimed that she was under diplomatic protection and could only be moved accompanied by them.

“Oceguera discussed with them in a respectful fashion. A few minutes later, 12 or 15 men in uniform and covering their faces with ski masks rushed into the house. The three ambassadors embraced Patricia, but the masked men, using force, managed to separate the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan ambassadors; Hernandez held her so strongly by one arm that the masked men dragged them both to a van and drove to an air base where they finally separated him and took her away.

As he was there in custody, Bruno, who had news of the kidnapping, called him to the cell phone; one of the masked men tried to violently snatch the phone out of his hands and the Cuban ambassador, who had already been punched in Patricia’s home, shouted: Don’t push me, cojones! I don’t remember if the term was ever used by Cervantes, but there is no doubt that ambassador Juan Carlos Hernandez has enriched our language.”

Zelaya was being opposed by the Honduran oligarchy on a constitutional referendum to change some of the clauses in the current Honduran Constitution.

The changes, among other things, would have allowed for a second term for Honduran Presidents. Currently there is a 4-year limitation on a presidential term of office in that South American country.

General elections were slated for November of this year, although Zelaya’s term ends in January next year.

The Cuban Charge d’ Affairs and the Venezuelan Ambassador in Guyana said at the press briefing that Zelaya has become unpopular with the aristocrats because he had been making changes in the country that benefited the poor. They opined that it is most likely that Zelaya would have won a second term if the constitution had been changed to allow him to contest the upcoming general elections.

It certainly would have been the democratic thing to do, to await the results of the referendum polls and the subsequent general elections, instead of the forcible ouster and exile of a constitutionally-elected head-of-state. The contention of Michellati, to the effect that Zelaya had lost the confidence of the people would have either been proved or disproved through a constitutional process.

This coup d’ etat against the constitutionally-elected President of the Republic of Honduras, Mr. Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, has been denounced and condemned by countries and organizations worldwide, including the USA, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, The Association of Caribbean States, members of ALBA, The RIO Group; and not forgetting our own Guyana.

In a Declaration dated 28th June, the RIO group states, inter alia: “The Rio Group considers that the rupture of the constitutional order is inadmissible and unacceptable and constitutes a practice that Latin American and Caribbean societies have categorically rejected.”

President Barack Obama said that he was “deeply concerned” over this illegal removal of a constitutionally-elected head-of-state and US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, said that Zelaya’s arrest should be condemned and that American diplomats are trying to ensure his safety.

She threatened that the USA is “considering the implications” of the coup for US aid. The USA has categorically stated that it will not recognize any administration in Honduras unless Zelaya is restored as President. This has been echoed by heads of states and organizations worldwide.

Latin American leaders have gathered in Nicaragua to draft a response, while the President of the UN General Assembly has invited Zelaya to address the world gathering.

The OAS has summoned a meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday, which may very well eventuate in Honduras being the first nation that organisation has suspended under a 2001 charter banning the “unconstitutional interruption of democratic order.”

However, European Union officials have offered to mediate between the two sides.

Chavez said that the coup was an attempt by the rich to oppress the poor and warned that if Michellati was elected President “…we will overthrow him.” Chavez has his military forces on standby.

Michellati’s contention that 80–90 percent of the Honduran population is happy with the overthrow of Zelaya has been debunked by the Cuban Charge d’ Affairs and the Venezuelan Ambassador in Guyana, who both contend that if the democratic processes had been allowed to prevail in Honduras, then the results from the popular vote would have proven otherwise.

In the meanwhile, the world community of nations has broken links with the illegal Honduran authority currently occupying the seat of power in that beleaguered South American country.