 Read more PSL WikiBriefs |
Declaring the question of the legality of the 2009 coup in Honduras “open and shut,” a diplomatic cable sent by the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa exposes blatant U.S. hypocrisy. The cable declares that “there is no doubt that the military, Supreme Court and National Congress conspired on June 28 in what constituted an illegal and unconstitutional coup. … Roberto Micheletti’s assumption of power was illegitimate.”
Despite this accurate, confidential assessment, the United States government took steps to support the coup regime and prevent the reinstatement of democratically-elected president, Manuel Zelaya. Washington refused to publicly label the events of June 28 “a coup,” legitimized the Micheletti dictatorship by setting up “mediation” led by former Costa Rican president and U.S.-ally, Oscar Arias, and continued to back the Honduran military through its Soto Cano air base.
President Zelaya was targeted because he challenged imperialist interests in the region and brought Honduras into the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). Clearly, the U.S. government has no problem supporting an admittedly “illegitimate” regime that came to power through “an illegal and unconstitutional coup” as long as it acquiesces to U.S. domination.
