The Associated Press is reporting tonight that ousted president Manuel Zelaya of Honduras is en route to the Central American nation in order to establish "an alternative seat of government" which will lead "the final battle" against the coup regime led by de facto president Roberto Micheletti.
In other news, cracks which had previously emerged in the coup coalition appear to be deepening. The president of the Supreme Court has acknowledged the expulsion of Zelaya occurred in direct violation of a court order calling for his arrest and delivery to the court. Also, coup president Micheletti has offered to step down -- but only on the condition that Zelaya not return to the country. And in a last sign of disarray, the racist buffoon initially appointed Foreign Minister and later shifted to the Government and Justice portfolio has finally left the government completely.
More on the flip...
The AP quotes Zelaya aide Patricia Rodas, who is acting as Foreign Minister of Zelaya's government in exile, as the source for its report, and also notes that:
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez — an ally of Zelaya — said he had spoken with Zelaya and the exiled leader told him: "I don't know if I will die, but I'm going to Honduras."
Zelaya's decision to launch an insurrection occurs at a critical moment in the mediation process begun last week under the auspices of Costa Rican president Oscar Arias. The talks, on hiatus since the weekend, are scheduled to resume on Saturday, and Micheletti's offer to step down is seen by many observers as a show of flexibility on his part prior to the resumption of the talks. The offer, however, was immediately rejected as insufficient by both the mediator Arias and by OAS Secretary General Miguel Insulza, who share the belief a political settlement has to begin with a restoration of the constitutional order.
Micheletti's flexibility could be due to the heightening impact of international pressure on those who illegally overthrew the constitutional president of the country. The OAS has cut all ties to the coup regime and continues to recognize Zelaya as the legitimate president of the country. Every Latin American government, including the right of center presidents in Colombia and Mexico, has recalled its ambassador to Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, as have all the European countries as well. While the US has not followed suit, it did announce last week that economic and military aid to Honduras has been suspended until Zelaya is restored to office.
The coup plotters have argued from the very beginning the deposition of Zelaya was conducted under an order from the Supreme Court, although the legal documents they presented in their defense never showed any such order. Within a week of the coup, the military itself acknowledged, in an interview with the Miami Herald, that it lacked the legal authority to depose the president. Now the president of the Supreme Court, who generally supports the overthrow of Zelaya, has also publicly questioned the legal basis for the military's action:
Supreme Court President Jorge Rivera is next in line to the presidency, after Zelaya and Micheletti. The Supreme Court had issued an arrest warrant for Zelaya, ruling that his efforts to hold a vote on whether to form a constitutional assembly were illegal. The military decided to send him into exile instead — a move that military lawyers have since acknowledged also violates the constitution....
Rivera questioned Zelaya's expulsion from the country in an interview with La Tribuna newspaper published Thursday.
"The Supreme Court ordered Zelaya's capture and authorized the raid on his house so he could be captured," Rivera said. "The expulsion was not in the capture order, and in that sense, we have to analyze if (his expulsion) was the best thing given the necessities of the moment."
Rivera's statement has to be seen as wheels continuing to fall off the coup plotters' bus. Another wheel that has fallen is the racist buffoon Enrique Ortez Colindres, whose debut as Foreign Minister -- he called Barack Obama a n... field hand -- led to an angry response from the US ambassador to Honduras and Ortez's nearly immediate replacement in the Foreign Ministry. In a demonstration of the arrogance and hubris of the coup plotters, however, Ortez was not removed from the cabinet, but merely reassigned to the important post of Government and Justice. Well, today the government announced that Ortez has finally -- finally! -- resigned that post as well:
Es el primer funcionario de alto rango que dimite del gobierno de Roberto Micheletti, luego de ser separado como ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, tras protagonizar un escándalo donde se vio involucrada la Embajada de Estados Unidos.
En una extensa carta entregada a Micheletti, quien en ese momento encabezaba el primer Consejo de Ministros de su administración, el ex funcionario justificó su decisión.
[He is the first high-ranking official to resign from Roberto Micheletti's government, following his removal from the Ministry of Foreign Relations which resulted from a scandal involving the US Embassy.
In an extensive letter delivered to Micheletti, during the president's first Cabinet meeting, the ex-official justified his decision.]
Micheletti's coup regime appears to be taking on significant water, even without the imposition of economic sanctions that would almost certainly follow if the Arias initiative were not to bear fruit. In my opinion, it is doubtful it could survive the month. Zelaya's return to Honduras, however, could dramatically change this scenario. While I hesitate to predict the possible outcomes of his move, I think it is safe to say the coup plotters will lose much of their incentive to continue the San Jose negotiations. A military confrontation between Zelaya supporters and the coup regime cannot be ruled out.
Whatever happens over the next few days, it is certain that Central America will continue to attract the world's attention.