Abigail Poe
The Honduran de facto government's decision to issue a decree suspending important civil liberties on Sunday received widespread international condemnation yesterday.
Honduras appeared to be calming down toward the end of last week, as violent incidents were reduced, the curfew was lifted and Hondurans were allowed to return to "normalcy". However, ousted President Manuel Zelaya remained in the Brazilian embassy and de facto President Roberto Micheletti maintained his position against reinstating Zelaya into the presidency, despite presenting a willingness for dialogue between the two parties.
Rhetoric against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez often appears in the U.S. Congressional Record, which is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress. From floor speeches about President Obama's "socialist" tendencies to a push to extend the United States' radio program in Asia to the need for nuclear energy in the United States, President Chávez is often cited as an enemy of the United States.
This post was written by WOLA intern Ursela Groat The 18th of September marked the end of a twelve day fact-finding mission to Colombia by Margaret Sekaggya, the UNHCR Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. In her statement on the 18th of September, Ms.
Three days have passed since ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya secretly returned to Tegucigalpa, surprising both his supporters and the de facto Micheletti government.
Yesterday, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Fander Falconí held their first official meeting since diplomatic ties between the two countries were cut in 2008 after a Colombian attack on a FARC camp in Ecuadorian territory. The meeting between the two counterparts took place in the New York offices of the Council of Americas and lasted four hours.
The showdown in Honduras continues today. De facto President Roberto Micheletti has expressed his willingness to speak with ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who continues to take refuge in the Brazilian embassy. However, the extent of his willingness does not include negotiations that would reinstitute Zelaya as the president of Honduras.
As noted yesterday, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya somehow made his way back to Honduras yesterday, showing up at the Brazilian embassy and catching the de facto regime off guard.
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya returned to Honduras today, and will give a press conference this afternoon. While initial reports cited his location to be the offices of the United Nations in Tegucigalpa, the Brazilian Embassy has confirmed his presence in their building, which is next door to de facto President Micheletti's private residence.
Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced new legislation - S. 1665: ATPDEA Expansion and Extension Act of 2009 - this week to include Uruguay and Paraguay in the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA).