The deadline of October 15--imposed by Manuel Zelaya and many of his supporters--came and went Thursday and still there is no solution to the Honduran crisis, now 110 days old. After some 10 hours of talks yesterday, representatives of Mr. Zelaya and de facto president Roberto Micheletti left the negotiating table, with Zelaya representatives saying they still remained optimistic that a deal would be reached Friday morning. [Talks were to begin anew at 7:30am this morning]. “We are giving them [the Micheletti government] an opportunity for peace,” Zelaya’s chief negotiator, Victor Meza told reporters upon leaving Thursday meetings. “We hope to have signed the agreement tomorrow at midday.” [Micheletti’s team did not talk with the media as they left the Clarion Hotel, writes Tiempo]. U.S. State Dept. spokesman, Robert Wood, also added that the U.S. was continuing to use its influence to push a resolution forward, albeit only behind the scenes [see full text of DOS briefing below and also FP’s “The Cable” for more]. “What we're trying to do right now, from the U.S. side, is to encourage them to continue, because, as I said, we're close, and we want to see this deal happen,” Wood told the press Thursday. And the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) also released a statement on Honduras Thursday, both supporting a call for the Organization of American States to send observers for upcoming elections and demanding Micheletti to end curbs on media and protests.
All reports indicate that the principal point of difference between Zelaya and Micheletti remains the restitution of the ousted President to office. According to AFP, “the two sides were trying to reach agreement on whether the Supreme Court or the Congress would have to approve Zelaya's reinstatement until elections are held and a new president takes office in January.” And Honduras’s La Tribuna reports this morning that “the rumors about a resolution indicate that the reinstatement of Zelaya will occur, but while he faces his legal situation in the courts, his cabinet adviser, Victor Meza, would assume control of the country.” In addition, the paper goes on, the National Congress would be responsible for restoring the powers of the state to their pre-June 28 condition. This seems to correspond to reporting by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, based on talks with one Honduran congressman.
In other Honduras news, the AP writes “a soccer victory that clinched Honduras' first trip to the World Cup in almost 30 years is giving its people an exhilarating distraction from the divisive political crisis that has gripped the country for the last 3 1/2 months.” While the pro-Micheletti El Heraldo reports a similar story of soccer joy dominating the public’s interest, at least for a few days. The AP also has reporting on the economic impact the ongoing crisis has had on the country’s already fragile economy. In the words of one small business manager in Tegucigalpa, “What we want is that it's resolved in the most peaceful way possible. We can't operate in these conditions.” And El Salvador’s El Faro has some additional details on Mel Zelaya’s surprise return to Honduras nearly one month ago. Civil Aviation records show that Zelaya arrived in El Salvador on a Venezuelan plane from Nicaragua on September 20 but never reboarded when the plane took over three hours later for Guatemala.
Around the region this morning:
· The LA Times writes that a central figure in the Tijuana drug cartel has pled guilty to drug conspiracy charges in a U.S. court. Jesus "Chuy" Labra Aviles, a wealthy, 62-year-old businessman, is said to have helped smuggled tons of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico over two decades. He now faces between 5 and 40 years in prison. According to the LAT: “Labra's trial would have provided the first glimpse into the U.S. government's enormous case against the organization, which was more than 20 years in the making and featured other major cartel figures as potential witnesses.”
· The Miami Herald reports again on the growing problem of malnutrition in Guatemala. According to relief workers and food experts working in the country, “the rainfall has done little to help the country recover from a major drought that's aggravated malnutrition rates and already claimed dozens of lives this year.” In July, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared the food crisis a “public calamity” and joined the United Nations in an urgent appeal for food aid. Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador were the first to respond by shipping in food supplies.
· The Financial Times has a critical look at the Venezuelan health system under President Hugo Chavez. “The country's health crisis won't be solved by just fixing barrio adentro , despite all the good it does,” said Patricia Yáñez, identified by the FT as a “leftist sociologist at the Central University of Venezuela.” “By setting up a parallel system in barrio adentro, healthcare had become even more fragmented, costly and inefficient, she added.”
· Finally, the MH has an editorial on proposed legislation that may soon end the Cuba travel ban. The paper maintains: “The question members of Congress should ask now is whether this is the right time to be opening up all travel to Cuba -- in the midst of a recession where tourist meccas from Miami to Las Vegas are hurting with empty hotel rooms.”
State Dept. Briefing Re: Honduras, October 15, 2009
QUESTION: What’s the status of the talks in Honduras? I mean, there seems to be some movement perhaps. And where does the U.S. stand on President Zelaya’s return?
MR. WOOD: Well, let me just say at the beginning here, this is a moment of great opportunity for Hondurans. My understanding is that the two sides have basically reached agreement on most aspects of the San Jose Accords. And so right now, the bottom line is they need to close the deal. And we encourage them to roll up their sleeves, continue their efforts. They’re certainly making progress. But this is a great moment, and they need to seize it. And so that’s where our efforts will be with our other colleagues in the OAS – to encourage the two sides to, as I said, just get to work and make this happen.
QUESTION: But I mean, it doesn’t sound like – I mean, even if you have some interpretation of the San Jose Accords, it doesn’t sound like President Zelaya would return in any meaningful way as president for any length of time. Is that right?
MR. WOOD: Well, look, they’re in the midst of negotiations in dealing with elements such as this one. And they – basically, they’re pretty close to – as I said, to getting this deal closed. And we’re just trying to encourage them – just make the hard decisions and close the deal. But I – it’s really – it wouldn’t be good for me to get into the details of the negotiations while they’re ongoing.
QUESTION: But hasn’t the U.S. kind of backtracked on its demand that President Zelaya return for the remainder of his term?
MR. WOOD: We have not backtracked on our –
QUESTION: So you still think he should return and serve out the full remainder of his term as president?
MR. WOOD: All of those things are being worked out by the negotiators, Elise. And I don’t think it’s good for me right now to talk about – from the podium here about what we think. We want the negotiators – they’re close, let them close the deal so that we can move forward. The Honduran people deserve nothing less. And this has been going on for quite some time, as you well know. And we’ve made very clear what our policy has been with regard to –
QUESTION: Well, you haven’t been really clear about what your policy is --
MR. WOOD: I think we have.
QUESTION: -- because one day it’s one thing, and the other day it’s another thing. You said you wouldn’t accept the results of an election unless President Zelaya was returned for the remainder of his term. And now if he returns in some kind of way for, like, some small period of time and then hands over, that’s not really returning for the full length of his term.
MR. WOOD: Well, let’s see what is agreed by the negotiators. President Zelaya, and his designated negotiators are trying to work on these issues right now with the de facto regime. And I just don’t think it would be appropriate for me to start weighing in publicly on what we want to see and what we don’t want to see. Let them work it out, they’re close to a deal. Let’s try to help them make it happen.
QUESTION: On the same subject?
MR. WOOD: Yeah.
QUESTION: How much involvement – how much American involvement is in these negotiations? In theories, the Arias people and the Zelaya people and the Micheletti people, but there must – there is probably some American involvement too. How much is it?
MR. WOOD: Look, when we’re called on to provide advice, that type of thing, from the two sides, we’re certainly there and willing to do that, but this is something that’s being led by the OAS. And the two sides, as I said, have been making great progress. And what we’re trying to do right now, from the U.S. side, is to encourage them to continue because, as I said, we’re close and we want to see this deal happen. And they need to just make those difficult decisions and close the deal, and that’s where we are.
So we’re obviously there to provide whatever type of assistance, advice that we can give right now. But the OAS has the lead on it. The two sides are sitting down trying to work this out. And it’s a positive thing, they’re making progress, and let’s just hope that they can reach the deal and reach it soon.
Yes.
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