Drogas, Huevos July 8, 2009

This Congressional letter asks Obama to commit to having no knowledge of DEA information linking Zelaya to drug activity, nicely pinning him.

20090702_Honduran_Drug_Letter[1]

(see www.faustasblog.com for all things Honduras and in particular other Congressional discussion yesterday.)

The use of Honduras as a transhipment point for drugs is one of the things that makes the country important for strategic reasons. Chavez can use Nicaragua for shipping drugs, of course, but his job is made demonstrably easier if the US military base in Honduras is removed. Again, this is one of his strategic goals. But tactically Zelaya’s dirty hands will become more and more important as time passes. This is an encouraging sign of a stronger Honduran response through the press and to allies in the US congress. It signifies Hondurans, though poor, may have a certain something 😉 they can use to fight back with:

Clinton Statement re Honduras: A Good Thing July 7, 2009

Hillary has wisely punted, designating Costa Rica as the mediator of the Honduran crisis. This is a good thing for the interim government for at least two reasons.

First, it de-escalates the highest level endorsement of Zelaya by Barack himself. In effect, she is allowing Barack to remain at a rhetorical height with no climbdown, while at the same time saying his endorsement doesn’t matter much because the US is not the decisionmaker.

Second, it means that time will pass. As mentioned in a previous post, the logic of moving to the November elections as a solution to the crisis will become inexorable, particularly as campaigns swing into gear. Thus, the Honduran institutions will retain their integrity and will provide a democratic solution to the problem. In the meantime Zelaya will remain outside of the country. The criminal investigations into his activities and connection to Venezuela will gain traction.

Again, removing Zelaya was the right tactic. Every day that passes makes him more of a lame duck and irrelevent to a solution.

Look for Chavez to immediately turn up the rhetoric on the illegitimacy of November elections that are moderated by the interim regime. The utility of fomenting immediate violence may have passed.

Hondurans are speaking: Petition to Obama July 7, 2009

A petition to Obama to support representative democracy in Honduras:

http://Petitiononline.com/honduras/petition.html

The petition notes Chavez’s apparent expenditure of $6 million to reinstate Zelaya. I estimate this is equivalent to less than 2 hours of oil production for Venezuela.

Why don’t we have a word to describe this financial imperialism? Why does Obama think there is any justice in it?