Posted on 06/29/2009 10:32:24 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya, deposed in a coup on Sunday, has flown from Costa-Rica to Nicaragua to take part in an emergency regional summit, Mexican media reported on Monday.
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez provided his personal plane to take Zelaya to the summit, which will see the participation of over 15 regional leaders, including those of Mexico, Ecuador and Cuba. The situation in Honduras will top the agenda.
Chavez, one of Zelaya's strongest allies, also threatened military action if Venezuela's envoy in Honduras was attacked.
Honduran military arrested Zelaya on Sunday morning, the same day polls were due to open for a referendum on the extension of his non-renewable four-year term of office.
The country's Supreme Court had ruled the referendum illegal. The president was arrested at his residence and transported aboard a military plane to Costa-Rica in what was Central America's first coup since the end of the Cold War.
Interim president, Roberto Micheletti, imposed an overnight curfew in the country after taking power. However, Zaleya supporters have set up barricades near the presidential place and there have been unconfirmed reports of shots being fired.
Honduran trade union leader Angel Alvarado has called for a nationwide strike in support of Zelaya.
World leaders have condemned the coup, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging "the reinstatement of the democratically elected representatives of the country". U.S. President Barack Obama has called on the coup leaders to "respect the rule of law."
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro called the coup a "suicidal mistake" in an article published early on Monday.
To our Kenyan president: Honduras did follow the rule of law. Stop pretending otherwise.
It’s not a coup. Its a restoration of their constitution.
This hits too close to home. Obama sees his own future of being thrown out of office as a lying usurper.
Has Castro some pair of stones or what? How dare that murderous gangster dictator complain about what is or what isn’t democracy in Honduras.
Tell Fidel to shut up unless he allows a real vote in that prison island he calls a nation.
I have friends in Homduras, who live in a small town near the Copan ruins, I spoke to them last evening. They said, as of now, they had not been affected other than to see some soldiers in their town and to have a curfew imposed. They do have friends staying with them who were planning on moving to another city, but have not been able to because the main road to San Pedro Sula has been closed in places because of Zelaya protestors.
The “rumor” and that’s how they’re getting their local news because the local tv stations have been shut down the last couple of days, is that there are Nicaraguan soldiers on the southern border of Honduras. They have no way to confirm that, and figure it’s just a rumor, possibly coming out of the fact that Zelaya is meeting with Ortega.
They’re a long way from the Nicaraguan border, much closer to Guatemala than Nicaragua.
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