Presidential candidate Barack Obama chided the Bush Administration for neglecting Latin America. On the campaign trail, he claimed that President Bush was distracted by the war in Iraq and disengaged from our neighboring region. Obama promised to exercise leadership in tackling the region’s problems. Of course, the numerous steps taken by George W. Bush to increase trade and improve the economies of Latin American countries were always glossed over. No discussion was had of assistance to the region in the War on Drugs. No mention was made of free trade agreements with Chile, Argentina, Peru and the Caribbean/Central America region. Free trade only came up in candidate Obama’s rhetoric when he discussed his opposition to the ratification of an agreement with Colombia and hinted at his intention to renege on the one with Mexico.
Under President Obama, Latin American policy has consisted of forfeiting all leadership in the region. Moreover, it has gone way beyond the benign neglect of which he accused President Bush. So far, President Obama’s policy has been one of turning over the leadership mantle to Venezuela’s strongman Hugo Chavez and sheepishly concurring with Chavez’s attempts to create a Socialist 
regime throughout the continent. In fact, the Obama Administration has abandoned all steps to defend democracy in our hemisphere.
After Obama’s recent humiliation by Chavez and Nicaragua’s Sandinista ruler Daniel Ortega at the Summit of the Americas held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and a second embarrassment in early June at the OAS meeting in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where Cuba’s suspension from membership in the regional organization was lifted, today Obama embraced the role of Hugo Chavez’s cheerleader once again. This time, his support for Chavez centers on the events that led to the removal of Manuel Zelaya as President of Honduras.
Mr. Zelaya was elected President in 2006 to serve a four year term, as prescribed by the Honduran Constitution. That document limits presidents to one term. However, Mr. Zelaya decided that he wanted to remain in power beyond the constitutionally established period and tried to convene a last-minute referendum to change the constitution. The referendum was turned down by the country’s legislature and the matter went to litigation. The Honduran Supreme Court ruled that President Zelaya’s action was illegal. Nevertheless, Zelaya ordered the head of the Armed Forces to organize the referendum, in violation of the Supreme Court’s order. When the Army Chief refused to act contrary to law, President Zelaya fired him. His action was countered by a Supreme Court order that determined the firing to be illegal and reinstated the Army Chief.
Finally, availing itself of the Constitutional process, the Honduran Legislature voted to remove Mr. Zelaya from his post for his refusal to follow the country’s laws. Congressional President Roberto Micheletti, a member of Mr. Zelaya’s own political party was sworn in as Honduras’ new president, to serve the balance of the current term until elections are held in November.
However, this power struggle has been labeled as a coup-d’etat by Venezuela’s Chavez, a term that has been adopted without question by the mainstream press, and tacitly accepted by the Obama Administration like a lapdog to the Venezuelan tyrant. 
To the contrary, the Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported:
“The National Congress, in application of the Constitution of the Republic resolved . . . to impeach the conduct of the citizen and President of the Republic Manuel Zelaya due to his repeated violations of the Constitution of the Republic and the laws, and his failure to comply with the resolutions and orders of the juridical institutions.”
While Chavez makes overt military threats to the Honduran government, Obama’s servile statements only encourage the bullying of Honduras by the Socialist clique of Latin American dictators led by Chavez and his mentor Fidel Castro. In a written statement, President Obama said:
"I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”
In response, the new foreign minister, Enrique Ortez Colindres declared that no coup had occurred. He said that, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s orders, the military had merely upheld the constitution "that the earlier government wanted to reform without any basis and in an illegal way."
However, instead of defending the right of all Honduran institutions to protect the country’s democracy from a rogue would-be-tyrant, the State Department’s interpretation of Obama's statement is to press for the return of Mr. Zelaya to power, as demanded by Chavez. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Zelaya’s removal, while Administration officials said they were working to twist the arms of the Hondurans to put Zelaya back in office. But the new Honduran President stated that neither Barack Obama nor Hugo Chavez will impose their will in Honduras. He denied there had been a coup and reiterated the Congress, the Supreme Court and the military acted pursuant to and in defense of the Constitution.
No wonder Chavez recently referred to the American President as ‘Comrade Obama’ and worried about finding himself, and Castro to Obama’s right. In light of the recent pronouncements of the Administration on the Honduran situation, it is worth asking whether the United States is acting in violation of the terms of the Inter-American Democratic Charter that Mr. Obama urges the Hondurans to uphold.
(Above right: Presidents Obama and Hugo Chavez; AP Photo/Evan Vucci. Above left: Honduran ex-President Manuel Zelaya/La Prensa)
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Associated Press report
Swiss news agency report
The minority Report offers a dissenting view
The report from local press outlet La Prensa
Link to new Honduran President Micheletti's news conference.
Comments
what a pathetic article, can you hide that you're a republican any better than this?
Danny, what part of Orlando Republican Examiner don't you understand?
Thank you for your comment.
Obama will probably one day try to change our constitution too... "the rule of law" my ass!!
Thank you for your article.
Mel Zelaya keeps exaggerating and changing his "version" of what happened and what led to his replacement to all the news . The majority of Hondurans are NOT in favor of the ex- predidente Zelaya. It's important to clarify that the people making disturbances and protests in favor of Mel Zelaya have been paid or were ordered to do so because they are public employees and wan´t to save their jobs. Now many people in other countries say that it was a coup d'etat. We ask the international community to review his files, his history and ties to Hugo Chavez, Correa, Ortega... and then judge. The declarations of ex- president Zelaya indicate a socialist philosophy, what he wanted to do in our country. He has been following and receiving instructiones from Hugo Chavez, who has insulted in repeated occasions Hondurans, our military and congress.
His abuse of power and his careless spending of the Honduran money to his favor is very clear to all of us who live her
The majority of Hondurans are NOT in favor of the ex- predidente Zelaya. His abuse of power and his careless spending of the Honduran money to his favor is very clear to all of us who live here. Honduras is a country that loves peace and wants to be governed according to the laws established in the Constitution. Please help us request the international community for their support for us, who have been witnessing the lies and constant examples of corruption, of Mel Zelaya. We don't want him back.
We need the international media, human rights organizations and other goverments to know the real situation we Honduras have been put through. Also that the majority of the people agreer and support the decision made by Congress, The Supreme Court of Justice and The General Attorney. Zelaya wants to implement Chavez plans on our country. And we won´t allow that. We will defend our country our freedom and above all our democracy. Is been over 6 months and the Anual Budget has not been approved by Zelaya. People are dying. Children are dying. There are thousands of H1N1 cases, flooding, earthquakes, high indicators of violence... and none of the above were important to Mr. Zelaya. All he talkes and supported were his illegal actions and that is why he was taken from power. His interts were personal and to many people were suffering because of his ambition. We feel FREE!! We feel with HOPE AGAIN! Don´t that away from us!
Thank you for your comment. I will try as best I can to spread the truth about the events in Honduras. President Obama should be cautioning Hugo Chavez to stop threatening Honduras with military action and pledge to respect the constitutional and legal rights of the Honduran institutions and accept the legal processes that took place and led to the removal of Mel Zelaya.
Danny,
You're a pathetic idiot!!! This article is factually correct across the board, regardless of whether Blas is Republican or not. Since you are obviously as brain dead clueless as Obama is, you seriously need to get educated before spouting off any more stupid comments.
Mr. Obama needs to do his homework. Zelaya´s leftist agenda is not welcomed by the majority in Honduras. He was spending valuable resources in campaigning for a "survey" which dealt with changing the Constitution established in 1982, and which was also declared illegal by both the Supreme Court and Congress. By doing this his attempt was to install a leftist regime with a myriad of negative consequences for Honduras. Furthermore, he was in COMPLETE control the "survey" since he had in his power the ballots and all voting material. Congress acted in behalf of the country by stopping this megalomaniac before he created a regime like his idol, Chavez, established in Venezuela. Honduras does not embrace communism and is not Chavez´s backyard ... we embrace democracy and it is in this spirit that Congress removed Zelaya from office.
THANK YOU, as an Honduran I support the actions our government took to remove Zelaya, he was acting outside the law and was clearly violating our Constitution. All of this with the clear support of Chavez and Ortega. Honduras defended democracy by aplying OUR Constitution. Justice had prevailed. 80%+ of the population is against Zelaya's intention and the evil influence of Chavez.
Thank you! I am a honduran, living in Honduras, and is happy to see the international press has open their eyes and see what truelly happen in honduras. you only have to remmember what happen to Chavez and see that the same is happening to Zelaya, thats why we have to defend our constitution! thank you very much, and hope that more people could know what really happen!
Have to say, I'm not fine with many of Obama's domestic policies, but his foreign policy has been stellar. That we are finally getting it right in Central America, and healing wounds caused by very selfish policies of the past is very important. Thank you Obama for not listening to the same old domestic arguments put forward here.
This case is very simple. It was coup of a democratically elected president. It was illegal. We cannot in good conscious call democratically elected leader we dislike, dictators and those who use undemocratic means as heroes. Whats the difference between the protesters in Iran and Honduras? I see the same riot police beating on civilian who feel they votes have been stolen.
Additionally, impeachment and not a military coup would have been the democratic way of resolving this situation.
Thank you for your comment, Joe.
Impeachment is exactly what happened. Mr. Zelaya was removed by the Honduran congress, not by the military. What the military did was execute the order of the Supreme Court. Do you see any generals governing the country?
Excellent comment Mariano. Perhaps you should apply for a State Department job. The thousands of people who work there are either lazy and clueless or Obama is just "winging" once again without making use of the resources American tax payers make available to him. I suspect the later.
It is very sad to say but I think that this time Americans blew it out to elect a politician with no expertise on enything, Mr Obama might have very great rethorics, but it would make him a better pastor than the president of the United States of America!!!
McCaine might had been much better option. Surly wouldn't became a papet in hands of Chavez!!! Greetings.
Joe, can you please point out in what article of the Honduran constitution or penal codes made it illegal? In Honduras the Supreme Court absolutely had the right to remove him under article 42 and article 239 of the Honduran constitution. If you have not read it I can provide you a translation.
Danny can you point out where he is wrong instead of complaining about what party he perhaps belongs to? I live in Honduras and Mel Zelaya violated the constitution. If Bush wanted to rewrite the constitution when he was in office and make himself dictator for life would you throw a fit? You betcha.
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