Obama still clueless on Latin America, flops on Honduran crisis

June 29, 3:20 PMOrlando Republican ExaminerBlas Padrino

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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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