VOA reports that the Honduran Army has arrested the President after he attempted to hold a referendum to extend his term, something which the courts had ruled illegal.
Aides to the president say troops took Mr. Zelaya from his residence Sunday morning. Some officials say he was taken to a nearby air base. The Honduran Supreme Court has declared the referendum illegal and the military had refused to help organize the balloting. The president fired the armed forces chief of staff General Romeo Vasquez last week for failing to support him. … President Zelaya was elected in 2006 to a four-year term. The 1982 constitution bans re-election. The president enjoys the support of leftist Latin American leaders, including Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro.
Fausta notes that Chavez has already declared he will not accept Zelaya’s arrest. Translating a Noticias 24 report, Fausta writes:
Hugo Chavez declared that “we are not going to watch with our arms crossed the goings-on in Honduras,” and insisted “we will do what we will have to do so the sovereignty of the Honduran people will be respected.”
Later Chavez was also quoted as saying, “This coup will be defeated and it will be defeated by the people of Honduras and through its will.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member