Honduran coup d’etat and the USA

This video from Australia is called Solidarity with Honduras.

From daily The Guardian in Britain:

Latin America: how the US has allied with the forces of reaction

Honduras three years ago created a new template of the US backing coups to compensate for lost influence on the continent

Friday 29 June 2012 16.37 BST

It was three years ago this week that the Honduran military launched an assault on the home of President Mel Zelaya, kidnapped him, and flew him out of the country. The Obama administration, according to its own conversations with the press, knew about the coup in advance. But the first statement from the White House – unlike those from the rest of the world – did not condemn the coup.

That sent a message to the Honduran dictatorship, and to the diplomatic community: the US government supported this coup and would do what it could to make sure it succeeded. And that is exactly what ensued. Unlike Washington and its few remaining rightwing allies in the hemisphere, most of Latin America saw the coup as a threat to democracy in the region and, indeed, to their own governments.

“It would be enough for someone to stage a civilian coup, backed by the armed forces, or simply a civilian one and later justify it by convoking elections,” Argentine President Cristina Fernández told South American leaders. “And then democratic guarantees would truly be fiction.”

For that reason, South America refused to recognize the Honduran “elections” held six months later under the dictatorship. But Washington wanted the coup regime legitimized. The Obama administration blocked the Organization of American States (OAS) from taking action to restore democracy before “elections” were held.

“We have intelligence reports that say that after Zelaya, I’m next,” said President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, after the Honduran coup. This turned out to be correct: in September of 2010, a rebellion by police held Correa hostage in a hospital until he was freed, after a prolonged shootout between the police and loyal troops of the armed forces. It was another attempted coup against a social-democratic president in Latin America.

Last week, Cristina Fernández’ warning against a “civilian coup” proved prescient in Paraguay.

The US government is withholding funds to Honduran police units supervised by their national police chief until it investigates allegations that he ran a death squad a decade ago: here.

What can a coup buy? In Honduras, fully privatized cities: here.