Thousands march in Tegucigalpa in support of the Xiomara Castro government. Photo: Resumen Latinoamericano-English/File photo.
By Alejandra Garcia – Sep 15, 2024
The government of Honduran President Xiomara Castro is under siege. “A plot is being hatched against my government,” she warned at the end of the week, after announcing the government’s decision to cancel the extradition treaty with the United States, in force since 1912. The announcement of this measure led to an immediate increase in pressure from Washington on the Castro government, “and they have unleashed a plan to destroy my socialist and democratic government.”
How did the crisis begin? Relations between Honduras and the US exploded on August 28, when the US ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, criticized a visit of two Honduran officials to Venezuela as guests of the IV World Cadet Championship. The diplomat accused that both officials met in Caracas with “drug traffickers”, in reference to the Venezuelan Minister of Defense, General Vladimir Padrino López.
In response, Castro, the only woman president in Honduran history, put an end to the extradition treaty with the US, in view of the possibility that Washington may request the application of such an agreement against the Honduran officials who met with the Venezuelan minister. The head of the Honduran diplomacy, Enrique Reina, explained in detail that “the treaty was canceled so that it is not used as an electoral political weapon against the institution and government officials.”
Honduran intelligence detected that Dogu’s attitude was part of a plan to divide the Armed Forces. Alarmed by this situation, President Xiomara Castro firmly declared, “We will not tolerate the interference and interventionism of the United States, as well as its intention to direct the politics of Honduras through its Embassy and other representatives.”
These are key days. Honduras starts the countdown to the general elections in 2025, and the threat of a possible coup d’état awakens a painful memory experienced during the coup of 2009, under the mandate of former President Manuel Zelaya. “We have already lived what a coup d’état means: violence, exile, persecution… I promise the Honduran people, here we will have no more coups,” Castro said this Sunday, during the commemoration of the 203rd anniversary of the Independence of Central America.
Honduras Condemns Armed Forces Coup Attempt (+US Extradition Treaty)
During the commemoration, President Xiomara Castro affirmed that her government belongs to the people. And the people accompanied her. On Saturday, thousands of citizens took to the main avenues of the capital Tegucigalpa, saying never again to a coup. They looked like a red tide while advancing and carrying Honduran flags and banners reading “Never again,” “Honduras, free and sovereign,” and “We are with you, Xiomara.”
“Since my first day, we have established our political and social commitment in favor of the defense of democracy and sovereignty against all interferences. For the government, sovereignty means taking decisions that benefit the people of Honduras,” the leader added.
Honduras is not alone. Progressive governments and organizations have taken sides to ensure that they will always be on the right side of history. Cuba, Venezuela, and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) immediately expressed their solidarity in the face of the attempted coup against Castro.
“Our Great Homeland will never be lost. Imperialism and the international right wing must understand once and for all that colonialism is over. Now is the time for free people,” ALBA declared in a statement. Honduras is demonstrating through its own experience that it knows how to resist. The arrogance of the empire knows no bounds and that is not lost on the people Honduras but all of Latin American.
