Foreign minister of Honduras, Eduardo Enrique Reina. Photo: Cheme Moya/EFE/File photo.
The foreign minister of Honduras, Eduardo Enrique Reina, told the undersecretary for affairs of the western hemisphere for the US Department of State, Brian A. Nichols, that he is “surprised” by Washington’s opposition of the legal reforms made in Honduras to combat public and private corruption.
“Mr. Nichols, it is surprising that the US opposes all the legal reforms to combat public-private corruption presented in a sovereign state by President Xiomara Castro,” Reina wrote this Wednesday, May 17, via social media, “such as energy laws, the tax justice project, and the elimination of ZEDEs [Employment and Economic Development Zones]. We do not accept such artificial statements.”
Sr. Nichols sorprende que EEUU se oponga a todas las reformas legales para combatir la corrupciĂłn pĂşblico-privada, presentadas soberanamente por la Presidenta @XiomaraCastroZ tales como leyes de EnergĂa, Justicia Tributaria y de eliminaciĂłn de las ZEDE’s. No aceptamos artificios. https://t.co/etMVscYbww
— Enrique Reina (@EnriqueReinaHN) May 17, 2023
The Honduran diplomat’s words were in response to a tweet by Nichols, in which the US official stated that Washington is “following the reactions to the protest in Choluteca, Honduras,” that oppose the draft Justice Tax Law. “The right to peaceful march and the right to express one’s opinions are fundamental to democracy,” Nichols wrote, “and must be promoted and protected.”
The US official statement alludes to the fact that President Castro convened the National Security Council on the grounds that the demonstrations endangered the order, peace, and internal security of the State. The demonstrations in question were the provocations that occurred in the streets of Choluteca; the president added that such acts “seek to impede the legislative procedural function of the National Congress of the Republic.”
The aforementioned protests were carried out on May 9 by employees of the Choluteca shrimp, okra, and melon industries. A part of the Honduran private sector opposes such a bill as the Tax Justice project, which, according to the government, seeks to ensure that there is justice in the payment of taxes in the Central American country.
“Private companies and political organizations instructed and financed their employees and followers to mobilize against the Tax Justice project,” President Xiomara Castro highlighted after the Choluteca incident, “to prevent this law from being discussed and approved.”
Analysts saw Nichols’ statements as a new “regime change” operation in the making by the White House against another leftist government in Latin America; this is a common part of the US toolkit to force its hegemonic agenda over the region.
(Ăšltimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
