[Marxism] US cuts more aid to Honduras coup regime, rejects stacked election

[Fred Feldman]

Zelaya's Coup 
By Tom Hayden

September 3, 2009

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Reuters Photos

Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
The US announcement of an aid cutoff to Honduras is a "direct blow" against
the strategy of the coup regime in Honduras, deposed President Manuel Zelaya
declared in an interview with The Nation today. 


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After an afternoon meeting between Zelaya and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, the US government announced the termination of hundreds of millions
of dollars in assistance to Honduras and declared its refusal "for the
moment" to support the Honduran elections scheduled for November. Zelaya
said the "most significant" outcome of the meeting was the State
Department's declaration that the elections will not be recognized, which
"puts the United States in line with Latin America, because it was not said
before." 

Zelaya announced that he is "prepared to return" to Honduras "independently
of any US plans" and to "protect the population." The US declaration was a
"great step forward" that puts intense pressure on the Micheletti regime in
Honduras to commit to the peace proposals of former president Oscar Arias of
Costa Rica. 

The aid termination will include $215 million in five-year Millennium
Challenge grants, Zelaya said, in addition to $16 million in military aid
already cut. Secretary Clinton chairs the Millennium Challenge Corporation,
which meets this coming week. 

Asked if the American aid could be restored before the elections scheduled
for November, Zelaya indicated that it could be, "when democracy is restored
and President Zelaya returns." 

The Nation will post Tom Hayden's full interview with President Zelaya on
September 4. 

About Tom Hayden
Tom Hayden is a former California state senator and author of Street Wars
(Verso, 2005).