Coup and mass resistance in Honduras: Eva Golinger blogs live

Eva Golinger

Eva Golinger, whose 2006 book The Chavez Code exposed the role of the US in the 2002 coup that briefly overthrew the democratically elected Venezuelan government, is blogging continuously on the situation in Honduras.

On June 28, the elected President Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped by the military at gun point, beaten and then exiled to Costa Rica. Supported by the Supreme Court, the Congress has appointed Congress president Roberto Micheletti

Zelaya has massive support from the poor, trade unions and social movements. However the elite, which control the military, Supreme Court and Congress, oppose his push for change in one of Latin America's poorest nations. The coup was carried out to prevent a non-binding referendum to take place that day on whether Hondurans wanted the opportunity to elect a constituent assembly to rewrite their constitution. The current constitution was introduced in 1982 at the height of the brutal US-backed military dictatorship.

Under Zelaya, Honduras joined the anti-imperialist, solidarity-based trading bloc initiated by Venezuela and Cuba — the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). This coup is seen as an attempt to wind back the moves for regional integration at the expense of US corporate interests. Honduras is also next door to El Salvador, which just elected the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).

Latin American nations, ALBA, the Organisation of American Status, the European Union and even the US government have all condemned the coup. However Golinger has produced evidence the US knew of the coup in advance.

There are massive ongoing protests on the streets, including a general strike, to demand Zelaya is reinstated. At least some army units have refused to support the coup.

The coup plotters have responded by shutting down state TV, cutting electricity to the capital and carrying out widespread repression.

The foreign minister in Zelaya's government has been kidnapped and remains missing. The ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua were kidnapped and beaten, with the Cuban and Venezuelan diplomats later released.

Zelaya has said that on July 2, with the head of OAS and other regional leaders, he will return to Honduras to take up his place as legitimate president once more.

The situation hangs in the balance, and is constantly developing. It remains unclear whether the coup plotters will succeed in using repression to put down the popular uprising and hold onto their illicit power, or whether the mass resistance and international support for Zelaya will see him reinstalled as the legitimate president. Ongoing news can be found at Golinger's blog,