"I have always loved you"(Banegas is one of the few cartoonists who can make me LOL)
Cartoon: Diputado Dario Banegas, La Prensa
Cartoon: Diputado Dario Banegas, La Prensa
After more than a year, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has recognized Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo as the legitimate president of Honduras.
Last week, when referring to the possibility of Honduras being readmitted to the Organization of American States (OAS), Enrique Ortíz Colindres said, "Let's face it. When you want to get something done, you don't talk to the clown. You go talk to the owner of the circus."
So that is exactly what Pepe Lobo did on Saturday in a surprise visit to Colombia where he met with Hugo Chávez, arranged by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Circus owner Chávez, who has been blocking Honduras' acceptance to the OAS, has apparently given his blessing for Honduras to be readmitted. No need for further discussion with clown José Insulza, Secretary General of the OAS, since everyone knows who pulls his strings.
One website even claims that Lobo flew to Caracas, Venezuela, on Friday and met with both Zelaya and Chávez.
Reports say that there is a catch. President Lobo must somehow "annul" or get annulled the Supreme Court decision that Mel Zelaya must be tried for crimes of corruption. Separate but equal powers of state, none subordinate to another? No importa. Both the President and the Congress have been pressuring the Supreme Court for more than a year.
A telephone call was made to a "babbling and angry" Zelaya during the meeting. Resistance (FNRP) leaders were hard hit as well and are downplaying the significance of the meeting, denying that this means that Lobo is recognized by Venezuela, or even that Chávez had any knowledge that Lobo would be in Colombia.
Channel 10 news yesterday reported some "Tips confidenciales" from an unnamed source. Among those secret tidbits of the Saturday meeting were:
* We've had some interesting Facebook discussions recently about Petrocaribe which is misrepresented as meaning lower gas prices to consumers in member countries. This is absolutely false. Unfortunately, most of the major players in Honduras, government and businessmen, are perpetuated that myth to Hondurans, who starting this week are paying L.90 or higher at the pumps (US $4.65+).
Note: I often bring up current events on Facebook and it's sometimes hard to find the time to write about them here, too. If you are interested in following those discussions, which often have a lot of insight from Hondurans, too, you can friend me here. I also tweet current news as lagringalaceiba, but I'm less involved in Twitter.
Last week, when referring to the possibility of Honduras being readmitted to the Organization of American States (OAS), Enrique Ortíz Colindres said, "Let's face it. When you want to get something done, you don't talk to the clown. You go talk to the owner of the circus."
So that is exactly what Pepe Lobo did on Saturday in a surprise visit to Colombia where he met with Hugo Chávez, arranged by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Circus owner Chávez, who has been blocking Honduras' acceptance to the OAS, has apparently given his blessing for Honduras to be readmitted. No need for further discussion with clown José Insulza, Secretary General of the OAS, since everyone knows who pulls his strings.One website even claims that Lobo flew to Caracas, Venezuela, on Friday and met with both Zelaya and Chávez.
Reports say that there is a catch. President Lobo must somehow "annul" or get annulled the Supreme Court decision that Mel Zelaya must be tried for crimes of corruption. Separate but equal powers of state, none subordinate to another? No importa. Both the President and the Congress have been pressuring the Supreme Court for more than a year.
A telephone call was made to a "babbling and angry" Zelaya during the meeting. Resistance (FNRP) leaders were hard hit as well and are downplaying the significance of the meeting, denying that this means that Lobo is recognized by Venezuela, or even that Chávez had any knowledge that Lobo would be in Colombia.
Channel 10 news yesterday reported some "Tips confidenciales" from an unnamed source. Among those secret tidbits of the Saturday meeting were:
- Chávez advised Lobo that he should not permit violent protests.
- Chávez believes that only about 5% of the population support the Resistance (FNRP) movement.
- Mel Zelaya was supposed to attend the meeting, but remained behind in Caracas.
- Honduras no longer needs a constituyente since they have modified the referendum and plebiscite laws.
- Chávez is very interested in Honduras rejoining Petrocaribe* and signing a fertilizer deal with Venezuela.
* We've had some interesting Facebook discussions recently about Petrocaribe which is misrepresented as meaning lower gas prices to consumers in member countries. This is absolutely false. Unfortunately, most of the major players in Honduras, government and businessmen, are perpetuated that myth to Hondurans, who starting this week are paying L.90 or higher at the pumps (US $4.65+).
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Note: I often bring up current events on Facebook and it's sometimes hard to find the time to write about them here, too. If you are interested in following those discussions, which often have a lot of insight from Hondurans, too, you can friend me here. I also tweet current news as lagringalaceiba, but I'm less involved in Twitter.
Related articles in English:
Colombia Reports
HondurasWeekly
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