HONDURAN COUP: POLITICAL WRAP-UP 07/10/09

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000579 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM HO SUBJECT: HONDURAN COUP: POLITICAL WRAP-UP 07/10/09 REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 574 ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 577 AND PREVIOUS ¶C. TEGUCIGALPA 567 Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b&d) 1.(U) Summary: This is the first in a series of daily round-ups of political news in the aftermath of the June 28 forcible removal and exile of President Manuel Zelaya from Honduras. End Summary. -------------- San Jose Talks top the news -------------- ¶2. (U) All major Honduran dailies carried the ongoing talks in Costa Rica between the Micheletti and Zelaya delegations as the lead item on the front page. Articles focused on introducing the delegations and on the timing and atmospherics surrounding the meetings. The overwhelmingly pro-Micheletti media described Micheletti's delegation as a team of smart pragmatists steeped in Honduran law, whereas Zelaya's team was composed of leftist ideologues. "Tiempo," however, described the opening positions of both sides as "closed and very intransigent." The conservative daily "La Prensa" bore a front-page headline quoting President Arias saying the talks might take longer than expected. -------------- Micheletti Playing Hardball -------------- ¶3. (C) There were press reports today that the de facto regime had frozen the bank accounts of many Zelaya officials said to have been involved in official corruption. Honduras's chief prosecutor told us the report was false, and one person who had suspected his account had been frozen told us he went in person to the Bank and Insurance Commission and was told his accounts were not in fact frozen. Nonetheless, the climate of apparently selective criminal investigations and prosecutions (septel) is sending a strong signal that Micheletti does not intend to allow Zelaya and his team to return to Honduras. De facto Finance Minister Gabriela Nunez appeared on a morning news talk show this morning to detail the fiscal malfeasance she had discovered since assuming duties last week. Zelaya's Finance Minister Rebeca Santos phoned into the program from abroad to give her side. Honduran law enforcement authorities seized documents and 36 computers July 9 from the presidential palace as part of their ongoing effort to compile corruption cases. -------------- Changes in Negotiating Teams -------------- ¶4. (U) According to local press, Micheletti and Zelaya each appointed "commissions" to carry on the talks in San Jose in their absence. Micheletti's team is the same as reported in ref A, except that it does not include former Ambassador to Washington Roberto Flores Bermudez, who we understand will soon be named Foreign Minister in the de facto government. Zelaya's team is somewhat different from that reported ref A, and is even more leftist in bent. ¶5. (C) Zelaya's negotiating team now comprises the following: -- Patricia Rodas (see ref A) -- Milton Jimenez: One of the "Patricios" who have pulled Zelaya consistently to the left throughout his administration. Jimenez, a lawyer, has been Foreign Minister and Presidential Legal Adviser in Zelaya's cabinet, and most recently head of the National Banking and Insurance Commission. He resigned as Foreign Minister in 2008 after being caught on video assaulting a police officer after a drunk driving arrest. He was subsequently arrested and convicted in absentia for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after a vehicle he was riding in was stopped in Florida. He is widely thought to have brought current Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas into the Zelaya Administration. Before joining the Zelaya Administration he was Deputy Director of a legal aid and human rights NGO. -- Silvia Ayala: A member of Congress from the leftist Democratic Unification Party representing Cortes, Ayala, a lawyer, is known for her hardline, militant, anti-American viewpoints and stern demeanor. She has never been considered close to Zelaya, whom her party's base considers an opportunist rather than an authentic leftist, but supported his efforts to reform the constitution along Chavez lines. -- Salvador Zuniga: Activist on behalf of indigenous people, although not a member of an indigenous group himself, he is considered a militant agitator. He once led a group to burn a statue of Christopher Columbus at the Toncontin Airport. -------------- Candidates Keep Low Profile -------------- ¶6. (U) Presidential candidates Elvin Santos and Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo both attended Thursday's "world-wide prayer session" for peace. Also in attendance was evangelical pastor Elvio Reyes. The event was reportedly broadcast to 54 countries that subscribe to the Christian Television Channel. They have refrained from traditional political rallies recently and instead engaged primarily in these kind of public events designed to show solidarity with the Honduran people. -------------- Dissident Deputies to go to Washington -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Five Liberal Party members of Congress who opposed the June 28 coup and reject the legitimacy of the de facto Micheletti regime plan to travel to Washington the week of July 13 to give their version of recent events to the U.S. Congress. They hope to offset what they see as the distorted picture presented by the delegation of businessmen and primarily National Party congressmen who lobbied the Hill last week. LLORENS