MICHELETTI SAYS HE WON'T STEP DOWN BEFORE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000051

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI KDEM HO
SUBJECT: MICHELETTI SAYS HE WON'T STEP DOWN BEFORE
INAUGURATION

REF: TEGUCIGALPA 00038


1. (U) Summary. Supporters of de facto regime leader Roberto
Micheletti have been staging ceremonies in recent days to
honor Micheletti. The largest was a January 18 rally
organized by the pro-regime civil society organization Civic
Democratic Union (UCD). During the speech he delivered at
the rally, Micheletti said unequivocally that he will not
relinquish power before the January 27 inauguration of
president-elect Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo and criticized the
international community for abandoning Honduras for seven
months. In an interview published in the January 19 edition
of the "El Heraldo" newspaper, Micheletti said stepping aside
before January 27 would be tantamount to admitting that the
actions of June 28 were a mistake. End Summary.


2. (U) As the January 27 inauguration of president-elect
Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo approaches, supporters of de facto
regime leader Roberto Micheletti are publicly manifesting
their appreciation to Micheletti. A road in San Pedro Sula,
the country's second largest city, has been named after him.
The National Association of Industrialists (ANDI) presented
him with a plaque on January 11 hailing him as the "First
National Hero of the Twenty-first Century." The National
Congress on January 13 made him a life-long member (reftel).
A group of business associations of northern Honduras held a
gala on January 15 at which they proclaimed him "Defender of
the Constitution and the Republic."


3. (U) The largest show of support for Micheletti was a
televised rally held on January 18 that was organized by the
pro-regime civil society organization, Civic Democratic Union
(UCD),led by Arminda Lopez Contreras, wife of de facto
regime foreign minister Carlos Lopez Contreras. The rally,
attended by approximately 500 persons, was held at a public
square named Democracy Square that is located next to the
Office of the President. Micheletti supporters, dressed in
the white clothing that became the uniform of pro-regime
demonstrators following the June 28 coup and holding banners
praising Micheletti and Honduran flags, chanted "Micheletti"
and "thank you." Arminda Lopez Contreras, who referred to
Micheletti as the "constitutional president of Honduras,"
called on Hondurans to support president-elect Lobo while
noting that the UCD would be watching his actions.


4. (SBU) Micheletti, accompanied by the de facto Cabinet and
the Armed Forces chiefs of staff, delivered a nationalistic
and bombastic speech in which he criticized the international
community for abandoning Honduras for seven months and
declared he would not relinquish power before Lobo's January
27 inauguration. Micheletti said no outside force could
bring Honduras to its knees and urged Hondurans not to let
down their guard. Micheletti called on Hondurans to support
the administration of president-elect Lobo, noting that the
government needed to address the needs of all Hondurans.
Micheletti, while telling Hondurans to move forward, could
not avoid criticizing the government of President Jose Manuel
"Mel" Zelaya. He told his countrymen to leave behind the
sadness felt during three years of government by men and
women who today have fled from Honduras and to leave behind
the bad taste of a bad government that destroyed the hopes of
a united people. Micheletti stated that it is not known how
funding that was earmarked for poverty reduction was spent by
the Zelaya administration. Micheletti, whose regime has not
been recognized by a single nation, described Zelaya's
government as one that caused other countries to lose faith
in Honduras. Micheletti asserted that God is Honduran
because he did not allow the bombs detonated by leftists and
the calls for action from the Brazilian Embassy and by
corrupt media organs to intimidate the Honduran people. At
the end of his speech, Micheletti said that on January 27 he
would take off his jacket and tie, while proceeding to
actually do so, and would become just another Honduran and
then draped himself in a Honduran flag, ending his speech
with his trademark "Long live Honduras, long live Honduras,
and long live Honduras."


5. (U) In an interview published in the January 19 edition of
the "El Heraldo" newspaper, Micheletti stated that the
country took precedence over any Honduran or foreign
interest. He said relinquishing power before January 27
would be to give in to pressure from the international
community and admit that the events of June 28 were a

TEGUCIGALP 00000051 002 OF 002


mistake. They were not a mistake, said Micheletti, but a
constitutional succession carried out in accordance with the
country's constitution and laws. Micheletti accused
Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General Jose
Miguel Insulza of supporting President Zelaya by sending a
delegation to observe the poll Zelaya planned to hold on June
28 asking Hondurans if they supported holding a referendum on
having a constituent assembly. Micheletti also called
Insulza a lackey of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the
Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). In response to
the question of where Honduras would be today if regime
supporters had not taken action on June 28, Micheletti
responded that a dictator would be in office in the company
of a group of people depriving Hondurans of their rights and
of their property. Micheletti also said combating narcotics
was one of the country's challenges and said Honduras
utilized radar provided by the U.S. to counter drug
traffickers until it was shut off after June 28. (Note: The
U.S. continued to provide radar data to Honduras after June
28, at first only to the police forces and not the military,
but later to a joint task force run by the police but
attended by military officials. End Note.)


6. (U) During his speech at the UCD rally, Micheletti thanked
former Presidents Rafael Leonardo Callejas and Ricardo Maduro
for their support. According to press reports,
president-elect Lobo stated on January 15 that he will form a
council of all former living Honduran presidents, including
Zelaya and Micheletti, to provide him with advice.


7. (SBU) Comment: Micheletti, surrounded by sycophants,
appears convinced that he is a national hero. However, the
low turnout at his UCD rally reflects the fact that his base,
while fervent, is small. This series of tributes to him does
nothing to repair the political schism formed by the events
of the last year. It is interesting that Lobo included
Zelaya and Micheletti in the roster of former presidents.
While meant to demonstrate Lobo's desire for reconciliation,
it is hard to envision such a body meeting together in one
room with both Zelaya and Micheletti as members. End
Comment.
HENSHAW