Honduras: No Second Chile

Attempts to recreate another "Chilean Sorelian myth" in Honduras and making a martyr out of populist Leftist totalitarian "Mel Zeliar" is shipwrecking on the Internet, blogs and the 24/7 news cycle.

One man's efforts, a gringo with feet on the ground in Tegucigalpa, is proving particularly effective (Hunter Smith and his blog "Honduras Abandoned").

The latest, since yesterday's post:

- An "officer claims that protesters [on Sunday besieging the airport] had wire cutters (I did see protesters with wire cutters) and began cutting the chain link fence and ripping it down. The crowd convened onto the fence, ready to rush onto the tarmac at the airport. Shots were fired from the military, however as of right now it is uncertain whether the casualties were the result of a military issued weapon."

- The national commissioner for Human Rights, Ramón Custodio, said it wasn't the soldiers that shot the young man who died yesterday.

- As the rally came to a close, the police arrested 20 Nicaraguans from the crowd, who were armed with .357 pistols. 

- A total of 96 Nicaraguan citizens have been detained.

- Commissioner Hector Ivan Mejia said they have identified in the demonstrations supporting Manuel Zelaya foreign nationals from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

- The Nicaraguan Army rejected claims by  President Roberto Micheletti that they have not mobilized their troops to the Honduran border.

- Yesterday throughout the cities of Honduras, there were protests for peace and democracy. Organizers were preparing for the demonstration in Tegucigalpa, hanging banners and setting up audio equipment for today's protest. 

- And finally, today Smith poses an almost rhetorical question: 

Did Chavez have an influence on Sunday's violence? Ferdsblog has a new post up on El Heraldo's story "Chavez planned a slaughter in Honduras".
While events were unfolding at the airport, Telesur was broadcasting live from Chavez's office. There are military messages on the white board that seem to indicate Chavez had an influence on Sunday's violence.
I do not have time to provide my own translation of this article because I am heading to a meeting, but Google or Yahoo's translator program can provide a rough translation.

- Filed on Articles in "Socialist Utopia Redux" -