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The Honduras Coup of June, 2009   On June 28, 2009, the Honduran military stormed the Presidential residence in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, and arrested President Manuel Zelaya. The deposed President was then taken to an air base, put on a plane, and flown into exile in Costa Rica. Upon landing in Costa Rica, President Zelaya claimed that he remained the legal president of Honduras. Meanwhile, after his departure from Honduras, the Supreme Court declared his ouster to be legal, and the Honduran Congress applauded the military action and declared Roberto Micheletti, the speaker of parliament and next in the Presidential line of succession, to be the new president. This dramatic turn of events was foreshadowed by weeks of political and legal turmoil between President Zelaya on the one side, and the Supreme Court and the Congress on the other. The constitution limited Zelaya from running for another term as president, so he proposed a national referendum, or vote, to change the election limits to allow him to run again. The Supreme Court and the Congress claimed any such referendum was illegal. Zelaya ordered the military to help run the election, but the military said they would not participate in the illegal vote. Zelaya then fired the head of the military, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez. The Supreme Court then reinstated the general. The military, the Supreme Court, and the Congress are all generally considered to be conservative supporters of the status quo. President Zelaya is considered to be more liberal, or leftist in his political leanings, and has the support of labor unions and farm groups, who seek economic reforms in order to benefit the nation's poor. Zelaya was an ally of Venezuela's leftist leader, Hugo Chavez. Reaction from around the Western Hemisphere has been unusually unanimous in condemning the ouster of Zelaya. Leftist leaders such as Chavez and Cuba's Castro were expected to protest the coup against a fellow leftist, but even more conservative leaders such as Columbia's President Uribe called for Zelaya's return to power. The United States also is calling for a reversal of the coup. The day following the coup, the military and the police clashed with thousands of protesters in the capital city. Protests continued into July, as Honduran workers, teachers, and students took to the streets to protest the overthrow of Zelaya. Soldiers in full battle gear acted as riot police and battled the growing numbers of protesters. The picture below is indicative of the type of fighting taking place in the capital of Tegucigalpa. The President of Costa Rica offered to negotiate an end to the political crisis, and negotiations began between the deposed president and the new government. Political and diplomatic negotiations continued for the rest of the summer, but then, on September 22, ousted president Zelaya suddenly appeared in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa after sneaking into the country. Security forces clashed with protesters outside the Brazilian embassy, and Brazil requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Protesters clash with Honduran soldiers in Tegucigalpa   Links and Resources:   Use of mercenaries in Honduras on the rise, U.N. panel says--CNN, Oct. 11, 2009 Brazil asks UN for emergency meeting on Honduras--AP, Sept. 22, 2009 Honduran forces break up protest at Brazil embassy--Reuters, Sept. 22, 2009 Why Honduras Sent Zelaya Away--Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2009 OAS gives 3-day deadline to Honduran coup leaders--Houston Chronicle, June 30, 2009 In Honduras, forces crack down on protesters--LA Times, June 30, 2009 Leaders from Obama to Chavez blast Honduras coup--Associated Press, June 29, 2009 The Winner in Honduras: Chávez--New York Times, June 29, 2009 Obama Likely to Tread Carefully With Uribe--Washington Post, June 29, 2009 2009 Honduran political crisis -Wikipedia Article   Opinion and Editorials: What I Heard in Honduras : Our ambassador is the only person I met there who thinks there was a 'coup.' Let's release the State Department legal analysis.--Wall Street Journal, Oct. 10, 2009 Limbaugh: Obama Laying Groundwork for Third Term --NewsMax, June 30, 2009

Recent Honduran Political and Military History: 1954-Military Coup 1963-Military Coup 1969- "Soccer/Football War" With El Salvador 1972-Military Coup 1981-1988-Contra War in Nicaragua. Honduras served as a major base for the Contras, and had a large American military presence in Honduras during the war. 2009- Military Coup         Read the History Guy Weblog and the War and Conflict Journal--New Taliban Advances; Pakistan in Mortal Danger--posted April 22, 2009 Southern Sudan Erupts in More Violence--posted April 22, 2009 Russia Expands War; Invades Georgia--posted August 10, 2008 Georgia Attacks South Ossetia and Risks Russian Intervention--posted August 7, 2008 Iran War Scenario for April, 2008-posted April 9, 2008 Pakistan's Violent Political History Continues With Bhutto's Assassination--posted Dec. 27, 2007 Casualties in the Somali War--posted Dec. 2, 2007 Musharraf's Martial Law Endangers the War on Terror--posted on Nov. 4, 2007 Biography: Pervez Musharraf--posted on Nov.4, 2007 Kurds At War: Turkey, Iraq, and Iran--posted on October 22, 2007 Stormfront: The Consequences of September 11 and America's Wars Around the World--posted on Sept. 11, 2007 The Calm Before The Storm: The World of September 10, 2001--posted on Sept. 10, 2007 Mid-East War Fears: Israel Versus Syria Again?--posted on Aug. 14, 2007 France at War: French Victories and Defeats--posted May 11, 2007 America and France: A Long Relationship Spanning War and Peace--posted May 10, 2007 Cinco de Mayo, 1862: The Battle Of Puebla --posted May 5, 2007 The Long War on Terror: What is in a War's Name?--posted May 3, 2007 Turkey: To Coup, or not to Coup, that, is the question!--posted May 2, 2007 Canada's Afghan War--posted April 29, 2007. New and Recent Conflicts of the World Wars and Conflicts of Burma/Myanmar --The Wars and Conflicts of Burma/Myanmar from the Anglo-Burmese Wars to the pro-democracy Myanmar uprising of 2007. Wars and Conflicts of Yemen (1914-Present)--NEW Djibouti-Eritrea Border War (June, 2008) Wars of Iran and Persia--Lists the wars and conflicts of Persia and Iran from the 18th Century to the present. The 2007 Pro-Democracy Uprising in Myanmar--The current uprising in Myanmar. North Lebanon Conflict (2007)--Fighting between the Lebanese government and a Jihadist Palestinian militia calling itself Fatah al-Islam. bin Laden's Declaration of War Against the United States-- Long before 9/11, Osama bin Laden declared his hatred and his intent to harm America. Current Wars of the World--A listing of current wars and conflicts around the world. Military Coups in Turkey-A listing of military coups in modern Turkey (1960-1997). Comparing America's Wars Duration in Months-A look at America's wars and comparing their length in months. War in Afghanistan--Details on the origins of this ongoing war; part of the War on Terror Ethiopia-Somalia War of 2006*New*--A brief description of the Ethiopia-Somalia War which began in 2006, and is a part of the larger Somali Civil War. Ethiopia-Somali Wars and Conflicts*New*--Listing the wars and conflicts between Ethiopia and Somalia Wars of Germany--The wars and conflicts of Germany from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 to the War in Afghanistan. Iraq War: Links and Resources*New*--Links and resources on the Iraq War. Iraq War: Prisoner Abuse and Abu Ghraib Links and Resources*New*--Links and resources on the Iraq War's biggest scandal. Iraq War: Battles and Campaigns*New*--Links and resources on Iraq War battles and military operations. Israel-Lebanon/Hezbollah War of 2006--*New*--Details and analysis on the warfare along the Lebanese border which began in July, 2006! Israel-Lebanon Conflict--*New*--Background information on the decades-long warfare and conflict along the Israel/Lebanon border. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict--*New*--Background information on the long-running warfare between Israel and the Palestinians! Israeli-Palestinian Battles and Campaigns--*New*--Specific information on the warfare raids, battles, terrorist attacks, and retaliations between Israel and the Palestinians! Waziristan War----The War on Terror expands to Pakistan's Northwest Frontier! Hamas----The terrorist/resistance group now ruling the Palestinian Authority! War in the Western Sahara-- Iraq War Afghan War Nepal Civil War Wars of 2006--*--Wars and conflicts of 2006! Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com