Lamborn defends Honduras trek despite coup policy
DENVER — A Colorado Republican is defending his visit to a Honduran leader deemed illegitimate by the White House.
Rep. Doug Lamborn joined three other Republicans on Friday to meet interim President Roberto Micheletti in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. The Obama administration has condemned the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya and brought Micheletti to power.
Lamborn insisted that Zelaya was legally removed from the presidency because he broke the law by seeking a second term in office.
“It was not a coup,” Lamborn told The Associated Press by telephone from Miami, where the GOP delegation stopped to refuel on their way back to Washington.
“Now, let me say, they should have arrested him and thrown him in jail instead of sending him out of the country,” Lamborn added. “But either way, what (Zelaya) was trying to do was illegal.”
Friday’s trip highlighted a divide between congressional Republicans and the administration over Honduras and Latin America policy in general.
The White House is working to reinstate Zelaya, and the U.S. and the European Union have suspended aid to Honduras.
Some in the GOP believe that Zelaya would have promoted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s socialist agenda in Latin America.
Lamborn said people he met in Honduras don’t think Zelaya was wrongly ousted.
“They don’t want their country to come under the influence of Venezuela,” he said, adding that the delegation met with some Honduran citizens but not Zelaya, who is back in Honduras under protection of the Brazilian embassy.
The Republicans, led by Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, also met with four candidates for a scheduled Nov. 29 presidential election and members of Honduras’ Supreme Court.
DeMint has blocked U.S. Senate votes on Arturo Valenzuela, Obama’s nominee to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, and Thomas Shannon, his nominee for U.S. ambassador to Brazil.
The Honduras trip raised the ire of Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Massachusetts Democrat issued a statement blasting “DeMint’s intransigence.”
Also on Friday’s trip were Reps. Aaron Schock and Peter Roskam of Illinois.
Lamborn, a second-term representative whose conservative district includes Colorado Springs, said he heard of the trip Thursday and asked to join. Lamborn doesn’t serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Lamborn told the AP that the GOP group would try to meet with State Department officials to urge a different approach toward Honduras and to support that country’s scheduled election.
“That is the way countries having difficulty establish their bona fides as a democracy,” Lamborn said.
Associated Press Writer Ben Fox in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, contributed to this report.
On the Net:
U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn: lamborn.house.gov
(This version CORRECTS Corrects graf 3 to show Zelaya seeking a 2nd term sted 3rd)
Related News
Hand back power, Lula tells Honduras coup leadersOctober 6th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Honduras coup leader Roberto Micheletti should step down immediately in return for an amnesty, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday. "For us, the solution will be easy if those that participated in the coup leave power and allow the legitimately elected president to take power," Lula told journalists at a summit with European Union leaders in Stockholm.
Lamborn joins conservatives on Honduras visit, despite US coup policyOctober 2nd, 2009 Lamborn visits Honduras despite US coup policyDENVER — Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn is returning from Honduras on a trip that angered the administration.
US senator, congressmen to meet with interim Honduras leader despite no-contact policyOctober 2nd, 2009 US lawmakers to meet interim Honduras leaderTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A U.S. senator and three congressmen plan to meet Friday with Honduras' interim leader in defiance of official Washington policy barring contact with the architects of the military coup that ousted the nation's president.
UN rights council condemns abuses in Honduras coup, supports restoration of overthrown gov'tOctober 1st, 2009 UN rights council condemns abuses in Honduras coupGENEVA — The U.N. top rights body is condemning abuses following the June 28 coup in Honduras.
Honduras' interim president says US has revoked his visa in response to June 28 coupSeptember 12th, 2009 Honduras' interim president: US revoked my visaTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras' interim president says the United States has taken away his diplomatic and tourist visas to protest the June 28 coup. Roberto Micheletti says he was expecting the action and called it "a sign of the pressure that the U.S.
Central American bank freezes Honduras loans following coupAugust 27th, 2009 Central American bank freezes Honduras loansTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Central America's development bank says it is freezing credits to Honduras following the June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Local media say the decision could affect infrastructure projects like planned highways in the impoverished Central American nation.
Obama: Critics of US Honduras policy hypocritical in demanding that Washington take actionAugust 10th, 2009 Obama: Critics of US Honduras policy hypocriticalGUADALAJARA, Mexico —President Barack Obama says critics who complain the U.S. has not done enough to restore to power the elected government in Honduras are guilty of hypocrisy.
Human rights group sending delegation to Honduras to investigate alleged abusesAugust 5th, 2009 Human rights delegation to travel to HondurasWASHINGTON — A human rights group plans to send a delegation to Honduras to investigate alleged abuses during the country's June 28 coup. The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights announced Wednesday that it would send a delegation from Aug.
EU eyes travel ban on Honduras coup leadersJuly 31st, 2009 BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) member states should ban leaders of the coup in Honduras from travelling to Europe, EU diplomats agreed in Brussels Friday. "Each member state will monitor that (EU) policy is closely adhered to, including the possibility of restrictions to the entry into their territories by senior officials of the de facto government in Honduras," a statement from the Swedish government, which currently holds the EU presidency, said.
Fidel Castro calls on US to withdraw troops from HondurasJuly 17th, 2009 MOSCOW - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has called on the US to withdraw its troops from Honduras to ease the situation after the recent coup in the Central American state. The Honduran military ousted President Manuel Zelaya from office and flew him to Costa Rica June 28, the day polls were due to open for a non-binding referendum on extending the president's non-renewable four-year term of office.
Nicaragua rejects Honduras' claims of troops buildupJuly 6th, 2009 MANAGUA - Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega Sunday denied an accusation from Honduras' post-coup government that Nicaraguan troops were massing on their shared border. "Brother Honduran soldiers, brother Honduran officials, I want to assure you, swearing before God and nation, that Nicaragua is not deploying troops towards Honduras and that we are not preparing any kind of attack on Honduran garrisons on the border," he told domestic radio.
OAS eyes Honduras suspension but beaten to punch; Zelaya says will returnJuly 5th, 2009 Zelaya says he's optimist, will return to HondurasWASHINGTON — Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya says he's optimistic and is still planning to return Sunday to his country a week after he was overthrown by a military coup. Zelaya said as he arrived at the Organization of American States building that everyone is rejecting the coup.
OAS suspends Honduras after coup; Honduras says it quitsJuly 5th, 2009 OAS suspends Honduras after coupWASHINGTON — The OAS on Saturday night suspended Honduras participation in the organization because of last week's military coup. Honduras' interim government has already said it's quitting the organization rather than meet demands to reinstate the ousted president.
Pentagon says US-Honduran military cooperation on hold following coupJuly 1st, 2009 Pentagon: Military cooperation on hold after coupWASHINGTON — The Pentagon says it has put cooperation with the Honduran military on hold. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says the United States has "postponed" joint operations in light of last weekend's military coup against that country's president.
UN General Assembly condemns Honduras coupJune 30th, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN General Assembly Tuesday condemned the military coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, saying that the event interrupted the democratic and constitutional order in the Central American nation. Zelaya was present in the 192-nation assembly when that body adopted a resolution to condemn Sunday's coup.
Loading ...