Lobo Might Put End To
Honduran crisis
TEGUCIGALPA - Honduran President Porfirio
Lobo’s inauguration was a pretty lonely
affair, with most Latin American presidents
shunning the ceremony because of the
country’s 2009 coup. But judging from what
I’m told by key Latin American and US
officials, Lobo’s isolation won’t last long.
In a telephone interview earlier this week,
Organization of American States Secretary
General José Miguel Insulza said that there
is a “good climate” for lifting Honduras’
suspension from the OAS “relatively soon.”
He added, there is hope that it won’t take
us more than a few months to make a
decision.
Only two Latin American heads of state –
Panama’s Ricardo Martinelli and the
Dominican Republic’s Leonel Fernández —
attended Lobo’s inauguration ceremony. The
Obama administration sent State Department
Latin American affairs chief Arturo
Valenzuela.
But Spain, a big player in the region, was
represented by its No. 2 official at its
embassy in Honduras, and most Latin American
countries sent low-level delegations.
Venezuela and its allies shunned the
ceremony, following the Honduran Congress’
decision hours earlier to withdraw the
country’s membership from the
Venezuela-sponsored ALBA bloc.
Honduras’ suspension from the OAS is hurting
the country badly because it prevents it
from getting desperately-needed funds from
the Inter-American Development Bank and
other financial institutions, he said.
International sanctions cost Honduras more
than $400 million, according to Honduran
business community estimates.
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