A Estados Unidos se le cayó la careta.

Dr. Néstor García Iturbe

Nada más claro en la política exterior de Estados Unidos que este titular del Wall Street Journal en el que se anuncia que Estados Unidos decidió no imponer sanciones a Honduras. Lo que el conocido diario neoyorkino, vocero de las altas finanzas estadounidenses, califica como “ablandamiento” de su apoyo al derrocado presidente hondureño Manuel Zelaya, lo describe con el anuncio de que no se impondrán sanciones económicas a Honduras y que aún está por determinar si el haber removido a Zelaya de su cargo como presiente constituye un golpe de estado. ¿Por determinar por quién? Debe ser que la máxima autoridad mundial, auto encargada y auto facultada para juzgar todo lo que pasa sobre la faz de la tierra (léase Estados Unidos), aún no está dispuesta a calificar la acción violatoria de la constitución y las leyes realizada por el ejército hondureño como un golpe de estado. ¿Qué esperan? ¿Qué quieren hacernos creer sobre lo que pasó en Honduras? La carta que remite el Departamento de Estado (léase Hillary Clinton), al Senador republicano Richard Lugar establece que Estados Unidos “enérgicamente” se opone a la acción de Junio 28 mediante la cual se derrocó a Zelaya, pero que también quiere expresar su más profunda crítica a las acciones de Zelaya que precedieron su derrocamiento, incluyendo el tratar de cambiar la constitución hondureña para mantenerse en el poder. Claro está, de acuerdo con la versión del Departamento de Estado, fue Zelaya finalmente el que tuvo la culpa de todo lo que pasó, independientemente de que la consulta popular que deseaba hacer no podía cambiar la constitución ni iba dirigida a perpetuarse en el poder. Sin embargo, aunque nada de esto sea cierto, es un magnífico argumento para justificar la acción de los golpistas, o como quiera llamarlos el gobierno de Obama que todavía no sabe si fue un golpe de estado o no. Según el Departamento de Estado, lo que existe en Honduras es un “gobierno interino”, calificativo que le da cierto nivel de legalidad al gorilazo. Michael Shifter, funcionario del “tanque pensante” de tendencia derechista denominado Diálogo Interamericano, expone la posición de la administración Obama con mayor claridad cuando dice “En Honduras, la posición de Washington puede verse claramente identificada con que el actual gobierno del país puede mantenerse en el poder hasta las próximas elecciones y que el costo que ellos están pagando por el aislamiento internacional, a pesar de ser considerable, es preferible al riesgo de permitir que Zelaya regrese, aunque sea por un limitado período de tiempo y con su autoridad restringida”Los encargados de velar por la “seguridad nacional” de Estados Unidos se mantienen al lado de los golpistas.

Wall Street Journal

August 6, 2009

U.S. Decides Not to Impose Sanctions on Honduras
By DAVID LUHNOW and JOSE DE CORDOBA

The U.S., in an apparent softening of its support for ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, won't impose economic sanctions on Honduras and has yet to decide whether Mr. Zelaya's removal from office constitutes a coup.A letter from the State Department to Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, states that the U.S. "energetically" opposes Mr. Zelaya's June 28 ouster. But the letter also expresses the harshest criticism yet of Mr. Zelaya's own actions that preceded his removal from office, including trying to change Honduras's constitution to potentially stay in power."We energetically condemn the actions of June 28. We also recognize that President Zelaya's insistence on undertaking provocative actions contributed to the polarization of Honduran society and led to a confrontation that unleashed the events that led to his removal," Richard Verma, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, said in the letter, reviewed Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.The letter went on to say that U.S. policy wasn't aimed at supporting one person in particular, a reference to Mr. Zelaya, but to supporting the Honduran people's aspirations for democracy.With Washington unwilling to take drastic steps such as sanctions to restore Mr. Zelaya to power, it seems increasingly unlikely that the leftist politician will return to his seat, analysts said. Honduras's interim government, backed by much of the country's establishment and middle class, appears unwilling to have Mr. Zelaya back, and Washington seems in no mood to force the issue."In Honduras, Washington's wavering will be seen as a sign that the government can wait it out until the elections and that the costs they are bearing for international isolation, while considerable, are preferable to the risks of allowing Zelaya to return, even for a limited time and with his authority curtailed," said Michael Shifter at the Inter-American Dialogue, a nonpartisan think tank on hemispheric affairs in Washington.A State Department spokesman, who was unaware of the letter to Mr. Lugar's office, said "there has been no decision to soften the policy on Honduras." He added that the administration still supports a return of Mr. Zelaya to power, as called for in the mediation plan by Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias. The Supreme Court of Honduras has ruled that Mr. Zelaya's return as president would be illegal.Analysts said the administration is staking out a middle ground, sending a message to Latin America that coups are unacceptable while not giving too much support to Mr. Zelaya, whose close relationship to Venezuela's populist leader Hugo Chávez has raised hackles among U.S. Republicans. Elected as a centrist, Mr. Zelaya took a sharp left turn in the past two years and became an outspoken critic of U.S. policy.Sen. Lugar had asked the administration to explain its policy on the Honduran political crisis, warning that otherwise the Senate might delay confirmation of the top Latin America post in the State Department."I'm glad to see the State Department is finally beginning to walk back its support for Manuel Zelaya and admit that his 'provocative' actions were responsible for his removal," said Sen. Jim DeMint, another Republican member of the foreign relations committee.A spokesman for Mr. DeMint said the move wasn't enough for the senator to lift his hold on the confirmation hearings for Arturo Valenzuela to become assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.