| | |  Editorials | Opinions | September 2009 
Honduras: Out of the Vortex, Into the Vacuum
 Tom Loudon - t r u t h o u t
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September 01, 2009
| | Hondurans rally in Tegucigalpa in support of interim President Roberto Micheletti. (AP) | |
After returning from an intense two weeks of accompanying international delegations in Honduras, I am just beginning to realize what a vortex we were in. Back in the United States, with a few days of hindsight, I realize that the sustained repression we witnessed, culminating with an unprovoked attack on Wednesday, August 12, with hundreds of people beaten up, wounded, hospitalized, jailed and missing - had socked a powerful punch. This deliberate blow knocked everyone off their feet, which was obviously the intent of those responsible for the coup.
The intentional sowing of complete chaos among the ranks of those opposing the coup has been a constant tactic; peaceful marches are unexpectedly attacked to sow fear and terror among the growing masses who come out day after day to oppose the rupture of constitutional order and the attempt to turn the clock back to the 1980s' days of terror.
Two days later, on Friday, my last full day in Honduras, people had still not recovered from Wednesday's attack. The shock and awe tactic threw everyone into a vortex, not just those directly impacted, but everyone around them as well. This was the case for our entire delegation. All of us were suddenly kind of "lost in space," as the energy exerted by our bodies to respond to the violence zapped energy from us all.
The normally clear, focused, systematic work at the Human Rights office COFADEH began to come apart, with many consistently faithful employees just not showing up for work. The commitment to help us organize a press conference, which had been made the previous day, was obviously not to be forthcoming. Other friends were wandering around completely stressed out. All of these people, who the day before had been focused and coherent, were suddenly changed.
Then it began to dawn on me. There were at least two major things sapping everyone's energy after Wednesday's attack; the knowledge that many people had been beaten, and something more deep and ominous which was responsible for the collective dread I was sensing around me. People felt powerless and impotent with the knowledge that dozens had been detained, were likely being subjected to torture and there was virtually nothing they could do to stop it.
The "Security Adviser" for the Micheletti regime is the infamous Billy Joya, dreaded for his participation in Battalion 316, one of the death squad organizations from the 1980s. His "specialty" is inflicting terror by targeting children or other family members for torture and disappearance. He is, of course, one of the many death squad thugs trained in torture at the School of The Americas.
One case that our delegation documented in San Pedro Sula during my first week was that of a young man who had been kidnapped from his house and was still missing. He was targeted because of his mother's long history of activism. All of those in the leadership of the resistance to the coup recognize that similar things might happen to their children and families.
Many believe that the US government, in spite of multiple levels of denial, has been actively involved in the Honduran coup. Certainly the principal actors involved in the coup have been close associates of US officials for many years. It is clear that the neo-cons, who have spearheaded US Latin American policy for decades, still hold sway at the US State Department.
Tom Loudon is co-director of the Quixote Center in Washington, DC. |
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