Penelope
Diamond Member
- Jul 15, 2014
- 60,265
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Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández took office for a second term in January after one of the most questioned elections in Latin America in years. Until last year, Honduras had a constitutional prohibition on presidential reelection beyond a single term. In 2009, then sitting president Manuel Zelaya expressed interested in changing that constraint, hoping to be reelected. That was enough to justify a coup that took him down.
This time, Hernández changed the composition of the Constitutional Court, which then declared the constitutional restriction invalid. He won reelection in November 2017 by the slimmest of margins — around 50,000 votes — in a process marked by numerous irregularities, including the shutdown of the counting and verification process for some 36 hours. The U.S. moved quickly to recognize the deeply questioned results and congratulate Hernández, despite the irregularities and controversy, with a policy objective of preserving stability.
Angry demonstrations racked the country for weeks, some turning violent. The U.N. Human Rights office in Honduras confirmed that in the two months following the elections, at least 23 people were killed during the protest, 22 civilians and one police officer; at least 16 died of gunshot wounds, including women and children, from weapons fired by security forces. More than 1,000 were imprisoned during the protests or for violating a curfew as part of a declared State of Emergency.
Snip
Most importantly, the Trump administration should stop using Central Americans as pawns for its anti-immigrant agenda, as this is highly destabilizing to the region.
Trump's TPS decision undercuts US goals in Honduras
The Honduras Potus recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Sounds like a dictator.
This time, Hernández changed the composition of the Constitutional Court, which then declared the constitutional restriction invalid. He won reelection in November 2017 by the slimmest of margins — around 50,000 votes — in a process marked by numerous irregularities, including the shutdown of the counting and verification process for some 36 hours. The U.S. moved quickly to recognize the deeply questioned results and congratulate Hernández, despite the irregularities and controversy, with a policy objective of preserving stability.
Angry demonstrations racked the country for weeks, some turning violent. The U.N. Human Rights office in Honduras confirmed that in the two months following the elections, at least 23 people were killed during the protest, 22 civilians and one police officer; at least 16 died of gunshot wounds, including women and children, from weapons fired by security forces. More than 1,000 were imprisoned during the protests or for violating a curfew as part of a declared State of Emergency.
Snip
Most importantly, the Trump administration should stop using Central Americans as pawns for its anti-immigrant agenda, as this is highly destabilizing to the region.
Trump's TPS decision undercuts US goals in Honduras
The Honduras Potus recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Sounds like a dictator.