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Jun 29 2009, 9:40 am by Chris Good

Some Common Ground With Venezuela

The Obama administration's decision last week to open diplomatic relations with Venezuela got relatively little media fanfare, probably due to the unfolding situation in Iran. But it was significant, given that 1) chilly relations had given the appearance of warming when President Obama shook hands with Hugo Chavez at a summit in April, 2) Venezuela is a top supplier of oil to the U.S., and 3) Chavez has cultivated a relationship with Iran, specifically Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, backing the Iranian president's declared election victory and accusing the U.S. and Europe of stirring up the protests. Now the U.S. and Venezuela find themselves on the same side of the Honduran coup, at least.

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John Thacker
Now the U.S. and Venezuela find themselves on the same side of the Honduran coup, at least.

Ah, so we're putting ourselves on the side of the President who defies rulings of the Supreme Court and Congress and ignores the Constitution.

Are you familiar with the situation in Honduras? Here's some articles from before the latest part of the crisis.

The President of Honduras attempted to hold an illegal referendum to alter the Constitution so that he could stay in office another term. The Honduran Congress voted against it. The Honduran Electoral Commission said it was illegal. The case went to the Honduran Supreme Court, which said it was illegal. The President ordered the army to distribute ballots and set up the referendum, since the rest of the government refused. The army chiefs and minister of defense refused; the President fired them. Other top army officials resigned. A mob of President Zelaya's supporters then rushed an army base in order to retrieve the ballots.

President Zelaya defied the Honduran Congress, Electoral Commission, and the Supreme Court. He then attacked the army for refusing to follow him instead of the Supreme Court. In my mind, he triggered this constitutional crisis.

John Thacker

We're in a bizarre situation where the Honduran Supreme Court, according to multiple reports (I could give you some from Honduras and Costa Rica, but they're in Spanish) ordered President Zelaya to be arrested for ignoring their rulings.

This is far more complicated than a simple coup.