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The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, September 4, 2024, p. 27

Tegucigalpa. The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, last night denounced a coup d’état ongoing, amid controversy over his decision to cancel the extradition treaty with the United States, which allowed the imprisonment of dangerous drug traffickers.

I confirm that the peace and internal security of the Republic are at risk due to a new coup d’état that the people must stop.said the leftist president on radio and television, hours after a video was published in which her brother-in-law appears in a meeting with drug dealers in 2013 asking for contributions for her electoral campaign that year.

The plan to destroy my socialist and democratic government is underwayhe accused, and warned that “the plan to solve crime and executions demonstrates our policy in favor of extradition, but I will not allow the current treaty with the United States to be selectively exploited to dismantle the armed forces, overthrow my government and destroy the elections.

The dark forces of 2009 with the national and international media are reorganizingshe said, referring to the coup against her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009), and stressed that she condemns all kinds of negotiations between drug traffickers and politiciansaccording to Telesur.

Castro ended the treaty with the United States a week ago, accusing interference to the US ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, on Honduran policy towards Venezuela.

The diplomat said worry for a meeting that the Minister of Defense, José Manuel Zelaya, nephew of Castro’s husband, and the top leader of the Honduran military, General Roosevelt Hernández, had with the Venezuelan Minister of Defense, General Vladimir Padrino López.

On Saturday, Minister José Manuel Zelaya resigned after his father and brother-in-law of the president, the Secretary of Parliament, Carlos Zelaya, did the same, after admitting that he had had a meeting with drug traffickers in 2013.

The opposition said Castro cancelled the treaty that allowed the imprisonment of around 50 Honduran drug traffickers, including former right-wing president Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022), currently imprisoned in the United States, to protect members of his government and his family.

A specialized portal published yesterday a video of the meeting between Carlos Zelaya and drug traffickers.