And The Coup Goes On.....

Romeo Vasquez Velasquez was fired from his job as commander of the Honduran Armed Forces by President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, reportedly because of international pressure. He formally left the position on February 26, officially retiring from the Armed Forces. How strange, then, to see him reinstalled in the government of Porfirio Lobo Sosa as the new head of HONDUTEL, the troubled national phone company, less than two weeks later.

Vasquez Velasquez wasted no time in thanking Lobo for the appointment and immediately announcing the appointment of Jesús Arturo Mejia, a former employee of the Public Prosecutor, Luis Rubi, and a supporter of Ricardo Alvarez, the head of the Nationalist Party and Mayor of Tegucigalpa, who is already running for President, to be the head of the HONDUTEL computer services division. Vasquez Velasquez noted that as a military officer, he had lots of experience in administration, and that when he was head of the Institute of Miltary Planning (IPM in Spanish), the military prospered.

Myrna Castro, the "fashion is culture" de facto Minister of Culture has been given an appointment in the High Court of Auditors (TSC in Spanish), the very organization that will investigate the disappearance of 157 million lempiras in funding during her tenure in Culture.

Arturo Corrales, one of Micheletti's negotiators for the Tegucigalpa San Jose Accord, is Porfirio Lobo Sosa's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation. As such, he is in charge of the process by which the National Plan, Lobo Sosa's 28 year economic and social development plan for Honduras, is formulated.

Vilma Morales, another of Micheletti's negotiators, was appointed the head of the Banking and Insurance commission (CNBS in Spanish).

Clearly there either isn't enough international pressure, or that isn't the reason Romeo Vasquez Velasquez was replaced. The golpistas continue to find prominant places in Porfirio Lobo Sosa's government.