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UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001013 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV CASC MARR KDEM PHUM ASEC HO
SUBJECT: TFHO1: HONDURAS COUP SITREP #70 10/05/2009 AS OF 
14:00 LOCAL (16:00 EDT) 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 1007 
     ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 999 
     ¶C. TEGUCIGALPA 993 
 
¶1. (SBU) Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), along 
with members of her staff, arrived in Tegucigalpa October 5. 
The CODEL had arranged meetings at the Presidential Palace 
with de facto regime representatives and a press conference. 
The CODEL will also meet with Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez 
and with representatives from civil society and U.S. 
businessmen living in Honduras.  The CODEL will receive a 
country team briefing at the Embassy.  They are scheduled to 
depart at 0705 local (0905 EDT) Tuesday, October 6. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Mario 
Diaz-Balart (R-FL) arrived on the same flight to Honduras as 
Representative Ros-Lehtinen, but are not part of the Codel. 
They participated in some of the same regime meetings with 
Ros-Lehtinen. 
 
------------------ 
Diplomatic Process 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) The OAS advance team continues to prepare for the 
October 7 arrival of the OAS delegation of Foreign Ministers, 
which will include OAS Secretary General Insulza. 
 
---------------------------- 
Domestic Political Situation 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The Council of Ministers met today, October 5 and 
decided to overturn the emergency decree curtailing civil 
liberties that has been in effect since September 26.  The 
decree will go out of effect once the ministers decision is 
published on October 6. 
 
¶5. (U) In a television appearance, de facto regime leader 
Micheletti said that although he will not accept a referendum 
on a constitutional assembly, he would be willing to consider 
the possibility of reinstating Zelaya after a new president 
is elected in transparent elections on November 29. 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to Mario Garza, IMF Resident 
Representative, local press articles on the recently released 
IMF Global Financial Stability Report are misleading. 
Stories in the local press have cited the report as touting 
the strength and stability of the Honduran commercial banking 
sector.  However, as Garza noted, the Honduran commercial 
banking system is in fact not even mentioned in the 238-page 
report.  The commercial banking sector does get good marks in 
the IMF's draft Article IV report, which was recently posted 
on the web site of Honduras' central bank in spite of the 
fact that it is an internal working document.  This report, 
however, reflects the situation before the June 28 coup. 
Like the de facto regime's premature and ultimately 
inaccurate claim that it would be able to access funding set 
aside for Honduras by the IMF, this appears to be a case of 
the de facto regime distorting the facts in order to create 
an impression of international legitimacy. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador sent a letter to pro-Zelaya radio 
station Radio Globo condemning anti-Semitic comments made by 
the station's director, David Romero, last week (reftel A). 
The Embassy has released the letter to the media. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Civil Unrest and Security Environment 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Approximately two hundred pro-Zelaya supporters 
protested in the vicinity of the Embassy today, October 5. 
They announced that they will meet at the Embassy again 
Tuesday, October 6. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Post is investigating reports of two deaths over the 
weekend which pro-Zelaya forces have claimed were political; 
 
police do not believe they are related to the political 
crisis.  Mario Fidel Contreras, a teacher and active 
anti-coup protestor, was allegedly killed on October 2 as he 
was leaving a grocery store in Tegucigalpa.  Police 
spokesman, Commissioner Cerrato, told Embassy employee that 
they believed the murder was not related to the political 
crisis, but also noted that Contreras had complained to human 
rights organizations that he feared for his life.  Contreras' 
family reported to police that he was killed resisting an 
armed robbery.  In an unrelated case, Mateo Antonio Leiva was 
allegedly killed by 'unknown assailants' for 'unknown 
motives' on October 2 in the Santa Barbara department.  Leiva 
was an active member of the anti-coup movement and leader of 
the National Organization of Indigenous Lenca of Honduras 
(ONILH).  Police have no further information on the death and 
Embassy is working to confirm the circumstances of Leiva,s 
death. 
 
¶10. (U) The thirty-eight Zelaya supporters who were arrested 
and charged with sedition for occupying the National Agrarian 
Institute in Tegucigalpa (reftels A and C) and who are being 
held at the National Penitentiary in Tamara were granted a 
writ of habeas corpus.  The protesters have declared a hunger 
strike to protest what they allege to be cruel and inhumane 
treatment. 
 
------------ 
Consular/ACS 
------------ 
 
¶11. (U) The Consular Section issued a warden message October 
2 reminding American citizens that the decree suspending 
certain constitutional rights is still in effect. 
 
------------------ 
Embassy Operations 
------------------ 
 
¶12. (U) The Embassy is open today, October 5, and will remain 
open unless a curfew is imposed.  As of 1400 local (1600 EDT) 
no new curfew announcement had been made.  (Note: official 
announcements have been made minutes before imposing or 
lifting curfews since September 21.  End note.) 
 
¶13. (SBU) Limited travel of mission personnel within Honduras 
is now permitted.  TDY travel into Honduras will be approved 
on a limited, case-by-case basis. 
 
LLORENS