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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000051 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI KDEM HO
SUBJECT: MICHELETTI SAYS HE WON'T STEP DOWN BEFORE 
INAUGURATION 
 
REF: TEGUCIGALPA 00038 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  Supporters of de facto regime leader Roberto 
Micheletti have been staging ceremonies in recent days to 
honor Micheletti.  The largest was a January 18 rally 
organized by the pro-regime civil society organization Civic 
Democratic Union (UCD).  During the speech he delivered at 
the rally, Micheletti said unequivocally that he will not 
relinquish power before the January 27 inauguration of 
president-elect Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo and criticized the 
international community for abandoning Honduras for seven 
months.  In an interview published in the January 19 edition 
of the "El Heraldo" newspaper, Micheletti said stepping aside 
before January 27 would be tantamount to admitting that the 
actions of June 28 were a mistake.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) As the January 27 inauguration of president-elect 
Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo approaches, supporters of de facto 
regime leader Roberto Micheletti are publicly manifesting 
their appreciation to Micheletti.  A road in San Pedro Sula, 
the country's second largest city, has been named after him. 
The National Association of Industrialists (ANDI) presented 
him with a plaque on January 11 hailing him as the "First 
National Hero of the Twenty-first Century."  The National 
Congress on January 13 made him a life-long member (reftel). 
A group of business associations of northern Honduras held a 
gala on January 15 at which they proclaimed him "Defender of 
the Constitution and the Republic." 
 
¶3. (U) The largest show of support for Micheletti was a 
televised rally held on January 18 that was organized by the 
pro-regime civil society organization, Civic Democratic Union 
(UCD), led by Arminda Lopez Contreras, wife of de facto 
regime foreign minister Carlos Lopez Contreras.  The rally, 
attended by approximately 500 persons, was held at a public 
square named Democracy Square that is located next to the 
Office of the President.  Micheletti supporters, dressed in 
the white clothing that became the uniform of pro-regime 
demonstrators following the June 28 coup and holding banners 
praising Micheletti and Honduran flags, chanted "Micheletti" 
and "thank you."  Arminda Lopez Contreras, who referred to 
Micheletti as the "constitutional president of Honduras," 
called on Hondurans to support president-elect Lobo while 
noting that the UCD would be watching his actions. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Micheletti, accompanied by the de facto Cabinet and 
the Armed Forces chiefs of staff, delivered a nationalistic 
and bombastic speech in which he criticized the international 
community for abandoning Honduras for seven months and 
declared he would not relinquish power before Lobo's January 
27 inauguration.  Micheletti said no outside force could 
bring Honduras to its knees and urged Hondurans not to let 
down their guard.  Micheletti called on Hondurans to support 
the administration of president-elect Lobo, noting that the 
government needed to  address the needs of all Hondurans. 
Micheletti, while telling Hondurans to move forward, could 
not avoid criticizing the government of President Jose Manuel 
"Mel" Zelaya.  He told his countrymen to leave behind the 
sadness felt during three years of government by men and 
women who today have fled from Honduras and to leave behind 
the bad taste of a bad government that destroyed the hopes of 
a united people.  Micheletti stated that it is not known how 
funding that was earmarked for poverty reduction was spent by 
the Zelaya administration.  Micheletti, whose regime has not 
been recognized by a single nation, described Zelaya's 
government as one that caused other countries to lose faith 
in Honduras.  Micheletti asserted that God is Honduran 
because he did not allow the bombs detonated by leftists and 
the calls for action from the Brazilian Embassy and by 
corrupt media organs to intimidate the Honduran people.  At 
the end of his speech, Micheletti said that on January 27 he 
would take off his jacket and tie, while proceeding to 
actually do so, and would become just another Honduran and 
then draped himself in a Honduran flag, ending his speech 
with his trademark "Long live Honduras, long live Honduras, 
and long live Honduras." 
 
¶5. (U) In an interview published in the January 19 edition of 
the "El Heraldo" newspaper, Micheletti stated that the 
country took precedence over any Honduran or foreign 
interest.  He said relinquishing power before January 27 
would be to give in to pressure from the international 
community and admit that the events of June 28 were a 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000051  002 OF 002 
 
 
mistake.  They were not a mistake, said Micheletti, but a 
constitutional succession carried out in accordance with the 
country's constitution and laws.  Micheletti accused 
Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General Jose 
Miguel Insulza of supporting President Zelaya by sending a 
delegation to observe the poll Zelaya planned to hold on June 
28 asking Hondurans if they supported holding a referendum on 
having a constituent assembly.  Micheletti also called 
Insulza a lackey of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the 
Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA).  In response to 
the question of where Honduras would be today if regime 
supporters had not taken action on June 28, Micheletti 
responded that a dictator would be in office in the company 
of a group of people depriving Hondurans of their rights and 
of their property.  Micheletti also said combating narcotics 
was one of the country's challenges and said Honduras 
utilized radar provided by the U.S. to counter drug 
traffickers until it was shut off after June 28. (Note: The 
U.S. continued to provide radar data to Honduras after June 
28, at first only to the police forces and not the military, 
but later to a joint task force run by the police but 
attended by military officials.  End Note.) 
 
¶6. (U) During his speech at the UCD rally, Micheletti thanked 
former Presidents Rafael Leonardo Callejas and Ricardo Maduro 
for their support.  According to press reports, 
president-elect Lobo stated on January 15 that he will form a 
council of all former living Honduran presidents, including 
Zelaya and Micheletti, to provide him with advice. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: Micheletti, surrounded by sycophants, 
appears convinced that he is a national hero.  However, the 
low turnout at his UCD rally reflects the fact that his base, 
while fervent, is small.  This series of tributes to him does 
nothing to repair the political schism formed by the events 
of the last year.  It is interesting that Lobo included 
Zelaya and Micheletti in the roster of former presidents. 
While meant to demonstrate Lobo's desire for reconciliation, 
it is hard to envision such a body meeting together in one 
room with both Zelaya and Micheletti as members.  End 
Comment. 
HENSHAW