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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000088 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL PHUM HO
SUBJECT: INAGURATION OF PRESIDENT LOBO AND DEPARTURE OF 
ZELAYA 
 
REF: TEGUCIGALPA 65 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo was sworn in 
on January 27 in Tegucigalpa.  During his inaugural address, 
President Lobo thanked the US and others for their help 
during the political crisis and paused during his speech to 
sign an amnesty law that had been passed by Congress late on 
January 26 covering political crimes related to the political 
crisis, however excluding crimes of corruption and human 
rights abuses.  The US delegation, led by WHA A/S Arturo 
Valenzuela, at the ceremony was joined by other members of 
the international community, including the Presidents of 
Taiwan, Dominican Republic, and Panama.  Following the 
inauguration ceremony, President Lobo and Dominican President 
Leonel Fernandez met with former president Manuel "Mel" 
Zelaya at the Embassy of Brazil in Tegucigalpa and 
accompanied Zelaya to the airport where Zelaya left to the 
Dominican Republic.  Details of A/S Valenzuela's visit will 
be reported septels.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo was sworn in as 
president of Honduras just before 12:00 pm on January 27 in a 
simple ceremony at the national stadium in Tegucigalpa.  In a 
short but poignant speech, President Lobo outlined his vision 
that Honduras must move forward, start a process of national 
reconciliation, and begin to address the true problems facing 
Honduras including the serious economic crisis in which the 
country finds itself following the suspension of aid by the 
international community. 
 
¶3. (U) President Lobo acknowledged the setbacks experienced 
by Honduras due to the political crisis and specifically 
thanked by name the efforts of those that worked to resolve 
the crisis including Secretary Clinton, Ambassador Llorens, 
the President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias, and the Organization 
of American States.  Lobo made a general call to the 
international community that the desire of Honduras was to 
repair relations as soon as possible. 
 
¶4. (U) While speaking about the need for reconciliation, Lobo 
interrupted his inauguration speech to sign an amnesty bill 
passed by the National Congress on January 26 in which 
political crimes relating to the political crisis and 
committed between January 1, 2008 and January 27, 2010 will 
be pardoned.  Crimes of corruption and human rights abuses 
reportedly were not included in the amnesty bill.  The 
amnesty bill also reportedly did not cover the issue of 
Zelaya's repatriation, however on January 26, the Honduran 
Supreme Court of Justice dismissed charges against the 
Honduran Armed Forces Joint Staff for their involvement in 
the June 28, 2009 arrest and removal of President Zelaya to 
Costa Rica.  Note: Post will report in more detail about both 
the amnesty bill and the Supreme Court decision via septel. 
End Note. 
 
¶5. (U) During the inauguration ceremony, which included 
prayers by both a Catholic bishop and a Honduran evangelical 
pastor that lives in the US, President Lobo also swore into 
office the three vice presidents: Maria Antonieta Guillen de 
Bogran, Samuel Armando Reyes Rendon, and Victor Hugo Barnica. 
 President Lobo examined the troops at the national stadium 
with Armed Forces Commander General Romeo Velasquez Vasquez 
and the inauguration ceremony concluded with a cultural 
presentation and music performance.  The US delegation to the 
inauguration was led by WHA A/S Arturo Valenzuela and 
included EEB A/S Jose Fernandez, WHA P/DAS Craig Kelly, the 
Ambassador, DCM, Executive Assistant to A/S Valenzuela Juan 
Gonzalez, and Protocol Officer Tanya Turner.  Other attendees 
at the President Lobo's inauguration on January 27 included 
President of Taiwan Ma Ying-Jeou, President Leonel Fernandez 
of the Dominican Republic, Panamanian President Ricardo 
Martinelli, Columbian Vice President Francisco Santos, 
Foreign Minister of Guatemala Haroldo Rodas Melgar, Vice 
President of the Israeli Congress Alexi Miller, and Deputy 
Foreign Minister of San Salvador Carlos Castaneda.  In a 
ceremony later in the afternoon at the presidential palace, 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000088  002 OF 002 
 
 
President Lobo swore in some members of his cabinet, 
including Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Canahuati and 
Minister of Security Oscar Alvarez. 
 
¶6. (U) President Lobo met with former President Manuel "Mel" 
Zelaya at the Embassy of Brazil shortly after the 
inauguration ceremony and accompanied Zelaya to the Hernan 
Acosta Mejia military airport in Tegucigalpa where he left 
Honduras at approximately 3:30 pm local time, accompanied by 
President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez as had 
been agreed to by Presidents Lobo and Fernandez (ref).  Eye 
witnesses told employee officer they saw President Zelaya 
depart on the plane, along with former First Lady Xiomara 
Castro, their daughter Hortencia, and Zelaya advisor Rasel 
Tome.  The Honduran military estimated that approximately 
7,000 anti-coup demonstrators were peacefully present on the 
civilian side of the airport awaiting Zelaya's departure. 
There were no reports of clashes between security forces and 
demonstrators and no reported injuries. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: The successful inauguration ceremony of 
President Lobo and the peaceful departure of former president 
Zelaya mark a significant turning point in the return of 
Honduras to constitutional order, however Honduras remains 
deeply polarized and faces a serious economic situation that 
President Lobo has already acknowledged will be his first 
challenges. 
LLORENS