Archive for January, 2009

More than $800 Million Lost To Corruption in Honduras During Mel Zelayas Government

According to independent newspaper El Heraldo published in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. More than US$800 million have been lost to corruption during Manuel Zelaya Rosales 3 years in office.

There is at least one corruption scandal per week. Some of the most outstanding cases are:

1. Gray Phone traffic
2. Illegal Cubans
3. Dirty Energy

You can read more about this report here:

http://www.elheraldo.hn/Al%20Frente/Ediciones/2009/01/30/Noticias/16-500-millones-se-han-perdido-por-corrupcion 

All this is tied to the presidents effort to try and control the new supreme court and the election of the new attorney general and try to evade being brought to justice in the future.

Drug Shipment Confiscated in Utila

1,800 kilos of cocaine were confiscated yesterday at Utila’s airstrip. The drug was brought on board a Venezuelan registered (YV2028) twin engine Cessna. This event occured under the cover of darkness.

In an unexplained series of events, the people participating in the drug drop managed to escape. They left behind the plane, two speed boats and the drugs valued at 25 million dollars.

It is now common for Venezuelan aircraft to fly in and out of honduran airspace and are suspect of carrying drugs. The last minister of aeronautics and close friend of the president (Mel Zelaya) authorized many Venezuelan aircraft to operate in Honduras.

New Supreme Court Finally Elected Amidst Tension

Las night, the Honduran Congress finally elected the new 15 justices that will conform the Supreme Court.

Current law states that a Nominating Committee will evaluate all candidates in public forums. This process is to guarantee the nominees meet moral and knowledge standards. Any nominees that have performed questionable acts in their past (corruption in any form, family abuse, etc) will not be selected.

There was tension during the weekend as Mel Zelaya and some of his ministers like Aristides Mejia pressured to have one of the current justices reelected and threatened to break Constitutional order (coup). Civilian society had been on watch and said they would not accept a presidential imposition.

Congress finally made their selection from the 45 nominees selected by the Nominating Committee.

In the end Roberto Michelleti Bain, in a statement that goes against the public requests for transparency, said the process should not be held in public and that past actions of the nominees should not be evaluated. 

 The new justices are:

1.-Jorge Alberto Rivera Avilés
2.-José Tomás Arita Valle
3-Rosalinda Cruz Sequeira
4-Raúl Enrique Interiano
5-Víctor Manuel Martínez Silva
6-Jorge Reyes Díaz
7-Rosa de Lourdes Paz
8.- José Francisco Ruiz Gaekel
9.- Oscar Fernando Chinchilla
10-José Antonio Gutiérrez navas
11-Jacobo Cálix Hernández
12- Carlos David Cálix Vallecillo
13.-Marco Vinicio Zúniga Medrano
14.-Gustavo Enrique Palma Bustillo
15-Edith María López Rivera  

Under Threats of Coup, Congress To Elect New Supreme Court Justices

The Honduran congress is scheduled to elect new Supreme Court justices today. Under pressure from civil organizations not to re elect any of the current justices congress will decide who will be the new justices. The new justices have to be chosen from a list prepared by a nominating board as stated by law.

Late on Saturday, minister of defense Aristides Mejia made a threatening remark directed at congress, reminding them the government controls the Armed Forces and could use force. The president is pressuring Congress to re elect Marlina Dubon, wife of Enrique Flores Lanza Presidency Minister. Marlina Dubon is not on the list and therefore cannot be considered for re election.

It remains to be seen if the Honduran Constitution will be upheld or violated as it has been several times by the current government.

Soccer: Honduras defeats Nicaragua 4:1

Honduras has practically qualified to the next edition of the Gold Cup to be held in the United States. Four teams advance on the the Gold Cup.

Honduras had to play hard to defeat the Nicaraguans who held their ground for 60 min. until an error in their defense caused the sudden overturn. 

 Honduras will play against El Salvador on Monday. 

Ex Honduras Chancellor Pleads Guilty

Milton Jimenez Puerto, the Honduran ex-chancellor under president Manuel Zelaya Rosales, made a deal with the DA office in Miami.

Milton Jimenez was arrested in Miami in June after resisting arrest. Miami police stopped the car in which Mr. Jimenez was travelling due to speeding. The driver and Mr. Jimenez were under the influence of alcohol. After being instructed to get out of the car, the party resisted. Both were put in jail for about 5 hours before making bail.

Jimenez will have to travel to Miami and perform 15 hours of community service.

Milton Jimenez Puerto was also involved in a drunken arrest in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in December 2007. That was videotaped and released via YouTube.

Soccer: Honduras Defeats Belize 2:1

The Honduran national soccer team defeated Belize in their first game of the UNCAF first round qualifiers.

The game was held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Amado Guevara missed a penalty shot then had a second try after Carlos Pavon was fouled in the penalty zone.

In the second half, Walter MArtinez scored the 2:0 and Belize struck back in the final minutes of the game.

Nuevo Foro de Honduras en Español

Los invitamos a visitar el nuevo foro de honduras en español. Alli podran discutir los temas mas candentes del momento en politica, deportes, noticias nacionales, entretenimiento y mucho mas.

Visitelo en http://www.quepasaenhonduras.com/

TPS Special Extension Ends March 31

The special extension granted by the INS for those Hondurans living in the United States under the TPS plan, that could not meet the December deadline due to sickness, hospitalization or other emergency reasons, can register up until March 31st.

A special form has to be filled, a certified reason why the deadline was not met and a payment of $420.

Cell Phone Operators to Invest $300 million in 2009

The three private cell phone operators in Honduras (Tigo, Claro and Digicel) will invest more than $300 million in 2009 as they expand their coverage and invest in new technology.

Competition in 2009 will be fierce with the entry of Digicel which will force aggressive pricing, new and attractive promotions as well as new services.

Conatel estimates cell phone users have expanded to 5.8 million users since the first cell phone company was authorized to operate in 1996.