American Security Council Foundation (ASCF)

Former Honduran President Honored

By Dr. Henry A. Fischer April 7, 2010

Region: South and Central America

Topic: Bipartisanship

Honduran President Micheletti receives

(The Order of Jose’ Santos Zelaya) commemorating

19th Anniversary of Enrique Bermudez Assassination

 

On March 21, 2010 Nicaragua’s Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) awarded former interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti with their highest honor, The Order of Jose’ Santos Zelaya. President Micheletti led the government of Honduras after the overthrow of Jose Manuel Zelaya’s effort to overrule the Honduran constitution in June 2009. President Micheletti remained in office until the inauguration of current President Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo in January 2010. PLC spokesman Leonel Teller said, “we are proud to bring Mr. Micheletti, and we will decorate him with our highest order”. But Nicaragua denied Mr. Micheletti a visa to attend the ceremony, and he presented his remarks via video.

 

In the days preceding the elections, Israel, Italy, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Germany, Costa Rica and Japan announced their intentions to recognize the results of the elections. On 30 November, 2009 at the 19th Ibero-American Summit in Estoril, Portugal the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela announced they were not recognizing the elections.

 

The ceremony on March 21, 2010 was to be held at a rally to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the murder of Contra commander Comandante’ Enrique Bermudez.

 

Enrique Bermudez, codenamed “Comandante 380,” founded and commanded the Contras, the largest group of Freedom Fighters in the war against Nicaragua’s Marxist Sandinista government. From the inception in 1979 until the end of the military conflict in 1990, Bermudez was responsible for all military operations for the 25,000 man strong Contra force, and later the transition to a peaceful opposition political party after the historic free and fair election of President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro on February 25, 1990.

 

Prior to his affiliation with the Contras, Enrique Bermudez had risen through the ranks of the Nicaraguan Guardia National to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served under former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Lt. Colonel Bermudez was serving as military attaché’ to the United States at the time of the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua by the Sandinistas. At that time Bermudez moved immediately into armed opposition against the Sandinista Government becoming one of the most influential leaders in the fight for a free Nicaragua. In 1981, Bermudez was influenced to return to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from exile in the United States. He later became commander of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), the primary Contra movement.

 

Bermudez returned to Nicaragua after the Sandinista defeat in the 1990 election. He was killed on February 16, 1991, having been lured to what he thought was a meeting with then U. S. Ambassador, Harry Shlaudemann at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Managua. Bermudez left the hotel after the Ambassador failed to show, and was gunned down in the parking lot.

 

 

So much for Sandinista Fairness

 

 

Best Warmest Regards,

Dr. Henry A. Fischer

President/CEO

ASCF