HAVANA: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned on Friday that the deployment of international security forces in Honduras embroiled in a political crisis, would wreak chaos across Latin America.
Fidel Castro said in an article, published by Cuban media, that an international force would only be sent to Honduras if the government launched an attack on the Brazilian embassy in the capital Tegucigalpa, where the ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is currently taking refuge.
Zelaya was bundled out of the country on June 28 by the military, acting on instructions from the Supreme Court and parliament, for his efforts to seek an unconstitutional second presidential term. The leader returned to Tegucigalpa in secret on Monday.
On Tuesday, Honduran police dispersed thousands of Zelaya’s supporters, who gathered near the Brazilian embassy, following a request by the de facto Honduran government for Zelaya’s extradition.
“It is unacceptable, even more – inconceivable to imagine that the Brazilian embassy could be attacked by a fascist government, if they only have no intention of committing suicide by allowing foreign troops into the country…” the leader of the Cuban Revolution said. “That would mean intervention by American troops under the aegis of a UN mission,” he said.
“Interference by foreign forces [in the political situation] in Honduras would unleash conflict in Central America and engender political chaos across Latin America,” Castro said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Barack Obama are among numerous world leaders who have called for Manuel Zelaya’s reinstatement.
The UN Security Council is due to meet today to discuss the political crisis in Honduras and Zelaya’s future.
