United States and Honduras- the ultimate betrayal

This is a quick commentary on Honduras's relationship with the US. I am NOT a Central American scholar, so let's not take my opinion as fact. This is just how I see it. With all that is going on, I just am sharing a bit of perspective. I don't even pretend to understand the intricacies of diplomacy, so I am just focusing on basic decency for this one...

For decades Honduras and the US have lived a somewhat symbiotic, somewhat dysfunctional/functional, relationship. The US has provided much international aid and in return, Honduras has allowed the Soto Cano/palmerola base, other US organizations and has upheld a reasonable standard of democracy. The US turns a somewhat blind eye to its smaller transgressions and Honduras remains a stalwart US ally in Central America.

In return for its loyalty to this diplomatic agreement, Honduras has been afforded much US aid. The US aid has always seemed to come with strings attached, as it usually does, and the two countries have managed to navigate their relationship over the years in the standard US quid pro quo fashion. As foreigners living in Honduras, we begin to truly know the impact that the US's involvement has on Honduras. Many health, food, educational, infrastructural programs are a result of this aid. Over the years, Honduras has become dependant on this aid. Now, there are many Honduras that have told me in the past that they suspect that the US keeps pumping the aid into Honduras so that it will always remain the faithful ally that it has been. They claim that the Honduran government would know what being cut off from the aid would mean for the country, so the dance always continued (I don't know that I always agree with the theory, but I do think that Honduras has learned to depend upon foreign aid). The problem we are facing now is that Honduras has actually kept up its end of the arrangement. They ALONE stood up against the puppet of one of our most problematic public dictators with heavily published anti-American sentiment. They ALONE stood up against a so called "leader" with whom the US would never have shared an opinion. They ALONE stood up for democracy and freedom. They continued their part of the the dance between the two countries.

How does the US respond? By leaving Honduras standing on the dance floor. By threatening to cut off the aid they so readily shared with the 2nd poorest country in the region IF they do not reinstate the very enemy to the democracy so carefully nurtured for 20+ years. Aid that Honduras has learned to depend on. Aid without which the poor will be poorer and the hungry hungrier.

We are leaving these people standing on the dance floor, alone, with the rest of the spectators throwing diplomatic rocks at them. And, believe me, the poor and hungry don't even know what they did wrong. It's the ultimate betrayal.

Thanks for allowing me to vent. I pray that I do not offend anyone....

blessings,

Christina

P.S. I am sure that this brings up other issues- economic self-sustainability, the challenges of foreign aid, class structure, etc. but the issue I am trying to look at now is how we have turned our back on Honduras. That's all, really....