New York — More than 60 people came to Iglesia Santa Cruz/Holyrood Church in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan on June 7 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the coup in Honduras.
On June 28, 2009, soldiers stormed the office of democratically elected Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, kidnapped him and sent him to Costa Rica. Behind the soldiers was the CIA. The coup d’état was denounced throughout Latin America but was blessed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Rev. Dr. Luis Barrios helped conduct the mass to honor the victims of the coup and the struggle for justice. Barrios served a two-month jail sentence for protesting the U.S. School of Assassins (known officially, but untruthfully, as the School of the Americas).
Lucy Pagoada-Quesada, coordinator of Department 19 of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular (FNRP), was a main organizer of this event. While Honduras has 18 provinces, the Honduran Diaspora is the 19th department.
In a video message, President Zelaya urged that the people’s struggle continue.
Since the coup, hundreds of people have been murdered by the Honduran army, police and private mercenaries. Among those assassinated was Indigenous and environmental leader Berta Cáceres. Her “crime” was trying to stop a dam that would have destroyed peasant land.
The names of 50 martyrs were read at the service. Among the youngest was Dara Gudiel, a teenager. Her blood is on Hillary Clinton’s hands.
Long live the resistance! U.S. out of Honduras!
SLL photos: Bill Cecil
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