Involvement of Chiquita in the Honduran Coup D'Etat.

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Friday July 31, 2009 18:36

by Brendan Butler - NGO Peace Alliance

The Transnational Chiquita company was actively involved and not for the first time in the overthrow of a Central American democratically elected Government . With its powerful allies in Washington the Obama Administration has not formally declared the ousting of President Zelaya as a Coup D'Etat which would require it under U.S. law to suspend all economic and military aid to the regime.

The coup D'Etat in Honduras originated in the raising of the minimum wage by 60% by President Zelaya. Immediately the business sector led by Chiquita began a campaign against Zelaya and because of his friendship with president Chavez he was further demonised in the media largely controlled by the powerful right wing sector.
Chiquita , formerly known as the United Fruit company , was involved in the overthrow of the democratically elected President Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 when the President threatened to bring in a radical land reform process which would threraten the vast fruit farms of United Fruit.
Chiquita were prosecuted for paying right wing death squads in Columbia and were defended by the present U.S attorney General in the Obama Administration, Eric Holder.
Chiquita has very powerful contacts in Washington like ex Ambassador like John Negroponte infamously involved in the Iran Contra scandal who now heads the Covington law firm in Washington which represents Chiquita among others.
Hilary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State is only lukewarm in her declared official position of supporting Present Zelaya and refuses to declare Zelaya's ousting as a Coup D'Etat which would oblige her under U. S. to suspend all economic and military aid to Honduras.
Many observers believe that the overthrow of Presiesent Zelaya represents a warning to the rest of Central and Latin America that international business will not tolerate any attempt by any democratic govenment in the future to limit its business influence and reduce its profits.

save preference

Comments (1 of 1)

Viagra, Aspirin, Antibiotics & Chiquita bananas versus Nike, GAP, Adidas & Sugar Cane

by iosaf

Fri Jul 31, 2009 20:10

I hope people in Ireland see that the coup d'etat wasn't corrected in time & as often happens with this sort of thing, the evil ghouls came in and made their bids to speculate a killing. Hondurans can not now look forward to either a legitimate president and his crew or a legitimised usurper and his crew. In a few months if it doesn't go to shite like Haiti - it will quite probably continue on the Mauritania paradigm and the only people who will win are the corporations who fly no flag but whose logos are in your head.

So on the right we have the pharmocorps whose logos you drop into your gullet when you're not feeling 100% and on the left we have the logos which put a bounce in your step.

& yep - cocaine is in both sides.

Were Zelaya to go back this evening, it wouldn't bring the 3 dead back from the grave or the political prisoners out of jail. It's not simple anymore & capitalism won. I only think of how Mr Green in the movie "Quantum of Solace" mentioned minimum wage as the reason his organisation toppled Haiti.

but look at it this way - if the third world changed this year whilst we in the rich world are in economic crises - it would be worse for us.

We're feeling the pinch. Damn it.

When we're rich again we can : make poverty history, stop malaria, buy fair trade bananas, coffee, cocoa, sugarcane & cocaine, use generic drugs, download movies off the net, stop eating animals, read Galwegian poets, take in more Uzbeks, dig a tunnel to Scotland, clean Bray beach, complete a self-bettering night course & look for any job in Iceland which doesn't include gutting fish, assembling furniture or lubricating private parts. but of course the icelandic has not sunk so low - - - me & my sarcasm.....

____________________________________________________________

at link coverage of the Honduran crises since several days before the coup d'etat with regular updates & links to sources in comments

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

The Saker

Lockdown Skeptics

Voltaire Network

Involvement of Chiquita in the Honduran Coup D'Etat.

Comments (1 of 1)