WASHINGTON.- The United States Department of State announced visa restrictions on Hondurans linked to fomenting the violent acts that occurred after the appointment of the attorney general and deputy attorney general on an interim basis.
Through a statement issued by Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department, it is reported that “The United States condemns the recent use of violence in Honduras to undermine democracy and allow the irregular and unprecedented appointment of an acting Attorney General and an acting Deputy Attorney General.”.
The statement does not offer details regarding who would be the people on whom the visa restriction was imposed, however, a political figure linked to the government party, who asked not to reveal his identity because he was not authorized to give statements, indicated to AP that the measure was directed at Honduran congressmen.
“As far as I know it is for the entire permanent commission of Congress. “Those who had a visa, some did not have one.”
Although the people were not identified, the State Department credited them with having “fostered conflict among Hondurans by calling on violent groups to mobilize, resulting in physical attacks and acts of intimidation that, in some cases, resulted in injuries.” .
“Today, we are taking steps to impose visa restrictions on certain individuals under section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Several of these individuals perpetrated acts of violence and intimidation, and others encouraged the conflict among the Honduran people by urging violent groups to mobilize, which resulted in physical attacks and acts of intimidation, some of which resulted in injuries.
The interim attorney general and deputy prosecutor were elected in Honduras on November 1 by a permanent commission made up of nine pro-government deputies, appointed by the board of directors of the National Congress of Honduras chaired by Luis Redondo.
The appointment was described by several constitutionalists and opposition deputies as an illegal act.
On the eve of this action, violent events occurred in the facilities of the National Congress that ended with attacks on several opposition deputies who were injured.
The election of the new authorities of the Public Ministry was an issue that the National Congress had been discussing since last September, when a proposing board purged a list of more than 100 candidates and sent them five names so that the new attorney general and attorney general could be chosen. attach.
From that list, the two officials were to be elected, but the opposition and the ruling party did not reach agreements on who would be the anointed ones, which generated a paralysis of sessions in the Legislature, which still continues.
On Tuesday, October 31 at midnight, the 2023 ordinary session period in the National Congress ended, without achieving the election of the Public Ministry authorities. And before that date, the opposition demanded that the board of directors of Congress, chaired by Luis Redondo, call a meeting to extend the session from November 1 to January 4 to continue the dialogue.
However, the gates of Congress remained closed and that was when followers of the government party, Libertad y Refundación (Libre), attacked the opposition deputies with stones and bottles.
According to the US State Department, “these undemocratic actions undermine Honduran institutions and are inconsistent with the basic principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which Honduras signed as a member of the Organization of American States in September 2001.”
Source: With information from AP
