PBI-Honduras observes COFADEH press conference following the arrest of former General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez

Published by Brent Patterson on January 16, 2025

On January 7, PBI-Honduras posted on X:

“Yesterday we observed the press conference convened by @defencofadeh [the Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras -COFADEH] following the arrest of the former head of the Armed Forces, Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, and two other high-ranking military officers accused of the death of Isy Obed Murillo and serious injuries to Alex Zavala.

At PBI, we highlight the importance of achieving comprehensive justice for all victims of the 2009 coup d’état.”

Deutsche Welle reports:

“The former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Honduras, General Romeo Vásquez, was arrested this Sunday (05.01.2025) as allegedly responsible for the murder by the military of a demonstrator in 2009, days after leading the coup d’état against former President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009).

Along with him, the deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Venancio Cervantes, and the former commander of the Joint Operations Command, Carlos Puerto, were also arrested, the Secretary of State for Security (Interior), Gustavo Sánchez, reported on his account on the social network X.

The three former military officers were wanted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office “for allegedly being responsible for the crimes of homicide and serious injuries” after an armed attack by the military against demonstrators in the vicinity of Tegucigalpa’s Toncontin airport on July 5, 2009.”

Infobae names the person killed at the protest: “Isis Obed Murillo Mencías was killed on July 5, 2009 in Tegucigalpa. He was 18 years old and participating in a march near the Toncontín airport, in the Honduran capital, when army snipers fired into the crowd; he died after being shot in the head.”

Radio Habana Cuba also notes: “Alex Roberto Zavala … suffered ‘serious injuries’ as a result of shots fired by Honduran soldiers” at the same incident.

CNN adds:

“Vásquez was arrested on January 6 and sent to the Támara prison – north of the Honduran capital.

The judge accuses him of the murder of Isy Obed Murillo, and the attempted murder of Alex Roberto Zavala, during a demonstration that took place on July 5, 2009, after the coup d’état against then-President Manuel Zelaya.

After the initial hearing, which lasted more than 24 hours, the judge modified the precautionary measure of preventive detention to Vásquez Velásquez, granted him house arrest and a ban on leaving the country.”

Canada and the 2009 coup

On July 30, 2009, more than three weeks after Isis Obed Murillo Mencías was killed and Alex Roberto Zavala was seriously wounded by soldiers, The Globe and Mail reported: “Canada is still providing training to members of the Honduran army, despite the military coup that sent the Central American country into turmoil late last month.”

Between the Lines, the publisher of Ottawa and Empire: Canada and the Military Coup in Honduras by Tyler Shipley, has noted: “In June 2009, the democratically elected president of Honduras was kidnapped and whisked out of the country while the military and business elite consolidated a coup d’etat. To the surprise of many, Canada implicitly supported the coup and assisted the coup leaders in consolidating their control over the country.”

In July 2014, MiningWatch Canada Latin America Coordinator Jen Moore (now at the Institute for Policy Studies) commented:

“There was no doubt that the Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement would be rushed through the Senate and receive Royal Assent before parliament recessed in June. Five years ago, however, – before then-Honduran President Mel Zelaya’s back door was shot open and he was flown to Costa Rica in his pyjamas in a military-backed coup – such a trade pact was not so sure.

Over the course of Zelaya’s mandate and under pressure from civil society groups, Zelaya had gradually been making progressive policy shifts. In the mining sector, this included ratifying a moratorium on new mining projects, in place since 2004, and taking steps to draft a new mining bill that incorporated civil society demands, including a ban on open-pit mining.

It took the June 28, 2009 coup – plus tacit support from Canadian and US governments, who turned a blind eye to targetted repression against broad opposition to the coup and endorsed the profoundly corrupt regime; the shredding of Honduran institutions; and the terrorizing of Honduran society – to get where we are today.

Today, thanks to Canadian lobbying efforts and financial support from 2010 to 2013, Honduras also has a new mining law that has lifted the nine-year moratorium and unleashed a wave of violent repression for which communities are paying a high price.”

Further reading: Canada and the Honduran Coup, TODD GORDON and JEFFERY R. WEBBER, Bulletin of Latin American Research, Vol. 30, No. 3 (JULY 2011), pp. 328-343 (16 pages).