Keeping Tabs on Honduras

If anything good has come of the recent military coup d’etat in Honduras — Central America’s first military coup in more than 25 years — it’s that the international community is rallying to denounce the action and defend democratic principles. With no country of any political stripe willing to recognize the government, the regime that ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 is supremely isolated.

Some non-governmental groups have moved swiftly to bear witness to the Honduras meltdown. For example, an international emergency delegation was organized by Nonviolence International and Global Exchange, and they are in Honduras now, on the ground, working to further the “people-to-people” ties that is Global Exchanges’ modus operandi. You can keep up with Global Exchange co-founder Medea Benjamin’s on-the-ground assessment of the Honduran crisis here.

The mainstream press, especially in our present era of budget cuts and newspaper closings, does not always have the coverage of Latin American issues that it should. But seek and ye shall find on the Web those alternative sources for Latin American news, Honduras information, and more that provide the type of on-the-ground coverage that fascinated the world when it came to the elections in Iran just weeks ago. Here are a few options to turn to for vital reports on the scene in Honduras, and in some cases, to consider donating to:

• North American Congress on Latin America (www.nacla.org) is a long-time nonprofit that provides information and analysis on the most pressing issues of the day all over the region.
• Latin America Press (www.lapress.org) is another veteran observer of Latin America affairs. A great source, going all the way back to 1964, when they got started in Lima, Peru.
• Inter-American Dialogue (www.thedialogue.org) promotes dialog among varied sectors, public and private, on Latin America affairs.
• Council on Hemispheric Affairs (www.coha.org) takes a definite left-leaning stance on the issues, but they provide in-depth information spanning the entire region on a daily basis.
• Americas Policy Program (www.americas.irc-online.org) provides analysis of “environmental, security, economic and social problems that undermine human development and cooperative international relations in the Western Hemisphere.”