Salazar Highlights Socialism and Corruption in Castro’s Honduras
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Chairwoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) convened a hearing in the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee examining the socialist government of President Xiomara Castro de Zelaya and how it has affected the U.S. – Honduras relationship.
Salazar warned the Honduran people that the failed communism of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez is back in Tegucigalpa, manifested in the proxy government of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya and her husband, Manuel Zelaya.
“For the last decade, the beautiful country of Honduras has been fighting for its political life,” said Chairwoman Salazar. “Earlier this year, President Castro announced that her government was following in the steps of Hugo Chávez. When somebody tells you they don’t like the United States and they don’t like capitalism, listen to them, and act accordingly.”
As a journalist, Chairwoman Salazar has extensive experience covering the politics of Central America through her on-the-ground reporting, and Honduras is no exception. Under her direction, the Subcommittee invited the following senior officials from the Biden administration to testify on U.S. – Honduras policy:
- Mr. Eric Jacobstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- Ms. Mileydi Guilarte, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development
Chairwoman Salazar began the hearing by laying out a clear case for why the socialist legacy of the Zelaya family threatens the very stability and economic prosperity that President Castro and her party were elected to deliver.
Fourteen years after his attempted coup, Manuel Zelaya returned to power through a proxy, his wife Xiomara Castro de Zelaya. In the two years since President Castro has been in power, she has remained committed to bringing Honduras back under the fold of tyrannical Latin American socialism. She has already threatened to expropriate foreign companies, changed her country’s recognition to the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan, and issued comments lambasting capitalism as an ideology that “only causes misery.”
Despite Honduras facing the threat of socialism once again through the corrupt Zelaya family, the Biden Administration has chosen to make Honduras their partner of choice in the region, even touting them as a “success story.” Other partners in the region like El Salvador and Guatemala who have demonstrated genuine interest in helping us fight the Chinese Communist Party and the migrant crisis have received only disdain from the Administration.
The witnesses from the Biden Administration responded in stupor to the clear case Chairwoman Salazar made, showing a deep misunderstanding of the threat the Honduran people face, and even showing ignorance of the network of corruption in the Honduran government.
One example of such ignorance was in the cruel network of extortion organized by the Governor of Choluteca Ilce Villatoro and the Commissioner of the Honduran Institute of Transportation’ Rafael Barahona. They have been charging people $150, including those seeking passage to the United States from Central and South America, for a salvoconducto, or a travel pass, to get to Guatemala. This practice, while officially illegal, is enriching the personal coffers of the Zelaya government and its lackeys. Mr. Jacobstein did not acknowledge this development, instead arguing that the practice is illegal, implying it is not happening.
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mileydi Guilarte, on the other hand, assured Chairwoman Salazar that USAID is working hard to ensure critical funding for American programs in Honduras are not being laundered by the Zelaya government.
To watch the full hearing, click HERE.
Congresswoman Salazar proudly represents the city of Miami in Congress, home to more than 22,000 constituents of Honduran heritage. She also had a special message for the Honduran community. Listen HERE.
###