Meanwhile, back at the Venezuelan ranch

We need to take a break of our Honduras extensive coverage to remind people what is going on in Venezuela.

Briefly on Honduras first. Two people were indeed killed yesterday, including a teenager. Inasmuch as it is a sad event we can be happy that the count was so low. It is not good propaganda for the sitting regime of Tegucigalpa but the way Zelaya so carelessly handed his "return" is going to make these deaths difficult for internal consumption. True, outside people are going to scream in horror but what matters, let's face it, is how "zelayistas" will mobilize and that is not a certain thing at least looking at the past week. And when you read that Zelaya will come back through the back country roads, you wonder how long is it going to take until the guy finally realizes he is wasting his 15 minutes of fame.

Back at the ranch. The news today is the Venezuelan opposition making a big fuss about the REAL constitutional violations. The OAS might still not be replying but there are clear indications that the local regime is getting anxious.

First, the hero du jour, Ledezma, is persisting in his hunger strike now going into its fourth day. He has been joined by some folks and has received many well known visitors. True, In English you will not find much material on Ledezma but wait a couple more of days and we will talk about it again.

One of Ledezma visitors was one of his old foes, the one who kicked him out of AD. Now Ramos Allup came in the name of the current unity group of the opposition to challenge the OAS at its own embassy. And he was not afraid to compare Venezuela as worse than Honduras.

Do not think that the OAS is going to be able to play dumb and deaf fro much longer. First, in a tough editorial at Tal Cual today, Teodoro Petkoff deliberately broke the secrecy rule and reported a conversation he had a few weeks ago with OAS secretary Insulza. Needless to say that Insulza reputation is not going to improve, and his crazy bias on their way to due exposition as we are told that he is perfectly aware of Chavez regime violations of the Inter American charter now brandished against Honduras.

Furthermore that government of Chavez has given a wonderful argument to the opposition, at the worst moment: the banning of the CEDICE TV advertisements have been legally digested by the opposition and a strong counteraction is under way, timed along the Honduras events it seems. REUTERS might tend to be forgiving to Chavez but their report, even if it includes "virulent" as an adjective for Globovision, cannot hide the attempt at censorship now taking place in Venezuela. The New York Times correspondent is also noting in a brief dispatch that 240 radio stations are about to be closed. Expect a longer article on the matter soon, just as the OAS will meet again for Honduras.

I am not sure of what is really going on but I have a sense that the opposition is for once sensing its opportunity to really bother Chavez and that many countries are waiting for the excuse to silence Chavez and make a deal on Honduras. Or has no one noticed the relative calm of Brazil, Chile or Colombia, limiting themselves to the pro forma condemnation of the Honduras coup?

I do not know about you, but so far I am not seeing Chavez winning this hand. He will come back and exact revenge on us for sure, but he might have overplayed his Honduras game, even with people starting to die for the "zelayista" revolution who seems lack in people...

And here, well, once again, unity of the opposition is the key to any success, as Honduras might yet demonstrate us. The time for resolve has come.


-The end-