Honduran undiplomatic diplomat quits

Last week we mentioned the tale of a member of Honduras’ acting Cabinet who made some not-so-smart remarks about U.S. president Barack Obama.

Enrique Ortez Colindres served as interim Foreign Minister when he said that "this negrito (little black man)…has no idea where Tegucigalpa is" and later mentioned that he liked the “negrito de batay (little black sugar plantation worker) who is president of the United States." Despite those glaring errors by such a senior diplomat, Ortez Colindres was shifted by acting president Roberto Micheletti to a different Cabinet position.

Ortez Colindres “irrevocably” resigned from his post on Tuesday in order to “avoid causing further damage to the government of my friend Roberto Micheletti.” He claimed that he quit due to pressure from the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, a charge which an embassy spokesperson denied. Even as he quit, Ortez Colindres had some stern words for the White House:

“I am saying that they wanted to grab (OAS chief Jose Miguel) Insulza, stick him in an armored car, and take him directly by plane to an American car instead of letting him pass through Honduras…What would I be had I let that occur…and allow them to act as if we were a colony. I’m obligated to defend my country.” - [ed. personal translation]

Meanwhile, Micheletti remarked yesterday that he would be willing to step down as de facto leader solely on the condition that ousted president Manuel Zelaya wouldn’t return to power.

Image- La Tribuna
Online Sources- Tribunalatina.com, The Latin Americanist, Xinhua, Reuters, Jornada, CNN