{"id":1249060,"date":"2022-01-27T22:07:46","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T03:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1249060"},"modified":"2022-01-27T22:07:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T03:07:57","slug":"far-left-radical-xiomara-castro-takes-helm-of-honduras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-radical-xiomara-castro-takes-helm-of-honduras\/","title":{"rendered":"Far-Left Radical Xiomara Castro Takes Helm of Honduras"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffar-left-radical-xiomara-castro-takes-helm-of-honduras%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1249060&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/harris-castro-640x335-1.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span>Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Honduras on Thursday to attend the inauguration of Xiomara Castro, the far-left radical who was sworn in as the country\u2019s first female president.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Castro, formerly First Lady as the wife of President Manuel Zelaya, ended a 12-year run in power by the scandal-plagued right-wing National Party. The inauguration ceremony was held amid a crisis caused by Castro\u2019s political maneuvers, over which of two rival factional leaders would preside over the Honduran Congress.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Castro <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-59485606\"><span>campaigned<\/span><\/a><span> on a promise to \u201cpull Honduras out of the abyss\u201d of \u201cnarco-dictatorship and corruption,\u201d a reference to outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernandez\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2021\/11\/15\/is-the-president-of-honduras-a-narco-trafficker\"><span>alleged links<\/span><\/a><span> to the drug trade \u2013 links that received <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-56947595\"><span>embarrassing attention<\/span><\/a><span> in U.S. federal court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Honduran voters were reportedly weary of rising crime, corruption, and poverty under the National Party, factors seen as contributing to the great migration northward that is causing some political trouble for the Biden administration. They turned to Castro, whose record as an admirer and apologist for hideous Venezuelan dictators Hugo Ch\u00e1vez and Nicol\u00e1s Maduro are not hopeful signs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20220127-castro-to-be-sworn-in-as-first-woman-president-of-honduras\"><span>AFP<\/span><\/a><span> noted Honduras has a poverty rate of 71 percent and a murder rate of roughly 40 per 100,000 inhabitants.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Castro <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.es\/internacional\/abci-honduras-enf-202112050137_noticia.html\"><span>enthusiastically<\/span><\/a><span> paid tribute to Ch\u00e1vez on the second anniversary of his death in 2015, proclaiming \u201csolidarity\u201d with his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Maduro in the \u201canti-imperialist struggle.\u201d She thanked the brutal Venezuelan regime for steadfastly supporting her husband after he was deposed in a 2009 coup.<\/span><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><span>Castro and Zelaya also forged ties with left-wing Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega during their post-coup exile to his country. Local media reports suggested Castro\u2019s familiarity with the Nicaraguan regime was more troubling to Honduran voters than her embrace of the Venezuela dictatorship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Castro previously ran for president in 2014 on a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elheraldo.hn\/pais\/581815-214\/libre-propone-conducir-a-honduras-al-socialismo-y-derogar-la-constitucion\"><span>platform<\/span><\/a><span> of imposing \u201cdemocratic socialism\u201d and rejecting \u201cbipartisanship\u201d to make sweeping one-party changes to Honduran government. She also wanted to rewrite the national constitution to declare Honduras \u201cfree and independent of any power or foreign government,\u201d although that spirit of defiant independence apparently does not interfere with accepting gigantic amounts of American foreign aid or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/proceso.hn\/izquierda-latinoamericana-proclama-a-xiomara-castro-ganadora-antes-de-las-elecciones-en-honduras\/\"><span>political assistance<\/span><\/a><span> from international far-left organizations like the Sao Paulo Forum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The communist tyrannies of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/honduras-leftist-leader-could-present-opportunities-for-us\/\"><span>congratulated<\/span><\/a><span> Castro for taking power even before the votes were fully counted, while the U.S. did not officially comment on the election. However, the Biden administration now seems eager to develop a relationship with Castro.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Team Biden appears untroubled by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10444179\/Kamala-attending-inauguration-Honduran-leader-inner-circle-anti-Semitic-comments.html\"><span>overtones<\/span><\/a><span> of anti-Semitism from the Castro political movement. Zelaya claimed \u201cIsraeli mercenaries\u201d helped drive him out of office in 2009 by blasting his brain with radiation beams, while Castro\u2019s running mate Salvador Nasralla claimed Israel was the secret \u201cboss\u201d of former President Hernandez and Jews control the world by manipulating the money supply. His wife once praised Adolf Hitler as a \u201cgreat leader,\u201d an outburst for which she apologized to the Latin American Jewish Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>American political commentators view Harris\u2019 attendance at Castro\u2019s inauguration as an effort to rebuild some of the vice president\u2019s credibility as a \u201cborder czar\u201d by getting a handle on the causes of mass illegal immigration from Central America.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cWe see it as an opportunity to really start a new chapter in the partnership between our two countries and allow us to advance our shared interests. So the meeting and the trip overall is about starting our work together with the Castro administration. And working to do things that are in the best interests of both the American people and the people of Honduras,\u201d an unnamed \u201csenior administration official\u201d told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/harris-to-lead-delegation-to-honduras-for-inauguration-of-new-president\"><span>Fox News<\/span><\/a><span> on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>The administration plans to do everything it can to support Castro in her agenda, which it said had \u201cmany positives,\u201d while also addressing the root causes of corruption in the country and the region to make sure \u201crobust steps\u201d are taken to justify \u201cU.S. taxpayer spending in support of the country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The White House sees Castor\u2019s [sic] election as an \u201copportunity to really start a new chapter in the partnership between our two countries and allow us to advance our shared interests,\u201d an official said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Castro is the first leader in the history of Honduras \u2014 a rather conservative nation \u2014 to be elected on a socialist platform and will also be the first woman to hold the role.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Fox noted Harris has been essentially invisible as \u201cborder czar\u201d after a few ceremonial events early in the Biden administration, leading Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei to complain he has not heard a word from Harris since she swung through his country in June and said \u201cdo not come\u201d to aspiring Guatemalan migrants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To win the presidential election, Castro\u2019s Libre Party had to make a deal with the Savior Party of Honduras (PSH), from which her running mate Salvador Nasralla hails. The deal involved giving the congressional leadership position to a member of PSH named Luis Redondo.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>On Friday, 20 of Libre\u2019s 50 lawmakers reneged on the deal and voted for a member of their own party, Jorge Calix. Calix picked up enough support from Castro opponents to win the vote, prompting a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/brawl-in-honduras-congress-ahead-of-new-presidents-inauguration\/\"><span>vigorous fistfight<\/span><\/a><span> in the congressional hall. Calix abandoned his attempt to get sworn in and departed Congress in a shower of punches.<\/span><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><span>Libre leadership, including Castro herself, accused the party\u2019s rebellious members of being stooges for \u201corganized crime\u201d and \u201cdrug trafficking\u201d who wanted to sabotage the Libre-PSH deal so they could thwart Castro\u2019s promised crusade against corruption.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The dissidents said they supported Calix because Libre holds the most seats in the legislature, so one of its members should preside. PSH has only ten seats to Libre\u2019s 50.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Castro\u2019s choice for congressional leader, Luis Redondo, was invited to preside over her inauguration ceremony. Calix was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/honduras-xiomara-castro-to-be-sworn-in-as-first-female-president\/a-60569547\"><span>offered<\/span><\/a><span> what amounts to chief of staff for the new president as a consolation prize on Wednesday, but did not immediately respond to the offer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Taiwanese Vice President William Lai also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taiwan-vice-president-leaves-shore-up-shaky-alliance-with-honduras-2022-01-25\/\"><span>flew<\/span><\/a><span> to Tegucigalpa for the inauguration, as Honduras is one of only 14 countries that still recognize Taiwan as an entity separate from China.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Castro threatened to change that on the campaign trail by promising to \u201cimmediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with mainland China,\u201d but after winning the election she expressed gratitude for support from Taiwan and said she hopes to maintain the \u201chand-in-hand\u201d relationship between the two countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As he departed from Taiwan, Lai told reporters he was bringing medical supplies to help Honduras fight the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHonduras is an important ally of Taiwan in Central America,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/taiwan-vice-president-in-honduras-to-shore-up-relations\/6414566.html\">Voice of America News<\/a> (VOA) reported of Lai\u2019s comments. \u201cOn this trip, we will bring a variety of Taiwan-made disease prevention equipment to give to the people of Honduras, taking concrete action to demonstrate our strong support for the Taiwan-Honduras alliance and the new Honduran administration on the first day of President Castro\u2019s term.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is difficult to imagine Castro, or anyone in her administration, is na\u00efve enough to think Beijing will not use every bit of economic leverage they give it to squeeze Taiwan out of the picture, no matter how many millions the Taiwanese have loaned to Honduras in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>VOA on Wednesday quoted Castro foreign policy adviser Rodolfo Pastor giving the game away in a recent interview: \u201cI believe that we have a responsibility to [Taiwan] as someone with whom we have had a good relationship \u2013 but I do believe that we also have a responsibility to our own population to be realistic, to be pragmatic, and to understand that mainland China today plays a determining role that we cannot let go unnoticed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>VOA noted China is watching closely to see if VP Harris meets with VP Lai while they are both in Honduras, having instructed the Biden administration to avoid even backstage contact between the two.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Honduras on Thursday to attend the inauguration of Xiomara Castro, the far-left radical who was sworn in as the country\u2019s first female president. Castro, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1249060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1249060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1249060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1249060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1249060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}