"I wish they would leave!"

"I wish they would leave," said ex-General Nelson Willys Mejia, the de facto government's head of Immigration. He's the same person who notified Father Tamayo last week that his naturalization papers had been revoked. He's now speaking out about the trade representatives left in the Venezuelan and Argentinian embassies in Tegucigalpa. Both countries pulled their amabassadors after the coup, but left trade representatives. When the Micheletti government tried to appoint ambassadors to each country, they were rejected because both countries regard Zelaya's government as the legitimate government of Honduras. The de facto government then ordered each embassy in Tegucigalpa to close and leave the country within 72 hours.

Each of these embassies has ignored the order, maintaining a single trade representative in the embassy, because they do not recognize the de facto government as the legitimate government of Honduras and therefore do not recognize their right to expell the embassy staff and revoke their diplomatic immunity. Mejia is of the opinion that "it would be logical to apply the law and deport them because they are here illegally but in a situation like that of Honduras, they'll leave when their tired of the anxiety and the psychological pressure."

In the fashion that has become all too familiar with the de facto government, he openly threatens their families. "They are illegal. Even their children in the schools are illegal. If they leave (the embassy) it will seem as if the whole world is watching them." So who is is it that Mejia is threatening? The Argentianian representatives who are left are Alejandro Amura, and Alejandra Eguino, who is there with her 9 year old daughter. They've been instructed by their government not to leave the embassy. In the case of Venezuela, its Ariel Vargas, also ordered to remain in the embassy.

The Venezuelan embassy has been guarded since late August by a contingent of 30 Lenca who form part of the resistance to the de facto government. They say they are there because the government of Venezuela, as part of ALBA, provided them, for the first time ever, with free medical assistance from Venezuelan and Cuban doctors. Another ALBA supported program taught them to read and write, and after hurricane Mitch in 1998, it was the Venezuelans who were the first to arrive to help the Lenca.

Its clear that Mejia is annoyed by thier defiance of his order to leave the country, but its not clear why he would bring this up now, after weeks of silence. I can only suppose that, emboldened by his campaign against Father Tamayo, he intends to make threats for a few weeks in hopes of intimidating them.