August 13, 1945
Roberto Micheletti is born to an Italian businessman and a Honduran
woman from El Progreso.
September 20, 1952
Jose
Manuel “Mel” Zelaya Rosales is born to a wealthy Olancho
ranching family with interests in the timber industry. His father, also
called Mel, was incarcerated for his supposed involvement in the
massacre of campesinos and priests on the family ranch.
1963
Micheletti is part of the Honor Guard for President Ramón
Villeda Morales, who was deposed by a military coups.
1979
Honduras returns to democratic rule after years as a military
dictatorship.
January 1980
Roberto
Micheletti Baín, the son of an Italian businessmen and a
Honduran mother, sits on Constitutional Assembly that drafted the
current constitution.
November 1981
The country’s first general elections in 18 years are held
1982
A new constitution is approved
October 24, 1985
Micheletti
leads a group of Congressman in a failed bid to overturn the
constitutional articles to
allow president Roberto Suazo Córdoba to run for reelection.
1985
Zelaya is elected to Congress
1989
Zelaya is reelected to Congress
1993
Zelaya is reelected to Congress
January 2006
Micheletti starts his term as the president of the congress.
November 27, 2005
Mel Zelaya is elected president of Honduras, having run as a centrist
on the Liberal Party ticket.
November 2006
Zelaya
creates the Citizen Housing and Credit program, promising $42 million
in aid to build houses for Honduras’s poorest citizens. In May of
2009, Revistazo.com reported that not one house had been built.
2008
Reports
put out by the UN Observatory of Violence show that the number of
murders in Honduras rose more than 50 percent during Zelaya’s
term, despite Zelaya’s campaign promises to put an end to the
violence in Honduras.
April 7, 2008
Four
prosecutors from the Public Ministry begin a hunger strike to protest
the rampant corruption in the prosecutors office; Micheletti presides
over a congressional "inquiry" that finds that "no corruption exists."
May 30, 2008
A
TACA airlines plane coming from El Salvador overshoots the runway at
the Tonocontín Airport in Tegucigalpa and crashes, killing five;
without any research to base his opinion on, Zelaya immediately
declares the airport unfit for use and lauches a campaign to move
Tegucigalpa’s main airport to the Palmerola Air Force base in
Comayagua (which is jointly run by the U.S. and Honduran militaries),
spending nearly $200,000 in promoting the plan, which he later
abandoned.
August 25, 2008
At
a rally at the Presidential Palace attended by Venezuelan president
Hugo Chavez, Bolivian president Evo Morales, other dignataries, and
thousands of campesinos (many of whom were paid to be there), Mel
Zelaya signs an agreement joining Honduras into the controversial Bolivarian Alternative
for the Americas (ALBA) alliance with Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba,
Ecuador, and Nicaragua.
October 9, 2008
The
Honduran congress, presided over by Roberto Micheletti, signs an act
officially approving Honduras' entrance into the ALBA agreement.
October 15, 2008
Revistazo.com
publicizes a report showing that President Zelaya, President of the
Congress Micheletti, and the mayors of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula
spent $6 million dollars on publicity. $322,000 were spent to promote
the signing of ALBA.
November 2008
Despite
a law outlawing the president of congress to run for president,
Micheletti makes a bid to be the Liberal Party candidate, losing to
Elvin Santos, who Micheletti tried to get disqualified through
manipulations of the court and electoral systems. (Santos, the Vice
President of the Republic, by law should also be unqualified to run for
president, but gets around this by resigning from his vice-presidential
position.)
November 2008
Revistazo.com
releases a report showing that Mel squandered millions of dollars from
the Poverty Reduction Strategy – money derived from a debt
forgiveness program meant for the poorest Hondurans—increasing
government salaries by 75 percent and the rest of
“subsidies” that were used by politicians to butter up
their constituents.
November 11, 2008
Zelaya
announces that he will hold a “non-binding referendum”
in June of 2009 in which the Honduran people will vote on whether a
"fourth ballot box" (in addition to the mayoral, congressional, and
presidential ballot boxes) should be included in upcoming general
elections in November to vote on whether a "Constituent Assembly"
should be called to rewrite Honduras' constitution.
December 23, 2008
Zelaya
decrees a 60% increase in the minimum wage, giving business owners only
15 days to adjust to the new salary. In the ensuing weeks, according to
the Honduran business community over 100,000 jobs are eliminated in
Honduras as a response to these increased labor costs.
March 24, 2009
Zelaya
announces that the referendum will take place on June 28, 2009;
Micheletti immediately responds that the Constitution specifically
forbids such a referendum.
March 25, 2009
The
Attorney General’s office notifies Zelaya that if he carries out
the referendum he will be prosecuted for breaking the law.
March 26, 2009
Revistazo.com
releases a report showing that in October, November and December of
2008, Zelaya spent $2.5 million to promote his campaign to raise the
minimum wage.
June 23, 2009
Congress
passes a law outlawing referendums within 180 days of the general
elections, rendering Zelaya’s proposed referendum illegal.
June 24
Zelaya
fires the top General in the armed forces, Romeo Vasquez
Velásquez, after Velásquez refused to assist in carrying
out the referendum. (Normally it is the Honduran army's duty to
distribute ballot boxes and voting materials for elections.)
June 25
The
Honduran Supreme Court reinstates Velásquez; the Attorney
General is granted a warrant for Zelaya’s arrest; Congress orders
the armed forces to seize the ballots and ballot boxes; Zelaya leads a
march to the air force base and successfully recovers the ballots.
June 28
Soldiers
storm the Presidential Palace, detain Zelaya, and fly him to exile in
Costa Rica; the international community immediately condemns the coups
and demands Zelaya’s restoration; Congress enacts a nighttime
curfew. Congress votes after the fact to depose Zelaya; Congress
presents an apparently forged letter of resignation signed by Zelaya;
Micheletti is sworn in as president as the constitutionally next in
line when the president is unable to continue excercising duties.
June 30
Zelaya
speaks at the United Nations Assembly in New York; the UN General
Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the restoration of Zelaya to
the Honduran presidency.
July 1
Congress
declares a “state of siege,” allowing search and seizure
and detention without warrants; the Organization of American States
gives Honduras three days to reinstate Zelaya.
July 4
The
Organization of American States suspends Honduras from the organization
after Congress refuses to reinstate Zelaya to the presidency.
July 5
Thousands
of Hondurans rally at the Tegucigalpa airport awaiting Zelaya’s
promise to return to the country; as some protesters begin scaling the
airport fence, members of the army open fire, killing a teenager;
Micheletti orders the closure of the airport; a plane supposedly
carrying Zelaya swoops low over Tegucigalpa, circles the airport, and
eventually lands in Nicaragua.
July 7
Zelaya
meets with U.S, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and agrees to
negotiations with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias as mediator.
Micheletti also agrees to participate in the negotiations.
July 8
Zelaya’s wife, Xiomara Castro, leads a march in support of her
ousted husband.
July 9
Micheletti and Zelaya meet separately with Arias.
July 10
The delegations failed to come to agreement, and abandoned negotiations
until Arias called them back to the table.
July 12
Congress lifts the curfew imposed two weeks ago.
July 13
Zelaya
gives the interim Honduran government an ultimatum, saying he is
willing to “risk bloodshed” to return to Honduras as its
president.
July 14
Arias announces that negotiations will begin again on Saturday, June 18.
July 15
Zelaya promises that his supporters will be “active” in the
country this weekend.
July 19
Another
round of talks in Costa Rica fails to produce agreement. The main
sticking point is the return of Mel Zelaya to the presidency, which
Zelaya's representatives absolutely insist on and Micheletti's
representatives absolutely reject.
July 20
Zelaya again promises to return to Honduras within the week; the
European Union suspends $90 million in aid to Honduras; US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton warns Micheletti in a personal phone call that if
he does not reinstate Zelaya Honduras could lose millions in aid.
July 24
Zelaya attempts to
enter Honduras for a second time since the coups, stepping briefly into
Honduras before returning to Nicaragua; the Micheletti government puts
into place a 24-hour curfew for all of the regions bordering Nicaragua.
July 25
Hundreds of people block the entrance to the station Radio Globo
as military personnel tries to enter the station to shut it down.
July 27
The 24-hour curfew remains in effect for parts of El
Paraiso and Choluteca, making it impossible for families to buy food
and water.
July 28
The US government revokes the diplomatic visas of four members
of the Micheletti government.
August 4
Zelaya meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Mexico
City in the beginning of a campaign to garner support among Latin
American nations for his reinstatement as president of Honduras.
August 5
Police use high-pressure water hoses and tear gas to disperse
protesters who were blocking a major highway at National Autonomous
University in Tegucigalpa and throwing rocks through fast food
restaurant windows.
August 11
Police and pro-Zelaya demonstrators clash in the capital,
leaving a Popeye's Chicken franchise destroyed.
August 12
Thousands of demonstrators protest for the second day in a row
in Tegucigalpa. Police report having arrested 130 demonstrators; Zelaya
meets with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva in Brazil.
August 13
Ramon Custodio, the head of the Honduran Human Rights
Commission, said the military made an "error" in sending Zelaya into
exile.
August 15
The offices of the Tegucigalpa daily newspaper El Heraldo are attacked with
homemade Molotov bombs; the government announces that this year's
September 15 Independence Day parades will be canceled in
Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
August 17
The Honduran government gives Argentinian diplomats 72 hours to
leave Honduras after the Argentinian government expelled the Honduran
ambassador.
August 18
The Costa Rican government takes away diplomatic credentials of
the Honduran ambassador, effectively ending the diplomatic relationship
between the two countries.
August 19
Amnesty International releases a report accusing the Micheletti
government of "mass arbitrary arrests and ill treatment of prisoners."
August 24
A delegation from the Organization of American States arrives in
Honduras with the hopes of ending the political standoff.
August 25
The visit by the Organization of American States ends after the
Micheletti government reiterates its refusal of the San Jose Accord.
August 26
The US Embassy in Tegucigalpa announces that it is suspending all
non-immigrant and emergency visa services in response to the de facto government's unwillingness
to reinstall Zelaya.
September 1
Police report two "terrorist" attacks overnight, one in the department
of Yoro against the radio station Radio América, and the other
against a car sales company in Tegucigalpa. Police said they suspect
that foreign Zelaya supporters may have been behind the attacks.
September 3
Zelaya meets with Hillar Clinton; the State Department of the United
States announces the end of about $30 million in “a broad range
of assistance” to Honduras, but stops short of calling the
situation a military coup. In the same press release, the US said
it would not recognize a president elected in November due to the
current situation.
September 10
The US announces that $11 million destined for the expansion
of the main highway between the major cities of Tegucigalpa and San
Pedro Sula.
September 12
The US revokes diplomatic and tourist visas for 18 Honduras government
officials, including de facto President Roberto Micheletti's.
September 13
Prominent businessman and president of the National Association
of Industries Aldolfo Facussé, one of 124 business leaders who
had their visas revoked, was deported from Miami on a commercial flight
and he was denied entrance into the United States one day earlier.
September 15
Thousands march in Tegucigalpa and elsewhere in the country in support
of Zelaya's return while Micheletti supporters gather for an
Independence Day celebration and parade in Tegucigalpa's National
Stadium.
September 21
Mel Zelaya unexpectedly arrives at the Brazilian Embassy in
Tegucigalpa; the Micheletti government calls for a curfew from 4 p.m.
to 7 a.m.
September 22
The curfew is extended until 6 p.m., and then again until 6 a.m. the
next day; police evict several thousand protesters who were camped
outside the Brazilian Embassy, injuring around 18 and arresting several
hundred, many of whom were later let go; near the embassy vehicles were vandalized,
a
police vehicle incinerated, a grocery store vandalized, a home near the
embassy broken into, and a Banco Atlantida looted; the Resistance Movement calls
for mass demonstrations throughout the entire country, leading to
hundreds of arrests for curfew violations and at least one death;
people raid grocery stores, food storage centers, electronics stores,
and department stores; basic services are cut to the Brazilian Embassy
for at least a few hours.
September 23
The curfew is temporarily lifted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow
families to stock up on food, water, gas, and other supplies; people
wait for hours in supermarkets, worried that the curfew could be
extended indefinitely; the curfew is extended until 6 a.m., at which
point it will be suspended indefinitely; demonstrations continue
throughout the country; Zelaya and nearly 100 supporters remain in the
Brazilian Embassy.
September 24
After two days of curfew many people return to work; according to
Honduran press, thousands of people dressed in white march in favor of
the Micheletti government; the Organization of American States
announces it will send a delegation to establish dialog with both
sides; the presidential candidates from the four largest parties meet
with Zelaya and Micheletti separately; a curfew is put in place for
certain departments and urban areas from 7 p,m. until 5 a.m.
September 25
International
flights are reestablished, though not all airlines have restored
flights in and out of the country.
September 27
The Micheletti government gives Brazil 10 days to turn over
Zelaya or face retaliation; Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula de
Silva, rejects the ultimatum; the Micheletti government denied entry into Honduras for most members of a
mediation team from the Organization of American
States,
claiming that they did not arrive "at the right
time...because we are in the middle of internal conversations;"
Micheletti announces the 45-day suspension of constitutional
guarantees: free speech, free assembly, freedom of movement, and arrest
without a warrant.
September 28
The military shuts down two stations which have been critical of
the Micheletti government: Radio Globo and television channel 36,
Cholusat-Sur; Zelaya supporters announce their
intention to stage a march to mark the three-month anniversary of the
coup.
October 5
Micheletti announces that he would rescind the unpopular decree
to suspend constitutional guarantees.
October 7
Diplomats from twelve nations met with Zelaya representatives
and Micheletti in an attempt to end the stand-off. No breakthroughs
were announced; a poll by the Honduran polling company COIMER & OP
shows that a majority of Hondurans do not support the coup and favor
the return of Manuel Zelaya to the presidency.
October 28
A delegation from the US State Department arrives in Tegucigalpa
in an attempt to resolve the political crisis.
October 30
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces that the US delegation
reached a deal that could end the political standoff. The accord binds
both parties to agree to a vote by the National Congress as whether to
restore Zelaya, and would require the formation of a government of
national unity. The deal would also reject the possibility of amnesty
for either side and includes the creation of a truth commission to
investigate the events leading up to and after the June 28 coup.
November 4
Roberto Micheletti announces that he has formed a government of
unity that will be sworn in at midnight; Zelaya counters that
Micheletti heading the new government violates the terms of the accord.
November 6
Zelaya calls the dialog "dead."
November 8
The Resistance Front announces it will boycott the November 29
elections.
November 9
Independent presidential candidate and Resistance leader Carlos H.
Reyes officially pulls out of the elections, claiming they will not be
fair and transparent; OAS general secretary Miguel Insulza said the OAS
will not send election observers nor recognize the results of the
election.
November 10
The US sends Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly to
Honduras to try to revive the deal that would potentially bring
legitimacy to the Honduran elections.
November 11
Craig Kelly leaves Honduras after failing to bring clarity to
the signed agreement.
November 17
The Honduran National Congress announces it will vote on December 2 on
whether to restore Zelaya to the presidency.
November 18
The United States expresses support for the election despite the fact
that the Congress decided to wait until after the elections to vote on
Zelaya's restitution; a Catholic priest, Father Andrés Tomaya,
was deported to his native El Salvador for calling for a boycott of the
election. Father Tomaya lived in Honduras for 25 years and was a
naturalized citizen.
November 19
De facto President Roberto Micheletti announces that he will be absent
from exercising his public functions from November 25 through December
2 so all attention can be focused on the electoral process.
November 29
The long-awaited general elections result in National Party
candidate Porfirio Lobo being elected as president; while many
countries continue to threaten to not recognize the results, the United
States, Canada, Peru, Costa Rica, and Panama appear willing to support
the new government.
December 2
The Honduran Congress overwhelmingly votes against restoring Zelaya to
the presidency.