Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Salazar Delivers Opening Remarks at Hearing on the Fight for Free Elections in Honduras
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Salazar delivered opening remarks at a subcommittee hearing titled "Democracy in Peril: the Fight for Free Elections in Honduras".
On November 30th, Honduras will not just pick a new president, it will choose its political destiny for the next century. It is the responsibility of the United States government and this committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States congress to ensure that in Honduras freedom and democracy will prevail. Four years ago, the people of Honduras elected a socialist president called Xiomara Castro. Madame Castro has been a loyal follower, in her own words, of Fidel Castro in Cuba and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Do I have to explain to this audience what those two murderers did to their countries? Maybe not, because everybody knows. Unfortunately, and because of that poisonous ideology that the current president has embraced, Madame Castro has pushed her country into an economic abyss.
And why do I say that? First, President Castro welcomed communist China and even suggested that she may give Palmerola Air base to the Chinese. The Palmerola base is the key United States installation in Latin America. Second, she broke relations with democratic Taiwan, just to please China. Third, she gave another thug, called Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the highest medal of honor the country can give to a civilian, the order of Francisco Marozan. I am sure that Marozan has to be rolling in his grave. And fourth, flooded the country with Cuban spies dressed as doctors, teachers, psychologists.
Ten days from today, the fate of Honduras is in the hands of three candidates. Papito a la Orden, whose real name is Nasry Asfura, Salvador Nasralla, and Rixi Moncada. Mrs. Moncada is the heir to the communist throne, picked by the current President. Mrs. Moncada says that Cuba is a democracy and she wants Honduras to look just like Cuba. Well, this is the way Cuba looks today, I'm sure Hondurans do not want that in their streets. At this hour, the voters of Honduras are at a crossroads, and they should think long and hard about who they are gonna vote for.
As the chairwoman of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs of the United States congress, I am not telling you who to vote for, all I am saying is do not elect a communist. Communism is beautiful in theory and miserable in practice. Look at Venezuela, 25 years ago, the Venezuelans were oblivious to the same warning I am saying today, and not even having the largest reserves of oil in the world saved them from the economic catastrophe they're living in today. Socialism’s number one goal is to corrode the democratic institutions, especially the armed forces. The Honduran armed forces, the most powerful institution, is demanding direct access to private voter information. The armed forces are demanding who voted for who. This is not the military who made Hondurans proud for over 100 years. The same military that pulled Manuell Zelaya, the husband of the current president, out of his bed, in his PJs, sent him to Costa Rica, in the middle of the night, for wanting to do the same thing that his wife is trying to do right now, Impose communism in Honduras. 16 years ago, the military saved its country from communism and today, they need to do the same thing.
So this committee is sending a very clear message supported by the State department and the Trump administration, that Honduras must hold a free, fair, and transparent election. No intimidation, no stolen ballots, no foreign interference. The eye of the United States is upon Honduras this November 30th. In the United States, there are more than 1,000,000 Hondurans, hundreds of thousands of them in my own district. Florida district #27, the heart of the city of Miami. Oh I know Hondurans very well, they are good people, hardworking, godfearing, law abiding who have been beaten by a political class who has not treated them well for decades. They deserve someone who is not a communist, who will put the future of Honduras first, and that includes the two right candidates as well. Whomever wins these elections needs to put the fatherland above their own personal interests. Honduras’ political class admires the American political and economic system, well it's time for them to start copying it. The nation's treasury is not their own personal checking account. The well being of the average Honduran, should be their only interest. Honduras deserves better, may the lord guide them, this November 30th.
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