Bellum

Student protests. (AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)

Hondurans face a political crisis this weekend. Summary by the WSJ:

The president’s term ends in January, following November presidential elections. But Sunday’s referendum would allow voters in November to call for a new constitution. The president’s opponents say he plans to use a new constitution to scrap term limits and run for re-election when his four-year term ends in January.

Opposition forces have organized demonstrations against President Manuel Zelaya, a leftist held in high regard in the capitals of Venezuela, Boliva, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Hugo Chavez, not one to let an opportunity to bluster go by, has promised to “do whatever it takes to ensure the sovereignty of Honduras and its people are respected.”

We may see some covert activity, possibly advisors of some kind and definitely moral support, but don’t expect to see large numbers of Venezuelan soldiers patrolling the streets. How would they get there and how would they be supplied? Chavez doesn’t trust his military enough to let them patrol the Colombian border in force, much less go across the sea. This is not 1980, when the Soviet Union could flood the country with Czech weapons, KGB handlers, and Cuban mercenaries.

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