Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Honduras
Newsline: Taiwan told to vacate embassy in Honduras in 30 days
Taiwan must vacate its embassy in Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa in 30 days, a senior Honduran official said on Monday, after President Xiomara Castro severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China. Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia issued the order on local television on Monday, following the government’s announcement over the weekend that it had opened formal diplomatic relations with Beijing while simultaneously ending its decades-long relationship with Taiwan. (https://neuters.de/world/taiwan-told-vacate-embassy-honduras-after-ties-severed-2023-03-27/) Taipei’s embassy in the leafy Palmira neighborhood was for years one of the Central American capital’s most prominent foreign outposts, as well as the country’s second-biggest embassy after the U.S. embassy. In a statement late on Saturday, the Honduran foreign ministry said it recognized the People’s Republic of China, China’s formal name, as the only legitimate government that represents all of China and that Taiwan is an “inseparable part of Chinese territory.” The move left Taiwan with only 13 formal allies, mostly poor and developing countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Newsline: Honduras top diplomat travels to China
The Honduran foreign minister is travelling to China to “promote” the establishment of diplomatic ties, an official said, signalling the end is most likely near for the country’s decades-long relations with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted last week her government would seek to open relations with China. “Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina on instructions from President Xiomara Castro travelled to China on Wednesday to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations,” presidential press secretary Ivis Alvarado said. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned in the Honduran ambassador to express its “strong dissatisfaction” at the trip which “seriously harmed the feelings of our government and people”. A source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters Reina and his delegation left for Beijing from Panama, accompanied by Chinese officials. (https://neuters.de/world/taiwan-says-chinas-involvement-honduras-is-very-obvious-2023-03-23/) The source declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. A senior Taipei-based diplomatic source told Reuters that Reina going to China meant an announcement on forging relations was probably near.
Newsline: Honduras eyes diplomatic relations with China
Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had asked the country’s foreign minister to open official relations with China, pressuring Taiwan ahead of a sensitive visit by President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States and Central America. (https://neuters.de/world/americas/honduras-president-says-govt-seek-official-relations-with-china-2023-03-14/) China does not allow countries with which it has diplomatic relations to maintain official ties with Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes. Castro had floated the idea of starting relations with China and cutting ties with Taiwan during her electoral campaign, but said in January 2022 she hoped to maintain ties with Taiwan. If the Central American country does end relations with Taiwan, it will leave the island with only 13 diplomatic allies.
Newsline: Honduras summons U.S. ambassador for interference in internal affairs
The Government of Honduras has confirmed that the U.S. Ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, has been summoned next Monday to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in protest for her interference in internal affairs. As confirmed by the ruling Libre Party in its social networks, Dogu’s summons comes after the Honduran President, Xiomara Castro, gave this instruction to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Enrique Reina. “Enrique Reina summons the US ambassador to Honduras at 12:00 noon (local time) on October 31 to present a formal protest for her interference”, said Libre on its Twitter profile. (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/honduras-summons-u-s-ambassador-for-interference-in-internal-affairs/ar-AA13ozRG) The call was announced just one day after the US diplomatic representative in Tegucigalpa expressed Washington’s concern about the treatment of foreign investors in Honduras, reports ‘La Tribuna’. “We are deeply concerned about reports from both U.S. and Honduran companies about increased land invasions and digital piracy,” Dogu said during a meeting with members of the Honduran-American Chamber of Commerce.
Newsline: Honduras to move embassy to Jerusalem by end of 2020
Honduras will move its embassy to Jerusalem this year, and Israel will open an embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement released early Monday. The two new embassies will open by the end of 2020, the statement said. (https://www.timesofisrael.com/honduras-to-move-embassy-to-jerusalem-by-end-of-2020-israel-says/#gs.g7wnl0) The announcement followed a Sunday conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. “With their flags flying in the capitals of the two countries, Israel and Honduras declare their intention to complete the action plan before the end of the current year, with a mutual opening and inauguration of their embassies in the national capitals, Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem,” the statement said. The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said it was a joint announcement from the two countries, but Hernández issued a more tepid statement on Twitter, writing, “We hope to take this historic step before the end of the year, as long as the pandemic allows it.” The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
Newsline: Ambassador of Mexico in Honduras is transferred by air ambulance after testing positive for COVID-19
David Jiménez, Mexican Ambassador to Honduras, was transferred by air ambulance to Mexico City, and is currently in intermediate therapy with a good medical prognosis. Through Twitter, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard gave the news and wished the diplomat a speedy recovery. The Mexican ambassador was admitted to a private hospital in Mexico City where his health status would be reported as stable. (https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/08/ambassador-of-mexico-in-honduras-is-transferred-by-air-ambulance-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19/) So far, the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Government of Mexico has not made any additional comments on the state of health of David Jiménez González.
Newsline: Arab League warns Honduras that moving embassy to Jerusalem violates international law
Arab League chief Ahmed Abul-Gheit sent a letter to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Friday, warning him that moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem would breach international law. Hernandez is expected to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem on Sunday, according to a Wednesday statement from the Secretary of the Honduran Presidency, Ebal Diaz. (https://www.egyptindependent.com/arab-league-warns-honduras-that-moving-embassy-to-jerusalem-violates-international-law/) In the statement, Diaz explained that “The Honduran government decided to establish in Jerusalem a formal diplomatic mission office for political, cultural and trade cooperation, which is an extension of Honduras’ embassy in Tel Aviv, and recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.” Abul-Gheit condemned Honduras’ position in his letter, which opposes international law and the stable international consensus on Jerusalem as an occupied territory in 1967.
Newsline: Fire burns US Embassy entrance in Honduras amid privatization protests
The main entrance of the US Embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa was left charred on May 31 after demonstrators set fire to tires and objects in front of the building. The fire was extinguished by mid-afternoon, and a State Department spokesperson later said no embassy personnel were injured in the incident. (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/31/americas/us-embassy-honduras-fire/index.html) The fire came amid days of protests by education and medical professionals, who are urging the government not to privatize their sectors. The US Embassy had previously instructed the families of US government employees to remain home during the protests.It was not immediately clear whether the embassy was the intended target of the demonstrators. A senior State Department official told CNN the incident did not appear to be serious and that staffers were seeking more information from the scene. The State Department spokesperson for Western Hemisphere Affairs later called the fire an “unacceptable” act of “violence,” and said the embassy was working “closely” with Honduran authorities.
Newsline: Honduran president not moving embassy to Jerusalem yet
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Mar. 24 called Jerusalem Israel’s capital, saying the Central American country would open a trade office there, but he stopped short of announcing plans to move his embassy from Tel Aviv. Hernandez has in recent months signaled that his government is mulling moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem, and made his comments on the holy city during his appearance at a conference on U.S.-Israeli relations in Washington. “Today I have announced the first step, which is to open a trade office in Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, and this will be an extension of our embassy in Tel Aviv,” Hernandez said in a statement issued by his government. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-israel/honduran-president-calls-jerusalem-israeli-capital-not-moving-embassy-yet-idUSKCN1R50R0) “I’ve said that a second step will draw a lot of attacks from the enemies of Israel and the United States, but we will continue along this path,” Hernandez added.
Newsline: Honduras mulling moving embassy to Jerusalem
A delegation of senior officials from Honduras was recently in Israel, reportedly to explore the possibility of moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem, after secret talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a Hadashot TV news report Sunday, Honduras is demanding that Israel open an embassy in its capital, Tegucigalpa, and deepen bilateral trade in exchange for relocating its mission. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed the delegation’s visit, but said only that there was an “ongoing process of discussions that has yet to mature.” There was no immediate confirmation from Tegucigalpa.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/honduras-mulling-moving-embassy-to-jerusalem-report/
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