The drought in southern Honduras is now entering its seventh month. It has not rained in large swaths of the country since August 2009. The departments of Choluteca, Francisco Morazán, Intibucá, La Paz, Lempira, El Paraíso, and Valle have been the most affected by the lack of rainfall. Honduras' National Meteorological Office is not forecasting rain in the region until the end of April and perhaps as late as June. Dozens of municipalities in Honduras have been reporting widespread hunger since December, and in January the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that more than 100,000 people in Honduras would be at risk for famine within the next few months if severe drought conditions continued and if international aid organizations and Honduras' government and society did not mobilize to meet the emergency food and water needs of people in nearly 200 municipalities. (3/10/10)

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He had gotten himself way too wrapped up with the smooth-talking wealthy guy from the south and was hopelessly smitten.

By Marco Cáceres
It is unclear when the lovefest between Hugo Chávez and Manuel Zelaya actually began, although you can assume that it has been ongoing at least since their formal engagement on August 25, 2008 when Mr. Zelaya signed Honduras up for Mr. Chávez's ALBA arrangement. The signing took place at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa, complete with all the requisite pomp and circumstance and witnesses, including Evo Morales of Bolivia, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Carlos Laje of Cuba, and even Roberto Micheletti. It has been a whirlwind engagement that began with Mr. Chávez showering Mr. Zelaya with all sorts of presents to demonstrate his affection. (3/9/10)

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On the way home on Sunday, we returned via Sambo Creek, and as we walked toward the highway a van full of smiling women waved at us. I thought they must be very friendly people to do that.

By Christina Taylor
I finally arrived in La Ceiba after 44 long hours of travel. The three other volunteers and I awoke around 5:30 am and walked down to school on the highway and I spent the day meeting the kids, drawing, doing some math and writing stories. The volunteers are always called ‘tía’ or ‘tío’ (aunty and uncle) and I think I had the only name they could easily pronounce “Tía Christinaaaa”. It seemed like half of the kids had rotting teeth and at some point in their lives they’d been severely malnourished because many were amazingly tiny for their respective ages. I wholeheartedly believed one of the smallest girls was around 2 and a half or 3. Wrong. She was just 5, and the top of her head came a little past my knees -- not high on someone who’s only 5' 4". (3/9/10)

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The cost of a gallon of gasoline in Honduras increased Monday by 86 cents to Lps 1. The average price of a gallon of high-test gasoline in Honduras went up to Lps 69.86, while regular rose to Lps 65.37. Diesel fuel increased by Lps 0.52, to Lps 57.88. The price of kerosene rose by Lps 0.62, to Lps 46.28. In January 2009, the price of a gallon of high-test in Honduras stood at Lps 48.61; regular, Lps 45.24; and diesel, Lps 45.34. Honduras consumes more than 52,000 barrels of oil per day. About 20,000 of those barrels had been coming from Venezuela, on preferential payment terms, under the Petrocaribe energy alliance established in 2005. The government of Manuel Zelaya subscribed to Petrocaribe in August 2008. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez suspended Petrocaribe oil shipments to Honduras in July shortly after Mr. Zelaya was ousted as president. Crude oil prices closed Friday on world markets at US$79.81 per barrel. (3/8/10) (photo courtesy La Prensa)

Former president Manuel Zelaya met for three hours yesterday with President Hugo Chávez at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. The meeting began at 10:00 on Friday evening and concluded at approximately 1:00 this morning. Mr. Zelaya arrived by surprise in Caracas on Thursday. Following the meeting, both President Chávez and Mr. Zelaya spoke briefly with members of the media. Mr. Zelaya credited Mr. Chávez for helping to initiate the process of change in Honduras. "You inspired us" said Mr. Zelaya emotionally. "You have resisted for 10 years and you keep growing stronger. Changes do not come easy, it is hard work, but you are an example that it can be done; you inspire the revolution that we have begun in Honduras. He emphasized that his cause "is not lost". Meanwhile, Mr. Zelaya's daughter Hortensia "La Pichu" Zelaya, who accompanied her father, noted that she believed the movement toward socialism in South America "will continue to grow". (3/6/10)

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By Don Pearly

Roatán has a recycled mayor. The Honorable Julio Galindo has returned to the office of Mayor of Roatán and brings with him years of experience in community service, including that of Mayor of Roatán. Never tiring, never stopping, this man is off island, back on island, off again and always taking with him the glad tidings and positive attitude of his beloved Roatán. Every tourist show I've attended, Mr. Galindo has been there ahead of me. I do not think there has been a single program on the island on which Mayor Galindo has not either advised or taken the lead. From pleasant tourist tasks to hard core crime issues, you can always count on the man having an opinion, and he is never hesitant to express himself and jump right in with both hands. (3/6/10)

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Minutes prior to the summit Friday between the presidents of Central America -- including President Porfirio Lobo -- and the Dominican Republic and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Guatemala City, President Lobo was notified by representatives of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of their formal recognition of his government. According to Mr. Lobo's personal secretary, Reinaldo Sánchez, both the WB and the IMF "recognize that in Honduras there is a legitimate and democratic government elected through a transparent electoral process". The news opens the way for restarting the flow of credit from these institutions to Honduras. Yesterday, the WB also officially reactivated some US$30 million in loans via Honduras' Investment and Development Fund (FIDE) in support of commercial projects, while the IMF unfroze US$164 million in funding for Honduras. (3/6/10) (photo of Hillary Clinton and Porfirio Lobo courtesy Internet)

By only focusing on the superficial and short-term aspects of the State Department's official policy toward Honduras following Mr. Zelaya's ousting, many people failed to distinguish between tactics and strategy in the game of geopolitics.

By Marco Cáceres
Today, former president Manuel Zelaya is in Venezuela meeting with President Hugo Chávez and President Porfirio Lobo is in Guatemala visiting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a pitiful display of political paranoia, you have Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro complaining that Mrs. Clinton's goodwill tour through South and Central America during the past week is an egregious effort to intervene in Latin America and destroy the sense of solidarity that exists among the countries of the region. In the meantime, the political situation in Honduras has stabilized with the peaceful election and inauguration of Mr. Lobo -- both of which were made infinitely more likely by the US-brokered Tegucigalpa-San José Accord between representatives of interim president Roberto Micheletti and Mr. Zelaya. Further, the US has recognized the Lobo administration, restarted its economic and military aid programs, and willingly served as an enthusiastic and powerful advocate around the world for normalizing diplomatic relations with Honduras. (3/5/10)

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In advance of her meeting today in Guatemala with President Porfirio Lobo, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sent a letter to the US Congress formally notifying it that the State Department will be restarting its aid program to Honduras. "I have just sent a letter to the Congress of the United States notifying them that we will be restoring aid to Honduras," Mrs. Clinton told reporters Wednesday at a press conference in Costa Rica where she was visiting with outgoing President Óscar Arias. Following the ousting of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, 2009, the US suspended more than US$30 million in economic assistance as punishment for what it viewed as a military coup d'état. The State Department, however, was unwilling to go through the process of officially declaring Mr. Zelaya's removal a military coup d'état. Had it done so, it would have ceded to Congress the authority to restart aid, thus hindering its ability to quickly restore the program. Secretary Clinton's letter of notification does not require Congressional approval. (3/5/10) (photo of Hillary Clinton courtesy Internet)

President Porfirio Lobo is scheduled to meet in private today with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Guatemala City to discuss bilateral relations between the US and Honduras, the process of re-integrating Honduras into the international community, and the restart of US assistance programs to the country. Secretary Clinton will be in Guatemala to participate in a summit with the presidents of Central America. The main issues on the agenda include the strengthening of regional cooperation and combating illegal drug trafficking. According to President Lobo's private secretary, Reynaldo Sánchez, the Lobo-Clinton meeting will take place after the conclusion of the summit. Mrs. Clinton has been traveling in South America during the past week, visiting with leaders in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Costa Rica. Along the way, she has consistently advocated for normalization of diplomatic relations with Honduras, particularly in meetings with President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina and President Luiz Lula of Brazil. (3/5/10) (photo of Hillary Clinton and Cristina Kirchner courtesy Internet)

Following a meeting in Tegucigalpa on Wednesday with US Ambassador Hugo Llorens and leaders of Honduras' Liberal Party, former Minister of Defense in the Zelaya administration Edmundo Orellana said in an interview with HRN Radio that the absence of Manuel Zelaya hurts Liberals to the degree that "his presence [in Honduras] is absolutely necessary". Mr. Orellana noted that Mr. Zelaya continues to lead a significant faction within the Liberal Party, and thus if the party ever hopes to fully rebuild itself Mr. Zelaya must return and play an active role in the process as soon as possible. The political crisis fueled by the forced removal of President Zelaya from office last year created sharp divisions within the Liberal Party, with many party members strongly supporting Mr. Zelaya's ousting and others opposing it. These divisions led to the overwhelming win by Nationalist Party candidate Porfirio Lobo in the November 29 presidential election. There is concern within the Liberal Party that if it does not soon reconcile its members, the party will remain so weak that it may be a long time before it can successfully compete in national elections. (3/5/10) (photo of Edmundo Orellana courtesy Internet)

Deposed president Manuel Zelaya arrived in Caracas, Venezuela yesterday for a series of meetings with President Hugo Chávez. The trip had originally been scheduled for February 25, but Mr. Zelaya, who has been living in the Dominican Republic as a "Distinguished Guest" since January 27, had to revise his plans due to last minute scheduling changes by Venezuelan authorities. The original travel plans called a visit with President Chávez and then a tour of Central America for meetings with President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador, and President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala, and finally ending with visits to the United States and Spain. Mr. Zelaya has reportedly scheduled a press conference for 10:30 this morning Friday. (3/5/10) (photo of Hugo Chávez and Manuel Zelaya courtesy Internet)