Crisis Grows as Honduras Seats Judges

The Legislature swore in five new Supreme Court justices today over the objections of President Roberto Suazo Cordova. The president called the legislators’ action a virtual coup and put the armed forces on alert.

Suazo Cordova had said he would “not permit the installation of judges elected illegally in open violation of our political constitution.”

But there was no show of force or interference at the installation, held at the Legislature. Immediately after the swearing in, Efrain Bu Giron, the Legislature’s president, called a recess until 10 a.m. Saturday.

In a 15-hour session that ended early today, the 82-member Legislature voted to remove the justices for alleged corruption. After the decision, which prompted a flurry of rumors about an impending coup, Suazo Cordova said on nationwide television that the “situation amounts to a rupture of the constitutional order and, therefore, a technical coup.”

‘All Units . . . on Alert’

A military spokesman said armed forces chief Gen. Walter Lopez Reyes “has instructed all units to be maintained on alert and has re-concentrated troops throughout the country.”

The high court is appointed by the Legislature but has had the president’s complete backing. The nine justices were known to be his friends.

“What is occurring is simply the weakening of the unfortunate influence of Suazo Cordova in his attempts to control the government powers and the political, social, student and professional organizations of the country,” Orlando Gomez Cisneros, a leading member of the president’s own Liberal Party, said during the Thursday night session.

Key Ally of U.S.

Suazo Cordova claimed that he has the backing of the armed forces “to maintain order and avoid chaos and anarchy in Honduras.” As president, he is general commander of the armed forces.

Honduras is a key U.S. ally in Central America.

Andres Victor Artiles, secretary general of the Honduran Labor Federation, said “the irregularities detected in the judicial power, which was favoring the powerful, the rich, prejudicing the great humble majority of our nation, were no secret to anyone.”

The organization includes unions with 400,000 members and is considered powerful enough to make or break a government.