Cartoonists Say No to the Coup in Honduras

Cuban Cartoonists’ Appeal to Their Colleagues in the World

We have learned, thanks to the alternative Web site Rebelión, that, in the morning of Tuesday, the 30th of June, Honduran cartoonist and frequent contributor to this portal Allan McDonald was arrested and taken by force from his house, along with his 17-month-old daughter.

The brutalities committed against our brother people in Honduras after the coup d’état against President Manuel Zelaya include fascist persecution of intellectuals and journalists, as has happened at other times on this continent.

The Honduran military is a slap in the face of democracy and institutions in the Americas and the rest of the world.  The persecution of intellectuals, such as that of national cartoon prize winner Allan McDonald, is an act of cowardice on the part of the military, as well as an indication of cartoons as a weapon of ideological value.

Although the artist was released a few hours later, there are fears for his and his family’s physical safety.

Given these developments, not to mention what may yet come in the future, El Dedeté, the satirical newspaper published by Juventud Rebelde, calls upon all cartoonists of the world to stand in solidarity with cartoonist Allan McDonald and the Honduran people by sending one or more cartoons by email to <amigos@dedete.cu>.  The works will be published in a gallery shown on this page.

Signers: Adán Iglesias, President of the Graphic Humor section of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and Director of El Dedeté; Ares, Cartoonist, Vice President of the Plastic Arts section of the UNEAC; Laz, Cartoonist, El Dedeté; and Falco, Cartoonist, El Dedeté.


The original article “Llamamiento de los caricaturistas cubanos a sus colegas del mundo” was published by Juventud Rebelde on 30 June 2009.  Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com).  The cartoons shown in the video may be downloaded at <www.juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2009-07-01/caricaturistas-dicen-no-al-golpe-de-estado-en-honduras/>.