JTF-Bravo and Soto Cano AFB

Palmerola is now named Enrique Soto Cano AFB. At its peak, Soto Cano had as many as 2,000 US military stationed there. Currently, it is classified as a "semi-permanent" base (Honduras does not allow "permanent" military presence on its soil). It is the home to Joint Task Force Bravo, with only about 500 personnel. JTF-Bravo currently has about 500 troops on short-term assignment. Its stated mission is "to enhance cooperative regional security through forward presence and peacetime engagement operations." With the elimination of bases in Panama, Soto Cano has become the only US military's only usable airfield other than two counter-drug locations in El Salvador and Ecuador. DEA has also supported internal Honduran operations against insurgents in the Mosquitia area by conducting air surveillance out of Palmerola.

There have been a number of efforts to close Palmerola, both by Hondurans and by others outside the country. In 1990, 25,000 Hondurans protested the presence of US bases in Honduras.

The base is situated just outside of the town of Comayagua.

In 1985, Palmerola was a hub of activity. Choppers were constantly in the air. Chinooks were ferrying Honduran military personnel toting M-16s (some only 12 years old) to the Nicaraguan border on a regular basis.

Don Moore taught English at the Honduran Military Academy located at Palmerola back in 1984. He recounts some of his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer.

More photos of Palmerola in the 1980's from the 235th Signal Company

Hotel Maya

I visited the Maya while I was in Tegucigalpa back in the eighties. I had been told it was a regular meeting place for contras, CIO operatives, drug barons, etc. In 1981, Argentina had sent 38 army officers to the Maya to begin training the Nicaraguan contras. At that time, Argentina was firmly supportive of US policy in the region. This changed somewhat during the Malvinas conflict which began in April 1982. Samuel Blixen, a Uruguayan journalist, suggests in his article, Democracy, Human Rights, and Militarism in the War on Drugs in Latin America, that Colonel Jose Ribeiro of Argentina coordinated not only contra training from his hotel room in the Maya, but also an elaborate drug trafficking operation in cooperation with the Salvadoran Air Force.

An extensive bibliography on military forces and democracy in Latin America.

Honduras Indomita

As I begin this Honduras-oriented weblog, I discovered this site called Honduras Indomita, a well-crafted flash site oriented to nature in Honduras.