NATIONAL

Monday, February 22, 1999 Online Edition 146

Heart to Heart helps North Coast community

Heart to Heart delivers food supplies to inhabitants on an isolated island near Santa Rosa de Aguan. (Photo by María Fiallos)

By MARIA FIALLOS

SANTA ROSA DE AGUAN -- Along the North Coast of Honduras are numerous small Garifuna communities with a combined population of more than 100,000. Descendants of black slaves and Caribbean Indians, this ethnic group exists mainly at a subsistence level on the bounty of nature: coconut palms furnish coconuts, manioc provides cassava, and the rivers and ocean supply fish.

In the bottom tier of Honduran society, this group was also one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Mitch. Santa Rosa de Aguan, a village near the municipality of Trujillo, suffered the most. Flooding from torrential rains swept the fresh water fish into the sea along the with people, cattle, pigs and chickens. They either drowned or died from the salt. Fishing in the river is poor now, many of the cayucos (dug-out canoes) were swept to sea along with fishing nets. The tragedies of those losses compound other losses.

Santa Rosa de Aguan has been divided by the Aguan River, where once ran a road now runs a channel 150 yards wide. The west bank community, nourished by a road to Trujillo, is faring better than the one on the east bank, which is larger and poorer, and now separated on their new islands.

Heart to Heart, a relief mission based in Dalton, Georgia and headed by Dr. Steven Foster, arrived in the area on Nov. 6, one week after the hurricane. Dr. Foster and Greg Harris, a builder, were part of an advance team that included nine other team members and four interpreters. Arriving by helicopter to the east bank, Foster expressed numbness at the scene before him.

Comprised of two physicians, a nurse, a paramedic, a college student, a minister, a mechanic, a telephone repairman, an ex-fireman, a builder-architect and an 18-year-old volunteer, Heart to Heart arrived to help. They sent relief supplies by DC-4 from Dalton and arrived with the gifts of knowledge, training and hands.

The team initially selected the shell of the kindergarten as their base. The roof was gone, one wall was crumbling and half of the concrete floor was gone; collapsed into a new formed lagoon that claimed 40 houses, the library and the tiny hotel. The structures had collapsed one by one as the floodwaters swept the sands from beneath their foundations.

When Foster asked when school would start again, no one could answer. The teacher, her husband and four sons had all been swept out to sea. A week later, the teacher was picked up by a British warship, clinging to a floating log. None of her family were found. Of all the people swept out to sea in Santa Rosa de Aguan, she is the sole survivor.

When several parts of the kindergarten floor collapsed as team members of Heart to Heart were cleaning the building, they realized they had to move. The group relocated and set up a health clinic in the community recreation center. For eight days they treated respiratory infections, pneumonia, and asthma, pulled teeth, and dressed the many puncture wounds caused by nails and other flying debris during the storm.

When the medical mission to Santa Rosa was completed, many team members had to depart but Heart to Heart realized their mission had only just begun. Their next mission was to begin supplying food to the area. They rented a Boston whaler and delivered supplies by sea, but at Lps. 500 an hour for the four-hour journey their mission would be short lived.

Foster took his problem to the Honduran Navy, which sympathized with him but could not help since both of their 36-foot launches had been beached during the hurricane. Foster offered to dig out the boats and repair them in exchange for their use.

When he and Randy Miller, a team member and mechanic, began making a list of parts needed and planning to put the boats into the water, Base Commander Lt. Commander Burgos realized they were serious and offered the use of two 22-foot cabin cruiser type launches in the interim. Using those two launches, trip after trip was made to Santa Rosa de Aguan and one to Santa Fe. Further trips to Santa Fe were discontinued after the road reopened.

With food arriving by sea, Heart to Heart now focused on repairing the road to Santa Rosa. They met with Lt. Jose Meza Castillo from the Navy Base and Jose Martinez, a heavy equipment owner and operator, to discuss repair of the 10-kilometer section that had washed out. Heart to Heart agreed to pay for the project and the Martinez brothers agreed to do the project at cost. They would charge only the actual fuel cost and their out of pock labor costs. Their own labor would be free. Spirits were high.

The next day the Martinez brothers began working on the road. A Honduran radio operator also interviewed Foster and broadcast a report nationwide. As a consequence of this report, while the brothers were working, a road construction crew arrived and explained they had been called by the Honduran government and contracted to begin immediate repairs on the road. The Martinez brothers never charged for the use of the equipment and the road was finally reopened.

Trujillo's airport was a hub of activity for several weeks. Relief flights of cargo planes delivered rice from Australia; corn, beans and rice from the United States; tins of sardines and meat from Germany; wheat and pasta from Italy; and corn and rice from the World Food Bank. Heart to Heart worked to off-load the big aircraft and whatever they were doing -- seeing patients, grabbing a meal or preparing a good shipments -- would be suspended as they and Honduran Navy and Army personnel worked together.

In a society were there is great gulf between have and have not, Heart to Heart is convinced it can make a difference. For more information on the organization, contact: Cindie Foster, Corazan a Corazan, c/o Mednow, 2705 Airport Road, Suite 101Dalton, GA 30720.

Despite being charged with serious human rights violations, retired Capt. Billy Fernando Joya was released on bail last Thursday (Feb. 11) -- less than three months after he turned himself in to authorities, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Joya, who "disappeared" in 1995 after a warrant for his arrest was issued, is accused of participating in the illegal detention of six university students in 1982. Charges of murder were dropped, allowing First Criminal Court Judge Rita Nunez to set bail at Lps. 2,500 (US$180). Nunez based her decision on the 1906 Penal Code that was in effect in 1982, when the crime took place, and not on current law.

Health officials fear that there could now be as many as 20,000 people infected with the HIV virus, approximately one out of every 100 adult Hondurans, the daily La Tribuna reported Friday (Feb. 12). Currently, there are nearly 13,000 registered cases of AIDS in the country.

Jeremias Soto, head of the health ministry's Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS, said 200 cases of AIDS have been reported just in 1999. He added that final figures for 1998 have not yet been tabulated but will be somewhere around 1,500.

Soto also expressed concern over the situation in the shelters housing the victims of Hurricane Mitch, where a preliminary study revealed that between one and five people in each shelter are HIV positive.

Writer, professor and diplomat Manuel Salinas Paguada died of an undisclosed illness last Wednesday (Feb. 10), the daily La Tribuna reported.

Salinas, well-known in literary and cultural circles, was a former director of Ministry of Culture and the Arts and a member of the publishing board of the National Autonomous University. In the field of diplomacy, he served as business attache at the Honduran embassy in Managua, Nicaragua and was later head of cultural affairs at the Foreign Ministry. He was also in charge of the cultural section of the daily La Tribuna for 17 years.

Nation in the dark after fire at power plant

Rationing conjures memories of 1994 energy crisis

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Blackouts returned to Honduras last Friday (Feb. 12) after a blaze broke out in one of the transformers at the Gen. Francisco Morazán Dam, conjuring memories of the 1994 energy crisis during which electricity was rationed up to 12 hours daily for six months due to reservoir water levels.

As a result, Honduras has lost nearly 40 percent of its power producing capability and is currently rationing electricity.

The fire apparently began when cables overheated in the transformer room of turbine number four. As a consequence, the other three turbines shut down, depriving the country of 300 megawatts of electricity.

Since Honduras does not have personnel to deal with these kinds of situations, experts of the U.S. Coast Guard's National Strike Force based in Mobile, Ala. aided by U.S. Air Force firefighters stationed at the Soto Cano Air Base were called in to extinguish the blaze.

President Flores immediately traveled to the dam, approximately 75 miles north of Tegucigalpa, with technicians of the National Electric Company (ENEE) to assess the damages. "This event is indeed catastrophic, especially after the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch; we were counting on El Cajon to help improve our shattered economy," the president said.

Government officials then met with representatives of the private sector and the media to give them an overview of the situation and emergency measures that will be implemented.

The situation was difficult to evaluate immediately following the fire due to high temperatures and smoke-filled tunnels. Specialized personnel were hired and equipment rented, but it wasn't until Sunday that a team of technicians were able to assess damage.

The first thing established was damage to 12 cable conductors, each one kilometer long with a total price tag of more than Lps. 16,000,000. However, there was no damage to infrastructure.

There is no immediate solution for this energy crisis, but after holding talks with other regional leaders, President Flores was able to obtain the promises for supplying some of the energy needed. Costa Rica has promised 60 megawatts, Nicaragua 25 and Panama 40. Authorities explained that every kilowatt of imported electricity will cost US$0.10 to 0.15 more than usual.

Even after Hurricane Mitch, the country generated approximately 700 megawatts of electricity, enough to sell even to neighboring countries. Last Thursday (Feb. 11), the dam level was at 283 meters above sea level (close to full capacity) and generating 300 megawatts. Now the country's capacity is limited to 380 megawatts, not nearly enough to cover national demand.

Flores has asked the Honduran people to conserve energy. For the moment, the country is dependent on two smaller dams, Rio Lindo and El Nispero, which produce 110 megawatts and 22.5 megawatts, respectively. Private gas-operated energy plants will also supply 284.5 megawatts. However, together these sources do not cover the country's demand of 595 megawatts.

To avoid further energy deficits, the government decided to ration electricity, since even with the import of energy there will still not be enough to cover demand.

Private enterprises were advised to use their own generating plants and citizens asked to conserve energy.

Blackouts will continue for the time being, although it is hoped for only a short time, as national and international technicians work hard to repair the damaged facilities.

Monday, February 15, 1999 Online Edition 145

C.A. leaders seek unified stand for Stockholm

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- During a special meeting held Feb. 4-5 in the Honduran capital, Central America's heads of state reached several agreements concerning the position the region will take at a meeting of the Stockholm Consulting Group to be held this coming May in Sweden.

International financial organizations and other members of the world community will attend this important meeting and among other things address the matter of funding for reconstruction efforts in Central America.

Four of the region's five presidents -- Armando Calderon Sol of El Salvador, Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua, Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica and Carlos Flores of Honduras -- as well as high-level delegates from Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Belize were able to agree on strategies for facing the difficult situation the region is confronting after Hurricane Mitch.

"The issue is to not just to rebuild, but to build something better, because the damage was not only to infrastructure," said President Flores.

Hurricane Mitch caused complete devastation in Honduras, with more than 6,000 dead or missing, hundreds of thousands left homeless and damages topping US$5 billion.

During the meeting, the presidents and delegates agreed on the needs of the individual countries as well as common issues facing the entire region to be presented to the Consulting Group and international financial organizations. Proposals to be presented to U.S. President Bill Clinton during his visit to the region next month were also discussed.

President Aleman of Nicaragua expressed the need to discuss the issue of international crime, and especially illegal drug trafficking.

Individual issues addressed for each country were as follows: transformation and reconstruction of Honduras; foreign debt and financing for Nicaragua; commerce in Costa Rica; investment in the Dominican Republic; immigration in El Salvador and the environment in Guatemala.

Aleman, who received the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA), also emphasized the need to work together.

Flores said only projects related to reconstruction will be presented at Stockholm, stressing the importance of obtaining funding for existing projects in the different countries as well as for regional projects. "There will be opportunities for each country, toward this end we are preparing individual strategies while keeping in mind common interests."

Flores also reminded participants of the goals achieved in Washington, D.C. this past December, stating that the present objective is the meeting in Stockholm. "Together we can rebuild our countries, rehabilitate infrastructure and conserve [the environment of] Central America," he said.

Another point agreed upon was brought up by President Rodriguez of Costa Rica concerning social investment in the areas of health and education. "Without health and education we will only rebuild, but not transform."

Irish military aid in reconstruction

By MARIA FIALLOS

Members of the Irish Defense Forces headed by Commandant Gerard Doyle are presently stationed in Trujillo to work on two infrastructure projects in the outlying village of Santa Rosa de Aguan.

The 27-member team includes engineers and tradesmen who will build a combination health center-kindergarten. They will also build the first two classrooms of an elementary school. This project will later be continued by the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS).

Meanwhile, a health care team headed by Commandant Allan Woolhead that includes a doctor, nurse and lab technician will provide health services to the communities of Santa Rosa de Aguan, Barra Aguan and Dos Bocas over the next three months.

Taking advantage of a moment of carelessness, Nimer Ennabe Zepeda on Thursday (Feb. 4) escaped from the house in San Pedro Sula's Colonia Aurora where he was being held ransom for Lps. 6 million scarcely one day after he was abducted, the daily La Tribuna reported.

After escaping, the 62-year-old businessman immediately went to the police, but on arriving at the house the police only found some articles of clothing and personal objects belonging to Ennabe and the kidnappers, a couple of mattresses and pillows, a small television and a ski mask. However, the police subsequently detained three suspects in Tela, including the woman to whom the house was rented.

Ennabe also told authorities that the kidnappers claimed to belong to Tupac Amaru, a Peruvian leftist revolutionary group.

Two cholera cases have been diagnosed in the small Mosquitia community of Si Honduras that borders Nicaragua, the daily La Tribuna reported Wednesday (Feb. 10). Health official Jose Ochoa Vasquez said the cases are the first since Hurricane Mitch battered Honduras last November.

An alleged drug kingpin, murderer and fugitive of justice, Col. Wilfredo Leva Cabrera on Saturday (Feb. 6) was handed over to Honduran authorities by Nicaraguan Special Forces just two days after he was arrested in an hotel in the Nicaraguan city of Granada, the daily La Tribuna reported.

The exchange was made at the Guasaule customs checkpoint on the Honduran-Nicaraguan border under heavy security, given that Leva is reputedly one of the most important drug traffickers in the region and is said to work for the Cali drug cartel of Colombia. Leva is also a suspect in the murders of 11 people in Tocoa, Colon

in what authorities say was a drug war between rival cartels.

Hunting clubs of Tegucigalpa and other cities are decimating the fauna of El Paraiso, according to Mayor Adolfo Mendoza of San Antonio de Flores in an El Heraldo report Tuesday (Feb. 9).

Describing the Tegucigalpa clubs as "very aggressive," Mendoza said hunters come with dogs and sophisticated weapons almost every weekend to kill the few white-tailed deer (the national animal of Honduras), peccaries, pacas and garrobos (a large lizard) remaining in the area.

Mendoza said the vice minister of Government and Justice was notified, but the official's response was only "be careful with the hunters because they have permission."

Victor A. Paz, the son of former Foreign Minister Edgardo Paz Barnica and Sandra Lazarus de Paz, took his own life in his residence in Tegucigalpa's Colonia Tepeyac last Saturday (Feb. 6), the daily La Tribuna reported. He was 36.

In what has been described as an "internal coup," National Party convention delegates on Saturday (Feb. 6) ousted party authorities and elected new members to the Central Committee, the daily La Tribuna reported.

The removal of party authorities has been called illegal and antidemocratic by some Nationalists, since committee members had not yet completed their legally established terms in office.

Heading the new Central Committee is San Pedro Sula businessman Carlos Urbizo Solis, who succeeds Nora de Melgar Castro. Other members are Rigoberto Alvarado, vice president; Moises Lopez, secretary; Johny Handal, pro-secretary; and Lidia Alvarez, fiscal.

Monday, February 9, 1999 Online Edition 144

Garifuna chieftain exhorts nation's minorities to continue the struggle for civil liberties. (Photo by W.E. Gutman.)

TEGUCIGALPA -- They came, 1,500-strong -- Garífuna, Lenca, Maya-Chortí, Misquito, Pech, Tolupán and other sub-groups -- to claim their constitutional rights, condemn abuses, solicit promised relief aid, and demand the restitution of expropriated acreage and the repeal of reforms that "denationalize our patrimony and surrender large tracts of ancestral lands to foreign speculators."

They all converged on the capital early on Monday, Jan. 25, hoping to be heard -- or at least seen -- by members of the National Congress. But they were kept at bay in Parque Central by riot police and a contingent of Ramboesque Cobra Commando as President Flores and other dignitaries attended the installation of the nation's Second Legislative Assembly.

Orderly, if punctuated by militancy, impassioned speeches and strident expressions of frustration, the day-long demonstration offered clear evidence of ethnic unity and a vivid kaleidoscope of national discontent.

We have laws in this country," said a Garífuna, referring to the 1989 Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal People, signed and ratified by Honduras." But they're shamelessly ignored. Might as well be no laws."

"How can it be," cried a Lenca chieftain," that you, members of the `civilian police' [some of whom are Lenca] cannot join us and explain why we, the disenfranchised people of Honduras continue to be ill-treated, marginalized and forgotten."

Complaining that his people are brutalized or ignored, a Maya-Chortí warned that "we have exhausted all our good will, good faith and patience. The fact that Cándido Amador Recinos' killers are still at large nearly two years after his murder in Copán Ruinas -- as are the assassins of at least 25 other indigenous leaders in the past five years -- speaks volumes about this country's commitment to human rights."

"Where's the money," asked one of thousands of victims of Hurricane Mitch still waiting to be helped.

In the distance a sign read: "We demand a special fund for sex workers." Another sign pleaded for housing for unwed mothers and women heads of household.

A demonstrator from Olancho, who was manhandled by police for a minor infraction then released, regained his composure -- and his ego -- by declaring that "there are only two types of delinquents in this country. Those who are not in jail are in uniform."

The demonstration ended peacefully at dusk and the demonstrators went back to their villages wondering if it had not all been in vain.

U.S. Marine Corps engineers
work on a Bailey-type bridge at the site of the former Puente Juan Ramón Molina (over the Rio Choluteca), which was washed away last November after Hurricane Mitch dumped more than 5 feet of rain on central Honduras. The portable bridge will soon reestablish traffic on one of the busiest thoroughfares between Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela. (Photo by Eric Schwimmer)

A Bailey-type bridge currently being assembled by the U.S. Marine Corps at the site of the former Puente Juan Ramón Molina should be ready by next Saturday (Feb. 13).

According to Lt. John Oliveira of U.S. Navy public affairs, the ACROW bridge that will reunite Tegucigalpa with Comayagüela below the National Stadium will be 74 meters in length when completed, making it the longest of this type in the region.

He added that this modern version of the Bailey bridge can hold more weight and last longer, anywhere from 20 to 30 years.

The original concrete bridge was washed away by flooding caused by Hurricane Mitch last November.

Previously, the Marine Corps built a 54-meter bridge at Ojo de Agua and will build two MADEY bridges, another Bailey-type bridge, at Ilama (54 meters) and Río Bonito (73 meters).

TEGUCIGALPA -- As a consequence of a civilian defense minister having authority over the armed forces, the question of allowing military personnel the right to vote has once again arisen.

However, the issue is surrounded by controversy. Some critics are in favor of the move and as to be expected others are not. The opposition claims that Honduran democracy is too fragile; while those in favor claim that military personnel should not be discriminated against and have the same right to vote as do all Honduran citizens. They also claim that in more developed countries, voting is a normal procedure granted to all people.

Both the Minister and Vice Minister of Defense, Edgardo Dumas Rodríguez, and Gen. Roberto Lázarus Lozano (retired after 35 years of military service), respectively, expressed they are in favor of the proposal.

The issue is currently being analyzed and at a later date may be submitted to Congress for approval.

Nevertheless, past experience has the Honduran populace wary of the proposal. A history of abuse and intimidation has given rise to these concerns.

During Ramón Villeda Morales' term as president, the civil guard was severely criticized for its use of arms in influencing the choice of voters at the ballot boxes. On the same note, the military played a major role in removing Villeda Morales from power during a coup d'etat in 1963 and replacing him with Gen. Oswaldo López Arellano.

In 1965, elections were held, the military's use of force to steal election boxes to re-elect López Arellano produced bloodshed and unrest throughout the country; a terrorized population began to call armed forces personnel "gorillas."

The situation changed in 1982 when the military was assigned the duty of overseeing the electoral process. They transported ballot boxes, votes and results from one place to another during presidential elections in 1982, 1985, 1989, 1993 and 1997.

But now the questions arises as to who will oversee the next election, as it is popularly believed that arms and votes are not the best combination.

During modern times, two military figures have participated in politics successfully: Hugo Banzer in Bolivia and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. In Honduras, however, the issue is different due to the fact that there are no more than 20,000 military votes, insufficient for imposing a presidential candidate; also, who can assure the military that its personnel will vote for their old leaders?

The debate is open and opinions are divided: Should military personnel be allowed to vote or not?

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The White House announced Jan. 30 that President Clinton is postponing his trip to Central America from Feb. 12-15 to March 8-11.

"The President will visit Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and will participate in a Summit of Central American leaders," a statement released by the White House Press Secretary said.

The statement added that the visit to Central America will focus on recovery efforts following Hurricane Mitch as well as regional approaches to protecting the environment, mitigating the effects of future disasters, and other regional and multilateral issues.

During the trip, Clinton will also visit with U.S. forces that are providing relief and reconstruction assistance in the region.

Former Armed Forces Chief Gen. Mario Raul Hung Pacheco and 14 other high-ranking officials on Monday (Feb. 1) retired from the military after more than 30 years active service, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Hung's retirement comes just one week after the National Congress approved constitutional reforms eliminating the post of armed forces chief and placing the military under the authority of a civilian minister of defense.

Other officials receiving their discharges from the military included Gen. Roberto Lazarus Lozano, Gen. Oscar Alfonso Servellon, and former Naval Commander Bruno Geordano Fontana.

Prominent attorney and intellectual Eliseo Perez Cadalso died of heart problems on Wednesday (Feb. 3). A law professor at the National University, Perez was a former foreign minister and ambassador to El Salvador. He was also a prolific short-story writer and journalist, winning the coveted Alvaro Contreras and Paulino Valladares awards for outstanding journalism.

In one of the most audacious abductions to date, masked gunman wearing bullet-proof vests and armed with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped businessman Limer Ennabe Zepeda in downtown Tela around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 3).

According to the daily La Tribuna, Ennabe was pulled out of his vehicle by the gunman as he was supervising construction work on his property. Ennabe was immediately forced into a blue pick up waiting nearby and sped away.

The 56-year-old victim is the father of Abrahan Ennabe Chaya, who was kidnapped on Sept. 20, 1996. The Ennabe family reportedly paid a Lps. 1 million ransom for the safe return of Abrahan.

Meanwhile, there is still no word on the fate of Ana Paola Castillo who was kidnapped on Jan. 5.

Monday, February 1, 1999 Online Edition 143

Dumas to be first defense minister

TOGETHER ONE LAST TIME: President Flores and Armed Forces Chief Gen. Mario Hung Pacheco review troops during the change of command ceremony at the Francisco Morazan Military Academy. The position of armed forces chief, always held by a military official, on Wednesday was officially replaced by a civilian Minister of Defense.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- President Flores on Thursday (Jan. 28) named

Edgardo Dumas Rodriguez as the first civilian Minister of Defense, just three days after Congress ratified a constitutional reform that eliminated the position of Chief of the Armed Forces.

Dumas, an attorney and member of the InterAmerican Press Association (IAPA), is currently the nation's ambassador to the United States. He is also on the editorial board of the Spanish daily La Tribuna, which is owned by President Flores.

On Wednesday, a ceremony was held at the Francisco Morazán Military Academy to observe the end of the military's 41 years of autonomy and the beginning of its new role as a subservient institution to civilian rule.

Attending the ceremony, which included a military parade while jets roared over head, were members of Congress, the nine justices of the Supreme Court, high-ranking government officials and foreign diplomats.

The military staff of command and banner that for 41 years symbolized military autonomy were transferred to the Museum of Military History after the last Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Mario Hung Pacheco, handed them over to President Flores.

On Monday, Congress eliminated the position of armed forces chief when it ratified for the second time the reform of constitutional article 15, which established the following hierarchy: the Constitutional President of the Republic and Commander-and-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Staff.

Shakeup in cabinet
Former health minister to be investigated for allegedly soliciting a kickback On the eve of the current administration's first anniversary, President Flores on Sunday (Jan. 24) made sweeping changes in his cabinet with the appointment of five new ministers -- including two women.

Sworn in as the new minister of Government and Justice was Enrique Flores Valeriano, a prominent attorney and university professor who previously served on the Supreme Court and as minister of Labor. He succeeds Delmer Urbizo Panting who was minister of Economy and later Foreign Affairs during the administration of President Reina.

The new minister of Labor is Rosa America Miranda de Galo, who succeeds Andres Victor Artiles. Galo had previously served as vice minister of Labor.

Silvia Ximomara Gomez de Caballero was sworn in as the new minister of Natural Resources, succeeding Elvin Santos. Prior to her appointment, Caballero was director of the National Children's Foundation (national lottery).

Guillermo Alvarado Downing is the new minister of Agriculture, replacing Pedro Arturo Sevilla. Downing, 40, is a graduate of the Pan American Agricultural School (Zamorano) and worked on a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) project prior to his appointment.

Finally, Dr. Plutarco Castellanos was sworn as the new minister of Health, succeeding Dr. Marco Antonio Rosa who leaves amid controversy.

According to the local press, Rosa has been accused of soliciting a Lps. 250,000 kickback from a pharmaceutical firm that was bidding on a contract to supply equipment to the health ministry.

La Tribuna reported that the conversation between Rosa and an executive of the company in which the minister asked for the kickback was secretly taped and handed over to the press, before finally reaching the hands of several members of Congress.

When questioned about the secret recording, Rosa denied any wrongdoing, saying, "I have a clean conscience and there is no problem."

In light of the accusations, Comptroller General Vera Sofia Rubi on Monday (Jan. 25) announced that her office will open an investigation into the matter.

The nation's poorly equipped law enforcement agencies on Saturday (Jan. 22) welcomed the arrival of 3,100 Israeli-made Galil rifles, which will replace the aging and outdated weapons currently used by policeman, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Manufactured by Israel Military Industry Ltd., the arms shipment arrived at the Soto Cano Air Base aboard a Russian cargo jet. The weapons were immediately counted, registered and handed over to the National Police.

Authorities said a second shipment of equipment, consisting of Czech-made CZ revolvers, bullet-proof vests, communications equipment and other items, will arrive by boat at Puerto Cortes.

Seven Latin American and Caribbean nations including Honduras do not comply with international aviation safety standards and therefore their airlines cannot cover routes to the United States, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided earlier this month.

According to a report in the daily La Tribuna Saturday (Jan. 23), the FAA has placed Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Uruguay in Category III, the lowest possible rating. For Central America, El Salvador and Panama are in Category I while Costa Rica and Guatemala are in Category II.

Princess Astrid of Belgium will visit Honduras Feb. 3-4 to observe the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch and to meet with Belgium citizens who are participating in relief efforts and reconstruction, the daily La Tribuna reported Tuesday (Jan. 25). The princess is the second child of King Albert II and Queen Donna Paola.