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Monday, July 27, 1998 Online Edition 116

"Anyone that calls it the soccer war can call himself ignorant of history,"

- Veteran during July 18 parade

1969 war veterans Sgt. Efrain Larios Vasquez, Sgt. Jorge Rene Escamilla (president of ASOVEGUEH), Pvt. Andres Colindres (treasurer) and Sgt. Ciriaco Reyes (secretary general) pose with their flag and banner. (Photo by Jorge Flores McClellan.)

Special to Honduras This Week

October 3, 1969: The victorious Honduran soldiers marched for the first time after turning the tide of Salvadoran invaders three months before. The enemy's advances had taken them by surprise with more soldiers and better arms. But the Honduran soldiers had stopped them and were ready to launch a counteroffensive and turn the tables, against all odds, before the Organization of States (OAS) intervened. The huge crowds cheering in the streets were ecstatic, crying, saluting and throwing flowers in their path.

July 18, 1998: This time the crowds are quieter. There is a splatter of applause and some cheers. On this occasion, several soldiers wounded in action appeared, bringing home the nature of the '69 War to those who didn't believe in it or just didn't know about it. After all, 29 years have passed. Who wants to remember it? It seems that only those who can't forget it.

Seven thousand dead. A thousand more, a thousand less. No one knows for sure, but the accounts of veterans about bulldozing mass graves for soldiers, mostly Salvadoran, and civilians, mostly Honduran, are chilling and paint a ghostly picture that cannot be erased.

It is called the 100 Hour War, but ask any of the 5,000 Honduran veterans and they will tell you they have been hearing the crack and boom of battle during three decades. They are veterans like any other in the world except for one thing: they are not recognized as such and are not compensated in the least.

There are too many of them sick, crippled, old and poor, waiting for a pension. They have been completely abandoned with only a discharge paper that says they were on duty then. The able bodied are still in the Armed Forces Reserves but say they feel discriminated because there is no pay for that either.

There are 1,800 veterans inscribed in the Asociacion de Veteranos de Guerra de Honduras (ASOVEGUEH) or War Veterans Association of Honduras. They are well organized and disseminated in 15 commands all over Honduras. They meet as often as their pockets provide but keep strict periodic telephone contact. Their main objective today is to help each other, fueled by an intense fire of patriotism, camaraderie, compassion and in many cases, bitterness toward the few but powerful people that have left them to battle by themselves without any recompense.

The Armed Forces, the government and most Hondurans have betrayed them, they say. It is no wonder that when they reminisce, resentful words are heard and many times, acts of treason in war are mentioned with the appropriate punishment that was administered. Three years ago, a deserter was recognized. He had been accounted for dead among a platoon of 12 men. He was the sole survivor but is now serving a prison sentence in the Central Penitentiary.

Their "strategic objective" is to obtain a pension for veterans with all the benefits, including loan programs, soft credit, free health services, education and training for them and their children, housing and land grants, exemption of taxes and of payment of electricity, water and other social services.

Sounds like too much for a war veteran? All war veterans in El Salvador and Nicaragua receive these and other benefits from their countries. The ASOVEGUEH has visited them all and confirmed this to their own surprise.

When asked why they didn't demand all this before, the president of the association, retired Sgt. Jorge Rene Escamilla and others, explained that many stayed in the army after the war. They were very young, between 15 and 22 years old, and trusting. They went on with their military or civilian life but always felt the need for recognition and special treatment. Time went by and they grew older, watching themselves being cast away, one by one until, in 1987 they regrouped and created the association that was legally recognized in 1991.

Since then, they have achieved several objectives and are now an entity with growing power and enthusiasm. Their strict military discipline shows, as does their blind patriotism.

For this year's parade, when they requested from the Chiefs of Staff, headed by Gen. Mario Hung Pacheco, lodging for 600 veterans for one night at the First Battalion barracks or even the mess hall, transportation to the parade grounds, and the accompaniment of the Army band, silence was their only answer. It was just one of those things they, the veterans, had endured before.

They quietly respect this military and governmental "silent treatment." They also, deeply love this country and all they want is recognition and their overdue reward as any human being deserves, specially as war veterans who put their lives in the line of fire. And what about the families of the dead soldiers?

Every year they shall advance, they say, in this endeavor for social victory and peace of mind . They are many, they are proud and will never retreat because they never have.

The ASOVEGUEH is located in the old Cuartel San Francisco in downtown Tegucigalpa. Their phone is 238-0743. Any support, moral and/or monetary will be more than appreciated.

At the Tuxtla III Summit held July 16-17 in San Salvador, the presidents of Central America and Mexico reaffirmed their goal of working toward the institution of a regional association that would enable them to adopt joint positions on matters of common interest and to coordinate their position at international gatherings.

The region's heads of state also agreed to promote adequate and integral solutions to the immigration problem, and specifically mechanisms that guarantee the rights of emigrants. Moreover, they promised to work toward simplifying immigration procedures and paper work.

To this end, President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico announced that his government will facilitate immigration procedures with Central American countries by issuing tourist visas through travel agencies and making tourist and business visas valid for 5 or 10 years.

With respect to drugs, the region's leaders underscored the advances made in the fight against drug trafficking, consumption and related criminal activities. They also instructed the Central American Security Commission and Mexican and Belizean authorities to design a joint operational strategy to fight organized crime in the region.

Finally, the leaders promised to continue the dialogue on the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and the establishment of a free trade agreement among the Triangle of the North countries -- Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Attending the Tuxtla III Summit hosted by President Armando Calderon Sol of El Salvador were presidents Zedillo, Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica, Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala, Carlos Flores of Honduras, Arnold Aleman of Nicaragua, Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel of Belize, and Foreign Minister Ricardo Arias of Panama.

The first Tuxtla Summit was held in Mexico in 1991 and the second five years later in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Twenty persons died and more than 20 were injured Sunday (July 19) when an old Blue Bird bus covering the Gracias-San Manuel route caught fire near the village of Catulaca in Lempira department, the daily El Heraldo reported.

According to an eyewitness, the engine of the bus belonging to the Empresa de Transportes Lencas caught fire, probably due to a short circuit. Exactly what happened next is uncertain, but it is believed that a recipient full of gas carried by one of the 75-odd passengers exploded, instantly spreading the flames throughout the bus.

Passengers traveling on the roof and those near the windows of the overcrowded managed to leap to safety. However, passengers near the rear emergency exit were trapped inside because the door was reputedly blocked by several bags of cement.

On observing the flames, villagers immediately rushed to the scene to help extinguish the fire, but were unable to save the passengers still trapped inside the bus.

The victims ranged in age from 4 to 80, and half were children. As of Monday, 10 of the 20 persons who received burns in the accident were still hospitalized at the Gracias medical center and two at the Hospital del Occidente in Santa Rosa de Copan.

The Supreme Court of Justice has upheld a previous ruling by the First Appeals Court of Francisco Morazan absolving retired Col. Angel Castillo Maradiaga of the brutal rape/murder of 18-year-old coed Riccy Mabel Martinez Sevilla in July 1991, the daily La Prensa reported Thursday (July 23).

In addition, the court upheld the prison sentence of Sgt. Santos Eusebio Ilovares Funez, although it was dropped from 15 to 10 years. Charges of rape filed against Ilovares were also dropped.

According to La Prensa, attorneys for the family of Riccy Martinez have one last legal resource before Castillo is allowed to walk free.

Christopher Columbus, the Genoese explorer who "discovered" America more than 500 years ago, is the defendant in an unusual jury trial that got underway this week in La Esperanza, Intibuca. The daily La Tribuna reported that on Monday, the Council of Elders of a Lenca tribe in La Esperanza, Intibuca formally accused Columbus of murder, rape, pillage, slavery, and the imposition a foreign culture on native Americans.

Prosecuting attorneys are Salvador Zuniga and Candido Roberto Martinez, coordinators of the protest. A five-member jury will decide whether Columbus is innocent or guilty at the trial's conclusion. Defending Columbus are Oswaldo Martinez and Andres Diaz, who called the trial "ridiculous" since Columbus has been dead for more than four centuries. Moreover, they countered, Columbus brought such benefits as culture, Christianity, language, and civilization to the New World.

The start of the trial coincided with a march by thousands of Indians in La Esperanza on Lempira Day (July 20), a national holiday honoring the great Indian leader who was treacherously murdered while fighting the Conquistadors in Honduras.

A U.S. citizen known as Roy Lee Sullivan has been accused of swindling an Australian out of US$248,000 that was to have been invested in the establishment of a seafood export business.

Last week, Craig Walter Hutchings, a former associate of Sullivan and the representative of a group of Australian investors, filed the fraud charges at the First Criminal Court of Tegucigalpa. The case is being heard by Judge Armando Corea.

According to Hutchings, Sullivan was supposed to have used this money to install the seafood export business called Caribbean Seafood Company, C.A., S. de R .L., but none of the promises of establishing this business were honored.

In addition to fraud, Hutchings has also accused his former associate of making death threats and theft.

Women working in the brothels of Barrio Belen last week said they will not consider Mayor Cesar Castellanos' offer for jobs at City Hall unless salaries are greater than Lps. 3,000 per month, the daily El Heraldo reported Sunday (July 19).

The City Council recently decided to close down the brothels in the capital's red-light district and have offered to teach the prostitutes a trade or give them jobs, but with salaries ranging between Lps. 1,500 and Lps. 2,000. However, most of the prostitutes interviewed in a radio program that aired last weekend said they earn between Lps. 6,000 and Lps. 7,000 per month, more than three times as much offered by the mayor.

Nevertheless, the prostitutes said they appreciated the mayor's interest in their situation. "We a grateful to him, since nobody [before] had promised to teach us how to work so that we would not have to live just from sex," said Martha, one of the sex workers interviewed.

With respect to the amount offered, Castellanos countered by saying that thousands of unwed mothers are able to provide for their children even though they earn the minimum wage, which is approximately Lps. 1,000 per month.

Fausto Reyes Caballero, an alleged former member of the infamous 3-16 Battalion that is responsible for the disappearances and deaths of more than 100 political and student activists, arrived in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday (July 21) after being deported from Canada where he sought asylum more than 12 years ago.

In a press conference held on his arrival, Reyes dodged reporters' questions or gave vague, water-downed responses, reported the daily La Tribuna. When asked if her belonged to the 3-16 Battalion, Reyes emphatically denied that report. "...I never was a member of the 3-16, I belonged to the motorized police force of San Pedro Sula." When asked why he was deported, he replied, "It is a normal routine by the government of Canada."

Reyes refused to answer any questions with regard to the testimony he provided the government of Canada with respect to his alleged involvement in the disappearances, and denied he was afraid of returning to Honduras.

"I have a clean conscience...," he said on concluding the press conference.

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Monday, July 20, 1998 Online Edition 115

Changing Policies affect Honduras' agrarian reform

By WENDY GRIFFIN

The agrarian reform movement in Honduras, as elsewhere in Latin America, began with concern about two groups of people -- the rural landless and those living on plots of land too small to support their families.

Some analysts of Latin America see unequal land distribution as the area's major cause of poverty, as well as the cause of imbalances in food production. There are people or corporations with hundred of hectares of land, called latifundias, and there are people trying to feed their families on tiny farms of 3/4 acre, called minifundias.

Part of the problem dates from the colonial era. For example, the entire town of San Francisco de La Paz, Olancho was given a colonial land grant of 6 caballerias, while just one member of the Zelaya family of Olancho, a local elite, was given 7 caballerias. The portion given to the community was subdivided among large families over time, thus worsening the initial situation.

In the 1950s, the Honduran government began to address this issues with "colonias." The idea of these agricultural colonies was to take people from Honduras' crowded central, southern and western regions, and move them to comparatively unpopulated forested regions.

This often put agrarian reform cooperatives in conflict with Honduras' ethnic communities like the Pech, the Tawahkas and the Garifunas. The population of the Pech municipality of Culmi, Olancho increased from 750 (and over half Pech) in the 1950s to 18,000 in 15 years, most of the increase stemming from agrarian reform co-ops, and the Pech soon became a minority in there.

In the same way, the road from Corocito to Santa Rosa de Aguan used to have three families, plus some tapirs, and peccaries. The agrarian reform raised the Dos Bocas population to 1,500 people. Eventually thousands of Hondurans received agrarian reform lands. Most of the land given away belonged to the government, and was not confiscated from large private holdings.

Farmers were forced to organize into cooperatives in order to receive land, says Gilberto Garcia, a member of an Aguas Amarillas cooperative. The Honduran Institute of Geography's map of the Trujillo-Tocoa and Sonaguera-Chapagua area shows dozens of co-ops. Each could choose what kind of crops they would produce. The emphasis was on commercial agriculture, because each co-op had an obligation to the government to purchase the land over a period of years.

The government had incurred considerable expense setting up the infrastructure for these towns. Twenty years ago even Tocoa, now the area's commercial center with 11 percent growth per year, had no electricity, no running water, no high school or bus service. Today Tocoa has all of this, as do many of the co-ops.

There have been some notable shifts in Honduras' agrarian reform in the last 10 years. One of the most criticized has been permitting the sale of co-op lands to private companies like Standard Fruit and private individuals like Miguel Facusse of Cressida Corporation. There have been irregularities in some of these transfers such as the invasion of the lands of three Garifuna cooperatives at Santa Rosa de Aguan.

Financial pressures and inadequate information about fair market price help to explain why the purchase price was so low that Standard Fruit could recover their costs in six months, according to Raul Ruben in the book, "La Compra-Venta de Tierras de la Reforma Agraria", which is available from Editorial Guaymuras.

Since before the passage of the Modernization of Agriculture Law, there has been little emphasis on redistributing large land holdings. The main emphasis has been to give land titles to people already working on national lands.

Originally Honduras' Agrarian Reform Institute (INA) had no jurisdiction over Indian lands, but more recently the Institute has been the government's principle vehicle for resolving Indian land rights issues. Part of the idea of giving individual land titles is to permit rural people to borrow money, using their land as collateral. Many often lose their land that way.

Part of the conditions of the current World Bank loans is to give a certain number of land titles per year. "We will have to give land titles for the ocean floor to meet the number of titles in this condition," said a member of COHDEFOR's Protected Areas Department, which is concerned about government proposals to give agrarian reform titles around protected areas such as Punta Sal and the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve.

These changes in policies have had a number of results. One is an increase in rural theft. "The people who sold their lands have nothing to live from now, for them or their children, so now they steal," said a resident of Aguas Amarillas, where five other co-ops have sold out. This is also an effect of having received a very low price.

Several co-ops in Colon previously grew tomatoes, cabbages, plantains, and basic grains like rice and corn for the local market. As these co-ops are bought and converted to commercial export agriculture -- African palm, bananas, cattle -- the supply of fresh vegetables to local markets has fallen. This is one of the reasons that North Coast Hondurans currently include few fruits and vegetables in their diet, except during mango season, noted a study by Home Economic students of the National Teaching University. The drop in production of basic grains is also causing Honduras to import them at higher costs, and using scarce foreign currency reserves.

Some of the cooperatives that had been formed are now failing to work as co-ops and are petitioning the government to divide up the land individually, states a co-op member. This is in part because they have seen people who do not work equally hard, but who want equal share of the money. Also the leadership of the co-ops got more of the money, while people out in the field felt they got less. Theft problems affected particularly co-ops working with plantains, which made them abandon this crop.

Libreria Guaymuras has several excellent studies of Honduras' Agrarian Reform movement for those who are interested.

TEGUCIGALPA -- The recent drop in the price of Honduran coffee on the New York Stock Exchange due to allegations of inferior quality this week became a major point of discord among different factions of Liberals in power.

These factions, battling for control over policies involving one of the nation's most important export products, took their struggle all the way to the National Congress.

Jose Angel Saavedra, chair of Congress' Sugar and Coffee commission, recently accused Fernando Montes, manager of the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE), of deceitful and harmful behavior on behalf of Honduras when he informed the general public about the attempt to damage the prestige of Honduran coffee in the New York commodities exchange.

Montes, who is also president of the International Coffee Organization (IOC), denied the accusation, blaming the whole affair on backroom politics while at the same time describing the nation's congressmen as riffraff.

Banker Jaime Rosenthal Oliva, a prominent member of the Liberal Party and former presidential candidate, reputedly initiated the affair in an attempt to get his friend and fellow politician Carlos Montoya the post of IHCAFE director, reasoning that he helped pull votes to President Flores in last year's elections.

Apparently, the "Rosenthalistas" -- followers of Jaime Rosenthal -- were irked over the fact that Montes would remain in his post until his term as ICO president concludes.

In his appearance before Congress, Montes responded to the report prepared by Saavedra and blamed him for the international anti-Honduran coffee campaign that resulted in a significant drop in export coffee prices.

Despite his explanations, Liberal Party congressmen refused to give Montes a vote of confidence in part because they claim that he is "pretty boy" of a small group of coffee producing families, and well as offending them with insults.

La Tribuna, one of Honduras' most influential daily newspapers, recently published an editorial in which analysts urge groups involved to try and maintain the peace by avoiding further confrontations that affect national interests and ultimately coffee production.

"Something that was resolved in favor of national interests at the end of May should not be used by nervous political factions as a means of causing instability and further damaging the credibility of public institutions as well as the prestige and integrity of national coffee representatives."

In its July 14 international edition, The Miami Herald reported that the government of Honduras is about to launch a major effort to restore security in the country, after an unprecedented wave of criminal violence including bank robberies, car theft, murders, kidnappings, and assaults on businesses and homes.

Presidential advisor Juan Bendeck has promised "a very strong response from the government against crime." While he was not specific, parts of the business community have requested that President Flores send the military into the streets to contain crime. Bendeck said the government plan is "aimed at creating an environment of security throughout the country..."

Whether any of this makes people in Honduras outside the business community nervous is not being reported. In a nation that has witnessed military coup's too numerous to mention, sending the military into the streets may symbolize and suggest things that call into question the vitality of democracy.

How, for example, would this be different from the imposition of martial law? Would tanks in the Parque Central and soldiers with assault rifles on every corner create an environment of security? These are questions the government must surely be struggling with as it attempts to respond and act.

Mayor offers to teach hookers computer science

Tegucigalpa Mayor Cesar Castellanos has offered to teach the prostitutes of the capital's red light district computer science if they promise to abandon prostitution, the daily La Tribuna reported Monday (July 13).

Castellanos was scheduled to meet with the owners of the brothels in Barrio Belen, the city's red-light district, this week to discuss his proposals and the fate of an estimated 200 prostitutes in light of the city council's recent decision to close down the brothels.

According to the mayor, the city is planning to establish a school to teach computer science basics to former gang members, and this program could be extended to include prostitutes. Castellanos added that the city government could also teach the prostitutes dress, handicraft, and pastry making should they so desire. Previously, he offered jobs in city hall to any of the district's prostitutes who were interested.

The Health Ministry this week announced that nearly 2,000 more cases of malaria have been reported through June of this year compared with 1997 figures. According to Vice Minister of Health Elliethe Giron, 14,531 cases have been reported compared to 12,750 over the same period last year.

Contrary to statements made by Congressman Frank Goff of Gracias a Dios department, La Mosquitia is not the most affected area of the country. Giron said 1,900 cases have been reported so far in La Mosquitia, equivalent to 2 percent of the population. Goff had asserted that 35 percent of the people there had malaria. She said the most affected areas are Danli and Jamastran Valley in El Paraiso department, Olancho, and the North Coast towns of Tocoa, Olanchito, Trujillo and La Ceiba.

Unless preventive measures are taken now, the population of Honduras could double by the year 2020, said United Nations Population Fund representative Jairo Palacios in a La Tribuna report Tuesday (July 14).

According to UNPF statistics, Honduras has a birth rate of 2.9 percent that, although down from its previous rate of 3.4 percent, is among the highest in Latin America. Honduras' high rate is due in part to the large number of teen births here. It is estimated that for every 1,000 inhabitants, there are 115 teen births each year. Honduras currently has a population of almost 6 million.

American found shot to death

A U.S. citizen was found shot to death in his rented home in Sandy Bay, Roatan last Sunday. The victim's name is being withheld until notification of his family. The case is currently under investigation by the local police force and the U.S. embassy.

Six heavily armed individuals on Friday (July 10) held up the Banco Capital branch located in Tegucigalpa's Colonia Villa Olimpica. According to the daily La Tribuna, two of the thugs entered the bank posing as clients, followed moments later by their companions who easily overpowered the bank's security guards. The thugs made off with an estimated Lps. 90,000, a 38 caliber pistol and a shotgun.

Law enforcement authorities this week arrested 11 persons in San Pedro Sula for the possession and distribution of crack, the daily La Prensa reported Tuesday (July 14).

On Sunday, the police detained two women at a pulperia in Barrio Suncery in possession of Lps. 500 and a small quantity of crack. Rosa Hernandez, one of the detainees, admitted that she was a small-time dealer and told authorities who her distributor was. The following day Harry Palmer was arrested, and later that day the police broke into his home in the Lusiana neighborhood, where they found a crack laboratory.

Several of the detainees were reportedly apprehended while taking the drug in a vacant lot next to Palmer's residence.

Monday, July 13, 1998 Online Edition 114

Special Services Police strike leaves banks unprotected

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Demanding better wages and benefits, Special Services Police went on strike Tuesday (July 7), leaving many public and private buildings including banks unprotected.

The strike was initiated by 150 officers of the Special Services Department of the Public Security Force (FSP) due to the tardiness in the payment of this agency's monthly payroll and to express their dissatisfaction over the elimination of their unit in the new National Police Law.

In light of the new legislation, the FSP commander and the commission overseeing the transfer of the police from military to civilian hands decided to transfer members of the special unit to other departments.

Beginning early Tuesday morning, many banking and other private institutions found themselves at the mercy of thieves. Among other complaints, strikers claim that they haven't been paid neither their June salary nor summer bonus, blaming members of the National Police transfer commission for not fulfilling satisfactorily their duties.

"Since the bank service has been cut off, now they want to transfer us to another police agency, but first we want compensation for the time we worked here," said agent Sebastian Meza.

A special services agent earns a monthly salary of Lps. 1,600.00, which is paid from the payments made by businesses that hire their services.

"We don't want to be transferred without first receiving indemnization because we didn't earn a government salary." The trouble began in previous administrations when bank managers would directly pay police commanders who then would pocket part of the money.

According to the strikers, police officers would charge banks the amount of Lps. 1,800.00 for the services of one agent, who in turn only received Lps. 900.00. It wasn't until the police transfer commission was formed that the agents received better pay.

On Wednesday, the strike was still on in front of the offices of the police transfer commission. Strikers stated that if it is necessary, they will also take their demands to the Presidential Palace and the Public Ministry's Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights.

Victim of alleged malpractice dies
A 24-year old mother on Saturday (July 4) died of an acute infection caused by a compress left in her abdomen following surgery seven months ago.

According to the daily La Tribuna, Yolanda Veronica Osorio Hernandez was admitted to the Materno Infantil Hospital on Nov. 5, 1997 after entering labor. Due to complications, physicians performed a caesarean section but unintentionally left a compress in her abdomen.

Forty-five days after the operation, Osorio returned to the Materno Infantil Hospital with a severe infection, but was denied admission by hospital authorities who stated that the 40-day time limit for complications arising from birth had expired. Finally, two months after giving birth doctors decided to operate due to the seriousness of the infection. Osorio then underwent eight more operations without any significant improvements to her health.

Relatives allege that the doctors never informed the victim or her family the exact nature of the operations. Through a third party, however, relatives later learned that the physicians who performed the C-section had failed to remove a compress, which had decayed and perforated her large intestine.

After conducting his own investigations, Juan Manuel Osorio, the victim's father, filed a malpractice suit against the doctors through the Special Prosecutor's Office for Women.

Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities investigating the case were surprised to find that the part of the victim's hospital file containing information on the operating team was completely mutilated. However, Hospital Director Carlos Huezo has promised to provide the names of the physicians to Judge Armando Corea, who is hearing the case.

This is the second case of medical negligence to occur during the last few weeks. Previously, the local press reported that Nariso Hernandez became paralyzed following an operation on his right femur. A preliminary review of his case revealed that he was allergic to the anesthesia used during the operation.

Malpractice suits are infrequent in Honduras, and winning such a suit highly uncommon.

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Col. Julian Aristides Gonzalez Irias on Thursday (July 2) was sworn in as the new vice minister of Defense by President Flores, putting an end to a brief and apparently unintended impasse between the Armed Forces and the presidency.

Last week, the military announced that Col. Neptali Lara Alvarado had been named to succeed Efrain Gutierrez Ardon as vice minister of Defense as part of a series of military rotations. However, the Office of the Presidency immediately replied that only the president of Honduras had the authority to change ministers and vice ministers.

Acknowledging their mistake, the Armed Forces then sent a list of colonels eligible for the post and Gonzalez was selected. At the time of his selection, Gonzalez was director of Military Doctrine and Instruction at the Joint Command Staff.

Armed with AK-47 assault rifles and 9mm handguns, four thugs broke into the Banco de Occidente branch in Guaimaca, overpowered security guards, and made off with approximately Lps. 2 million last Wednesday (July 1), the daily La Tribuna reported. Eyewitness reports stated that another eight thugs were staked outside the bank to keep a lookout for the police. The thugs made their escape in two vehicles, one of which was a red pick-up truck. The police arrived nearly an hour after the holdup. The robbery was the ninth this year.

One inmate was killed and four more injured during a breakout from the Tela prison facilities in Tela on Wednesday (July 8). According to the daily La Tribuna, a group of inmates overpowered a security guard as he was opening the main prison gate to let in a delivery truck, stabbing him once in the stomach with a handmade knife.

Eight inmates escaped through the gate before authorities were able to regain control of the prison population. Meanwhile, the police pursued the escapees, killing Jose Vivar Pena about 1 km from the facilities and wounding two others. Four inmates remain at large as of Thursday. The Tela prison has 10 security guards to watch over approximately 160 inmates.

In other prison news, La Tribuna reported that the first group of inmates were recently transferred from the decrepid Central Penitentiary to the new prison facilities at Tamara, which has now been inaugurated three times by the government.

In light of mounting public outrage, the San Pedro Sula city council on Wednesday (July 8) voted to return the salaries of the mayor and councilmen to their former levels, the daily La Prensa reported.

Last week, the city council voted to raise Mayor Roberto Larios Silva's salary from Lps. 15,000 to Lps. 50,000 a month and councilmen's salaries from Lps. 12,000 to Lps. 35,000. The raises immediately sparked a public outcry due to the large amount and the financial difficulties the city has experienced in recent years. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Larios is also a millionaire.

Meanwhile, the National Congress announced it will discuss legislation to limit the amount a mayor or councilman can earn, as well as a reduction in the number of councilmen. The proposal currently being discussed is to set a salary ceiling equivalent to 25 times the monthly minimum wage for mayors of cities with populations over 80,000 and 12 times the minimum wage for councilmen.

Monday, July 6, 1998 Online Edition 113

Change of defense vice minister by military causes stir

TEGUCIGALPA -- Six months before handing over command of the Armed Forces and the transition to a Ministry of Defense, Gen. Mario Raul Hung Pacheco this week announced a series of rotations and the substitution of the current vice minister of Defense.

Since President Flores is, according to the constitution, in charge of naming the minister and vice minister of Defense, the substitution of Col. Efrain Gutierrez Ardon, the current defense vice minister, provoked an impasse between the presidency and the Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Hung.

But in less than 24 hours the issue was resolved when the Armed Forces admitted their mistake at announcing the replacement of Gutierrez Ardon. It should be noted that Gutierrez Ardon has been lobbying to obtain the position that Gen. Hung will soon leave.

While President Flores picks his successor, the replacement of Jose Neptali Lara Alvarado remains in suspense because the officer nominated for 110th Brigade in Danli, El Paraiso, Col. Jorge Alberto Rodas, already took command.

These barrack maneuvers have reportedly caused unrest in the military because they consider that the 13th graduating class of the Francisco Morazan Military Academy has been favored over others.

The most notorious change has been of Col. Rodolfo Interiano Portillo from commander of the 105th Brigade in San Pedro Sula to chief of staff.

Interiano is also aspiring to succeed Hung, and his classmates of the 12th graduating class consider him a "climber," always having a good job and being under the wing of the top military chiefs.

In other major changes, Col. Jorge Abelardo Andino Almendarez will take charge of the 105th Brigade in San Pedro Sula. Col. Rodolfo Raul Diaz Velasquez will take over the 101st Brigade in Choluteca, Col. Jorge Alberto Rodas Gamero of the 110th Brigade in Danli, and Col. Jose Antonio Cuellar Rios of the 115th Brigade in Olancho.

Battalions commanders were also changed. In the 1st Battalion, Col. Luis Alonso Cordon Barahona from the 4th Battalion will take charge. Marco Tulio Ayala Vindel will replace him at the 4th Battalion. The 2nd Battalion will be taken over by Col. Luis Alonso Maldonado Galeas.

Col. Nery Javier Gomez Rodriguez will direct the 6th Infantry Battalion and in the 10th, Lt. Col. Froylan Banegas Lopez was named. Lt. Col. Julio Cesar Avila Velasquez will command the 1st Battalion of Engineers.

The deputy director of Intelligence (C-2) will now be Col. Emanuel Flores Mejia and the secretary of the Confederation of Central American Armed Forces and the official liaison with the Foreign Ministry will be Col. Julian Aristides Gonzalez.

Col. Daniel Barahona Reyes was named director, and Col. Luis Alonso Velasquez was named deputy director of the Military Pension Institute (IPM).

The military attache in Chile will be Col. Jorge Alberto Cunas Romero.

Finally, the liaison between the Armed Forces and the Joint Task Force-Bravo will Col. Rafael Rivera Torres.

Military figures of the different graduating classes who previously aspired to hold relevant posts in the armed services felt cut off the moment Hung publicly asked President Flores to make the conversion from an autonomous Armed Forces to a real Defense Ministry.

Divisions within the Armed Forces began with the creation of the Superior Council of the Armed Forces (COSUFFAA) more than 20 years ago. Since then, officials aspiring to become chief of the Armed Forces obtained votes by making "campaign" promises, very similar to a presidential race.

That was how the winners enjoyed the fruits of power, while the defeated where sent away to occupy unwanted and insignificant posts, such as in the Ministry of Defense, whose Minister was just a figurehead. Officials considered assignments to the Defense Ministry the same as like serving time in purgatory, where only unimportant personnel winded up.

With the Defense Ministry directing the Armed Forces, the need for COSUFFAA is nonexistent. This way of directing the Armed Forces will eliminate the issue of fees, black masses, back room politics and other fix-ups.

Officials most affected and most annoyed by the events enacted by Hung on Monday (June 29) where the members of the 12th and 13th graduating classes of the Francisco Morazan Military Academy, because they felt they had the best chance of succeeding him.

The most powerful classes are the eighth and the ninth, which currently command this institution. However, they turn in power expires next year, while officials of the 10th and 11th graduating classes are scheduled to retire in the year 2000.

These latter graduating classes lost their opportunity at one of their members becoming Armed Forces chief with the reelections held of Gen. Humberto Regalado Hernandez, who finalized the period started by Gen. Gustavo Alvarez Martinez who had been relieved by Walter Lopez Reyes -- another victim of a "barracks coup," much like Gen. Luis Alonso Discua Elvir who began by completing Arnulfo Cantarero's term and was then re-elected for another three years.

President Flores' term of office ends on Jan. 27, 2002, the year the 12th graduating class retires, and the following year the 13th class will finalize their cycle. This means that either as chief of the Armed Forces or as Defense Minister, they will be the new officials of this Institution for the next three years.

The new position to aspire after within the Defense Ministry will be that of the Chief of Staff, which will be in charge of Armed Forces operational activities.

Legislation to carry out these reforms will be prepared by a commission of notable civic and military leaders.

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One of two U.S. inmates held at the First Infantry Battalion at El Ocotal for security reasons broke out of his cell early Friday morning (June 26). According to the daily La Tribuna, Stephen Lewis Gilmore, also known as Louis Jay Kahn, took advantage of inadequate security measures to slip through a small hole in the ceiling of his habitation. Once outside, Gilmore reportedly made his way to a helicopter that was waiting for him outside the military facilities. There was only one guard assigned to watch over Gilmore at the time of his escape.

Gilmore, along with Patrick Valle, were moved to the military unit from their cells in the Central Penitentiary earlier this year for their safety following the execution of a Honduran citizen at an Arizona state prison. Prison authorities had feared that Honduran inmates might try to kill the Americans in reprisal for the execution.

A security guard at the Central Penitentiary told La Tribuna that Gilmore had previously offered US$80,000 to several persons to help him escape.

Law enforcement authorities last weekend arrested Julio Andres Escobar for allegedly making illegal bank transfers through the Internet.

According to a report in the daily La Tribuna Monday (June 29), the 19-year-old hacker with the assistance of Efrain Garcia Erazo of Guatemala and a Costa Rican gained unauthorized access to files in the computer systems of several regional banks, including Banco de El Ahorro (BANCAHORRO) and Banco la Capitalizadora Hondurena (BANCAHSA) of Honduras and Banco El Comercio de Nicaragua. Once in the banks' computer systems, the hackers transferred unspecified quantities of dollars and lempiras to their accounts.

Authorities had been alerted to the band's activities with the earlier arrest of Jorge Walter Garcia, an accomplice. Garcia Erazo, considered by authorities to be the brains behind the operation, and the Costa Rican are still at large.

One person was killed and six others injured during the theft of Lps. 1.4 million from two North Coast assembly plants last Saturday (June 27).

According to the daily El Heraldo, eight thugs posing as clients entered the maquiladora Paraiso in a van and immediately overpowered two security guards. A third guard fired on the assailants, wounding one. However, the thugs -- armed with AK-47s and 9mm pistols -- returned fire, instantly killing Ruben Martinez Rivas. Also wounded in the gunbattle were a security guard, the company's personnel manager, and a Korean executive. After stealing Lps. 950,000, the thieves escaped in a stolen vehicle.

Somewhat later, delinquents in two cars opened fire on a vehicle that was taking the payroll to the maquiladora Seolin de Honduras. Wounded in the assault were Korean executives Imsa Park and Kee Hyun Lee and Marcia Sauceda, the company's accountant. The thieves stole Lps. 450,000.

Mayor Roberto Larios Silva and the San Pedro Sula city council this week received colossal pay raises despite years of financial problems and deficits, the daily La Tribuna reported Wednesday (July 1). Silva, who was earning Lps. 15,000 (US$1128) a month, is now getting a whopping Lps. 50,000 ($3760) while the salaries of the 10 city councilmen jumped from Lps. 12,000 ($902) to Lps. 35,000 ($2631).

Larios Silva, who said the city council unanimously approved the raises last Friday, described the new salaries as fair, logical, and normal for public officials with important responsibilities. The minimum wage in Honduras is less than Lps. 1,000 a month (US$75).

Retired Col. Jose Jorge Solorzano, the chief of the presidential honor guard during the administration of Gen. Juan Alberto Melgar Castro, reportedly committed suicide in his Comayaguela residence last Thursday (June 25), the daily La Tribuna reported. Relatives told law enforcement authorities that the 66-year-old army officer had been depressed in recent weeks due to a serious affliction.