Editing Armed Forces of Honduras (section)

==History==
===Early republican era===
The Armed Forces of Honduras were created through article 44, subsection 4 of the First Constitution of the Legislative Chamber in 1825, with the First Supreme Head of State being the Attorney [[Dionisio de Herrera]], for which, they ordered the effective birth of the Honduran army in dated December 11, 1825 and for its greater mobility, it was divided into battalions with the name of each of the seven departments Comayagua the capital, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, Olancho, Yoro, Gracias and Santa Bárbara that were in charge of strategically and tactically covering order and defense of the state, under French military doctrine. In 1831 the Military School was created with a seat at the San Francisco Barracks, and Colonel Narciso Benítez of Colombian origin was appointed director; From this school graduated: [[Francisco Morazán]], [[José María Antonio de la Cruz Márquez|José Antonio Márquez]], [[Diego Vigil y Cocaña|Diego Vigil]], [[Liberato Moncada]], [[Joaquín Rivera]] and [[José Santos Guardiola]] who were presidents of Honduras, among others.

The first weaponry used was flintlock and gunpowder, the product of mixing sulfur, saltpeter, and coal in relative quantities: the [[Remington Rolling Block rifle|Remington]] single-load rifle was one of the first bullet rifles that were introduced into the country during the government of General José María Medina. 

=== Mid 19th centrury ===
The second stage of the Armed Forces is between the years 1842 and 1876 when the collective uniform emerged in the mid-1840s when the troops of General José Santos Guardiola faced those of General Nicolás Ángulo, in 1845 in the " Combate del Obrajuelo ", in [[San Miguel, El Salvador|San Miguel]], El Salvador.

In 1865 the first attempt was made to organize a [[Navy|Naval Force]] with its respective regulations; however, the cost of this service made it unsustainable; However, there were several attempts to reactivate the idea and one of them was carried out by Doctor [[Policarpo Bonilla]], who ordered the construction of the Tatumbla steamship in the Kiel shipyard, Germany on November 22, 1895, and then in 1896 respectively, General Manuel Bonilla had the 'Hornet built. While he administered Honduras, the Doctor and General Don [[Tiburcio Carías Andino|Tiburcio Carias Andino]] also ordered the construction of the steamers Búfalo and El Tigre. On January 1, 1881, the first Military Code of the Honduran army was issued, a legal instrument to govern its own organization.

=== 20th century ===
During the twentieth century, Honduran military leaders frequently became presidents, either [[History of Honduras#1899-1948|through elections]] or by [[coup d'état|coups d'état]]. General [[Tiburcio Carías Andino]] was elected in 1932, he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to be reelected, and his rule became more authoritarian until an election in 1948.

During the [[History of Honduras#1955–1979|following decades]], the military of Honduras carried out several coups d'état, starting in October 1955. General [[Oswaldo López Arellano]] carried out the next coup in October 1963 and a second in December 1972, followed by coups in 1975 by [[Juan Alberto Melgar Castro]] and in 1978 by [[Policarpo Paz García]].

===1980s===
Events during the 1980s in [[El Salvador]] and [[Nicaragua]] led [[Honduras]] – with [[United States|US]] assistance – to expand its [[military|armed forces]] considerably, laying particular emphasis on its [[Honduran Air Force|air force]], which came to include a squadron of US-provided [[Northrop F-5|F-5]]s.

The military unit [[Battalion 3-16 (Honduras)|Battalion 316]] carried out political [[assassination]]s and the [[torture]] of suspected political opponents of the government during this same period. Battalion members received training and support from the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]], in [[Honduras]], at U.S. military bases<ref name="baltimoresun_battalion316">{{cite news|first=Gary |last=Cohn |author2=Ginger Thompson |title=When a wave of torture and murder staggered a small U.S. ally, truth was a casualty |date=1995-06-11 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-negroponte1a,0,294534.story |access-date=2009-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522165946/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-negroponte1a,0,294534.story |archive-date=2011-05-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in [[Chile]] during the presidency of the dictator [[Augusto Pinochet]].<ref name="Nizkor316">[[Equipo Nizkor]], [http://www.margen.org/articu/nizkor1.html LA APARICION DE OSAMENTAS EN UNA ANTIGUA BASE MILITAR DE LA CIA EN HONDURAS REABRE LA PARTICIPACION ARGENTINO-NORTEAMERICANA EN ESE PAIS.], ''[[Margen]]'' {{in lang|es}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] estimated that at least 184 people [[forced disappearance|"disappeared"]] from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras, most likely due to actions of the Honduran military.<ref name="AI_honduras_1980s">{{cite web| title =Honduras: Still waiting for justice| publisher =[[Amnesty International]]| year =1998| url =https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr37/004/1998/en/ | access-date =2009-07-27 }}</ref>

===1990s===
The resolution of the civil wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and across-the-board budget cuts made in all ministries, has brought reduced funding for the Honduran Armed Forces. The abolition of the draft has created staffing gaps in the now all-volunteer armed forces. The military is now far below its authorized strength, and further reductions are expected. In January 1999, the Constitution was amended to abolish the position of military Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, thus codifying civilian authority over the Military.

===2000s===
Since 2002, soldiers have been involved in crime prevention and law enforcement, patrolling the streets of the major cities alongside the national police.

====2009====
{{main|2009 Honduran constitutional crisis|Human rights in Honduras#Roberto Micheletti de facto presidency}}

On 28 June 2009, in the context of a [[2009 Honduran constitutional crisis|constitutional crisis]], the Military, acting on orders of the Supreme Court of Justice, [[2009 Honduran constitutional crisis#Coup d'état|arrested the President Manuel Zelaya]], after which they forcibly removed elected President Zelaya from Honduras. See the article [[2009 Honduran constitutional crisis]] regarding claims regarding legitimacy and illegitimacy of the event, and events preceding and following the removal of Zelaya from Honduras.

The military's chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza Membreño, made public statements regarding the removal of Zelaya. On June 30, he showed a detention order, apparently signed June 26 by a Supreme Court judge, which ordered the armed forces to detain the president.<ref name="courtorder">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/world/americas/02coup.html | title=Leader's Ouster Not a Coup, Says the Honduran Military|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 1, 2009|last=Lacy|first=Marc|access-date=July 3, 2009}}</ref> Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order: "In the moment that we took him out of the country, in the way that he was taken out, there is a crime. Because of the circumstances of the moment this crime occurred, there is going to be a justification and cause for acquittal that will protect us."<ref name="MH-03-07-2009">English summary of interview with the legal counsel of the Honduras armed forces, Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza, {{cite news|first=Frances |last=Robles |title=Top Honduran military lawyer: We broke the law |date=2009-07-03 |newspaper=[[Miami Herald]] |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/1506/story/1125872.html |access-date=2009-09-06 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5jb00TM3J?url=http://www.miamiherald.com/1506/story/1125872.html |archive-date=2009-09-06 |url-status=live }}; original {{cite web|last=Dada |first=Carlos |author2=José Luis Sanz |title=Cometimos un delito al sacar a Zelaya, pero había que hacerlo |publisher=El Faro.net, El Salvador |date=2009-07-02 |url=http://www.elfaro.net/secciones/Noticias/20090629/noticias16_20090629.asp |access-date=2009-09-06 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5jayZVstj?url=http://www.elfaro.net/secciones/Noticias/20090629/noticias16_20090629.asp |archive-date=2009-09-06 |url-status=dead |language=es }}</ref> He said the decision was taken by the military leadership "in order to avoid bloodshed".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cooperativa.cl/prontus_nots/site/artic/20090703/pags/20090703161258.html|title=Ejército de Honduras reconoció que cometió un delito al sacar a Zelaya|work=www.cooperativa.cl|publisher=Compañía Chilena de Comunicaciones S.A.|language=es|access-date=2009-07-05}}</ref>

Following the 2009 ouster of the president, the Honduran military together with other government security forces were allegedly responsible for thousands of allegedly [[Detenido desaparecido|arbitrary detentions]]<ref name="CIDH_en_prelim">{{cite web|title=Preliminary Observations on the IACHR Visit to Honduras |publisher=[[Inter-American Court of Human Rights]] |date=2009-08-21 |url=http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2009/60-09eng.Preliminary.Observations.htm |access-date=2009-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830232144/http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2009/60-09eng.Preliminary.Observations.htm |archive-date=2009-08-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Detenido desaparecido|and for several forced disappearances]] and [[extrajudicial execution]]s of opponents to the ''de facto'' government, including members of the [[Democratic Unification Party]]. However, evidence about these actions has yet to be provided and there has been some questioning in local media about the actual perpetrators, suggesting that they could actually be related to disputes within the leftists organizations themselves.<ref name="cofadeh_report_20090715">{{cite web|title=Informe Preliminar Violaciones A Derechos Humanos En El Marco Del Golpe De Estado En Honduras |publisher=[[Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras]] |date=2009-07-15 |url=http://www.cofadeh.org/html/documentos/informe_violaciones_ddhh_golpe_estado.doc |access-date=2009-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029175718/http://www.cofadeh.org/html/documentos/informe_violaciones_ddhh_golpe_estado.doc |archive-date=2009-10-29 |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref name="internat_mission_FIDHetc_prelim090806">{{cite web|title=International Observation Mission for the Human Rights Situation in Honduras Preliminary Report – Confirmed systematic human rights violations in Honduras since the coup d'etat |publisher=Upside Down World |date=2009-08-06 |url=http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2040/68/ |access-date=2009-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809131815/http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2040/68/ |archive-date=2009-08-09 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="internat_mission_FIDHetc_final_es_090806">{{cite web|last=Pérez |first=Luis Guillermo |display-authors=etal |title=Gobierno de facto viola derechos humanos |publisher=Agencia Latinoamerica de Información |date=2009-08-06 |url=http://alainet.org/active/32206 |access-date=2009-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203021554/http://alainet.org/active/32206 |archive-date=2009-12-03 |url-status=live |language=es }}</ref><ref name="enlazando_mission090730">{{cite web|title=International Mission denounces the brutal repression of pacific demonstrations |publisher=Agencia Latinoamerica de Información |date=2009-07-30 |url=http://www.alainet.org/active/32099 |access-date=2009-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724231655/http://www.alainet.org/active/32099 |archive-date=2011-07-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="quixote_hnAG">{{cite web |last=Quixote Center Emergency Delegation of Solidarity, Accompaniment and Witness |title=Letter to Honduran Attorney General Rubi |publisher=Quixote Center |date=2009-08-07 |url=http://quixote.org/node/934 |access-date=2009-08-09 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20101127152452/http://quixote.org/node/934 |archive-date=2010-11-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="hrw_responds_to_93academics">{{cite web|last=Human Rights Watch|author-link=Human Rights Watch|title=Honduras: Rights Report Shows Need for Increased International Pressure |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=2009-08-25 |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/08/25/honduras-rights-report-shows-need-increased-international-pressure |access-date=2009-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828022918/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/08/25/honduras-rights-report-shows-need-increased-international-pressure |archive-date=2009-08-28 |url-status=live }}</ref>