Editing History of Honduras (section)

===1980s===
[[File:F5e-fah.gif|left|thumb|In 1986 Honduras bombed two Nicaraguan towns.]]

[[Roberto Suazo Córdova]] won the elections on an ambitious program of economic and social development to tackle the country's recession. During this time, Honduras also assisted the [[Contras|contra]] guerillas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/13/politics/cables-show-central-negroponte-role-in-80s-covert-war-against.html|title=Cables Show Central Negroponte Role in 80's Covert War Against Nicaragua|first=Scott|last=Shane|newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 April 2005}}</ref>

President Suazo launched ambitious social and economic development projects sponsored by American development aid. Honduras became host to the largest [[Peace Corps]] mission in the world, and nongovernmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated.<ref name="DOS-Honduras">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1922.htm|title=Background Note: Honduras|publisher=United States Department of State}}</ref>
From 1972 to 1983, Honduras was governed by military juntas.

Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged a campaign against [[Marxist–Leninist]] rebels such as the [[People's Liberation Movement - Cinchoneros|Cinchoneros Popular Liberation Movement]], notorious for kidnappings and bombings,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/exgi_0001_0001_0/exgi_0001_0001_0_00044.html|title=Cinchoneros Popular Liberation Movement|access-date=5 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515130507/http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/exgi_0001_0001_0/exgi_0001_0001_0_00044.html|archive-date=15 May 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> and many non-militants. The operation included a campaign of extrajudicial killings by government units, most notably the CIA-trained [[Battalion 3-16 (Honduras)|Battalion 3-16]].<ref>[http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-negroponte3a,0,3966794.story??track=sto-relcon "A survivor tells her story"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930040920/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-negroponte3a,0,3966794.story?%3Ftrack=sto-relcon |date=30 September 2007 }} ''baltimoresun.com'', 15 June 1995, retrieved 8 January 2007.</ref>

[[File:82nd Airborne troops jump from C-141Bs in 1988.JPEG|thumb|American troops arriving in Honduras in 1988 during Operation Golden Pheasant.]]

Numerous trade unionists, academics, farmers and students disappeared. Declassified documents show that U.S. Ambassador [[John Negroponte]] personally intervened to prevent possible disclosures of these crimes, in order to avoid "creating human rights problems in Honduras". The U.S. established a continuing military presence in Honduras to support the [[Contra (guerrillas)|Contra]] guerillas fighting the [[Sandinista]] [[Nicaragua]]n government, and to support the fight against leftist guerrillas in El Salvador and Guatemala. They also developed an air strip and a modern port in Honduras. U.S. military assistance to Honduras increased from $4 million in 1981 to $77.4 million in 1984.<ref>Alexander Main, Passage en force au Honduras, Le Monde, 2018</ref>

[[Roberto Suazo Córdova|President Suazo]], relying on U.S. support, created ambitious social and economic development projects to help with a severe economic recession and with the perceived threat of regional instability. As the November 1985 election approached, the [[Liberal Party of Honduras|PLH]] could not settle on a presidential candidate and interpreted election law as permitting multiple candidates from any one party. The PLH claimed victory when its presidential candidates collectively outpolled the [[National Party of Honduras|PNH]] candidate, [[Rafael Leonardo Callejas]], who received 42% of the total vote. [[José Azcona del Hoyo|José Azcona]], the candidate receiving the most votes (27%) among the [[Liberal Party of Honduras|PLH]], assumed the presidency in January 1986. With strong endorsement and support from the Honduran military, the Suazo administration ushered in the first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents in more than 30 years. In 1989 he oversaw the dismantling of Contras which were based in Honduras.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/07/world/with-contras-fate-at-stake-honduran-is-man-in-middle-at-talks.html "With Contras' Fate at Stake, Honduran Is Man in Middle at Talks"] ''NY Times'', 7 August 1990, retrieved 5 November 2009.</ref>

In 1988, in [[Operation Golden Pheasant]], US forces were deployed to Honduras in response to Nicaraguan attacks on Contra supply caches in Honduras.