Timeline Honduras
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Native Mayan tribes included the Chortis and
the
Lencas.
(SFC, 9/30/97, p.A13)
The population in 2003 was about 6.6 million.
(SSFC, 9/28/03, p.A1)
c1600BC Chocolate originated in
northern Honduras.
(SFEC, 5/16/99, BR p.8)
c900BC In Honduras archeologists in 1997 discovered
burial caves that date to this time. A cave from the same period was
discovered in 1994 near the Talgua River, known as the Cave of the
Glowing Skulls. The new cave was called the Cave of the Spiders.
(USAT, 2/12/97, p.9D)
c435-950 The Mayan city of Copan flourished.
(SFC, 9/30/97, p.A13)
437 Nov 30, A glyph in Copan
records this date and mentions the 1st and 2nd rulers of the city-state.
(NG, 12/97, p.81)
573 In Copan the Rosalila
structure on the Acropolis culminated a period of intense construction
(NG, 12/97, p.92)
738AD Butz Tiliw’ or Cauac Sky
defeated his overlord, Copan’s 13th ruler, 18 Rabbit. Monuments to this
event are at the Quirigua Maya site in Guatemala.
(AM, May/Jun 97 suppl. p.F)
746AD Jun 12, The estimated date
for the dedication of the Mayan Temple 22 in Copan.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.31)
763 Altar Q depicts Yax Pasah,
Copan’s last dynastic ruler, receiving the symbolic baton of office
from founder K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ in this year.
(NG, 12/97, p.80)
c900 The Mayan city-state of Copan
was abandoned
(NG, 12/97, p.80)
c1500-1600 The Lenca Indian chieftain Lempira
withdrew to the high mountains to lead resistance against the
Spaniards. According to legend he plunged to his death from a rocky
outcrop near the summit of the highest peak. The Indians developed the
Quezungal method of farming, where crops were planted under trees that
kept hillsides from eroding.
(SFC, 11/18/98, p.A14)
1502 May 11, Columbus embarked on
his 4th voyage with 150 men in 4 caravels. Among those in the fleet
were Columbus's brother Bartholomew, and Columbus' younger son
Fernando, then just 13 years old.
(EWH, 1968, p.390)(WSJ, 1/11/99,
p.R49)(http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/v4.htm)
1502 Jul, Columbus reached the
coast of Honduras during his 4th voyage and passed south to Panama.
(http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/v4.htm)
1543-1773 The Palacio de los Capitanes in Antigua,
Guatemala, was the center for Spanish rule over Chiapas, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua during this period.
(SFEM, 6/13/99, p.32)
1576 Mar 8, Diego Garcia de
Palacios, a representative of Spain's King Felipe II, wrote to the
crown with news of the ruins at Copan in western Honduras.
(AP, 3/7/05)
1797 Some 5,000 black Carib
Indians, also known as Garifuna or Garinagu, were exiled from St.
Vincent Island to Roatan Island off of Honduras. The Garifuna
defined themselves not by country or territory but by language and
culture.
(SFEC, 5/4/97, p.T11)(SFC, 4/27/98, p.A6)
1806 A ruling by the Spanish king
set a boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua projecting eastward along
the 15th parallel from the mouth of the Coco River. In 1999 Nicaragua
filed a border case against Honduras with the UN. It was resolved in
2007.
(AP, 10/8/07)
1821 Sep 15, A junta convened by
the captain-general in Guatemala declared independence for its
provinces Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua San Salvador and
Chiapas.
(AP, 9/15/97)(EWH, 1968, p.843)
1823 Jul 1, The United Provinces
of Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and San
Salvador) gained independence from Mexico. The union dissolved by 1840.
(PC, 1992, p.393)(ON, 12/99, p.5)
1839 Nov 17, Catherwood and
Stephens arrived at Copan, Honduras, and proceeded to explore the Mayan
ruins in the area.
(ON, 12/99, p.7)
1839 Nov 30, John Lloyd Stephens
left Copan for Guatemala City to locate the government of the United
Provinces of Central America.
(ON, 12/99, p.8)
1839 John Lloyd Stephens and
Frederick Catherwood explored Copan. John L. Stephens attempted to
purchase the Mayan city of Copan in Honduras.
(RFH-MDHP, p.217)(NG, 12/97, p.80)
1839-1840 The Liberals of the United Provinces of
Central America under leader Francisco Morazan were defeated in a civil
war led by Rafael Carrera. The confederation dissolved into its 4
component states: El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
(EWH, 1968, p.857)
1842 Francisco Morazan (b.1799),
Central American statesman and soldier, died. He served as the
president of the United Provinces of Central America.
(ON, 12/99, p.5)
1859 Roatan Island, 40 miles off
the mainland, was ceded to Honduras. The British had settled the island
with African slaves and the islanders speak English with a Caribbean
accent. It was controlled for a time by the pirate Henry Morgan.
(SFEC, 5/4/97, p.T10)
1860 Sep 12, William Walker
(b.1824), conqueror of Nicaragua, was convicted and executed by the
government of Honduras. The British had arrested him and turned him
over to the government. In 2008 Stephen Dando-Collins authored
“Tycoon’s War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow
America's Most Famous Military Adventurer.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(soldier))(SSFC, 4/10/05,
p.F4)
1894 The town of Copan Ruinas was
founded.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.29)
1907 Mar 21, US Marines arrived in
Honduras to protect American lives and interests in the wake of
political violence.
(SFC, 9/30/99, p.E5)(AP, 3/21/07)
1911 Feb 8, US helped overthrow
President Miguel Devila of Honduras.
(MC, 2/8/02)
1919 Sep 11, US marines invaded
Honduras (again).
(MC, 9/11/01)
1922 Feb 11, US "intervention
army" left Honduras.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1924 Feb 28, U.S. troops were sent
to Honduras to protect American interests during an election conflict.
(HN, 2/28/98)
1924 Mar 19, U.S. troops were
rushed to Tegucigalpa as the Honduran capital was taken by rebel
forces.
(HN, 3/19/98)
1934 April, An earthquake shook
western Honduras.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.25)
1944 Carlos Roberto Reina
(d.2003), a teenage Liberal Party activist, was imprisoned for six
months for protesting against dictator Tiburcio Carias.
(AP, 8/20/03)
1954 A three month strike was held
by some 60,000 workers against the US-based United Fruit Co. and other
land holders. They won improved labor conditions and influenced union
movements throughout Latin America.
(SFC, 10/24/98, p.A22)
1957 In Honduras the military
ousted the civilian president.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1960 The Central American Common
Market was set up by a treaty between El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and later Costa Rica. It fell apart by the end of the decade.
(Econ, 5/14/05,
p.41)(www.bartleby.com/65/ce/CentrACM.html)
1963 The military again ousted the
civilian president.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1969 Jun 27, Honduras and El
Salvador broke diplomatic relations due to soccer match. El Salvador
and Honduras fought a 4-day "Soccer War" when fans brought out
long-simmering tensions during World cup qualifying matches.
(WSJ, 6/19/98,
p.W7)(www.onwar.com/aced/data/sierra/soccer1969.htm)
1972 The military again ousted the
civilian president.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1974 Sep 18, Hurricane Fifi struck
Honduras with 110 mph winds. 5,000 died.
(MC, 9/18/01)
1974 Sep 19, Hurricane Fifi hit
the coast of Honduras; about 5,000 died. [see Sep 18]
(MC, 9/19/01)
1976 Feb 4, A 7-5-7.9 earthquake
hit Guatemala and Honduras. Some 23,000 Guatemalans, mostly Mayan
Indians, were killed. It destroyed 58,000 houses in the capital and 300
villages.
(NG, 6/1988, p.785,797)(SFEM, 6/13/99, p.8)(AP,
2/4/01)(AP, 6/22/02)
1980-1989 In Honduras death squads reportedly killed
184 people over the decade. During the 1980s the US provided training
and support for Battalion 316, a Honduran military unit, which had a
history of kidnapping, murder and torture of suspected leftists
subversives. Washington gave Honduras $1.4 billion in aid. By 2000
charges were put forth against 29 soldiers and officers, 8 of whom fled
justice.
(SFC, 1/28/97, p.A3)(SFC,11/26/97, p.C5)(SFC,
1/15/98, p.A12)(SFC, 2/23/00, p.A14)
1981 Nov 29, Honduras held
presidential elections. A total of 1,214,735 Hondurans, 80.7 percent of
those registered, voted, giving the PLH a sweeping victory.
(http://countrystudies.us/honduras/24.htm)
1982 Jan 27, Civilian rule resumed
in Honduras.
(www.heritage.org/Research/LatinAmerica/bg264.cfm)
1982 Dec 4, Guatemalan Pres. Rios
Montt met with US Pres. Ronald Reagan in Honduras. Reagan dismissed
reports of human rights abuses in the region and lifted an arms embargo
to resume sales to military rulers.
(SSFC, 2/14/04,
p.M3)(www.consortiumnews.com/2007/012907.html)
1982 In Honduras rebels, during
the height of conflict, kidnapped 104 businessmen and officials.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.A22)
1983 Jun, James Carney (53) of St.
Louis, Jesuit priest-turned-guerrilla, traveled to Nicaragua, where he
joined leftist guerrillas. He was captured by soldiers in September as
he led a column of 100 rebels across the border into Honduras. He was
never heard from again. Suspected remains found in early 2003 proved
false.
(AP, 1/29/03)(http://tinyurl.com/3ad6ek)
1983 Jul 19, In Honduras Reyes
Mata, a Cuban-trained doctor and guerrilla leader, led a unit of 96
Nicaraguan-trained rebels and Rev. James F. Carney into the Olancho.
They were routed by the Honduran army. American CIA records, disclosed
in 1998, reported that Mata was tortured and executed by the Honduran
army.
(SFC, 11/5/98,
p.C4)(www.fas.org/sgp/congress/hr051198/valladares.html)
1983 US forces built the
3,090-acre El Aguacate air base in Olancho province.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1986 Mar 25, President Ronald
Reagan ordered emergency aid for the Honduran army. U.S. helicopters
took Honduran troops to the Nicaraguan border.
(HN, 3/24/98)
1988 Mar 16, The US sent 3000
soldiers to Honduras.
(http://tinyurl.com/emoaj)
1988 Mar 17, Planeloads of U.S.
soldiers arrived at Palmerola Air Base in Honduras in a show of
strength ordered by President Reagan.
(AP, 3/17/98)
1989 Aug 5, Five Central American
presidents began meeting in Honduras to discuss a timetable for
dismantling Nicaraguan Contra bases.
(AP, 8/5/99)
1990 Some 2,000 members of 7
leftist clandestine organizations accepted and amnesty.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.A22)
1990-1994 Rafael Callejas served as president.
(SFC,11/26/97, p.C5)
1990-1998 Death squads had killed 701 people over
this period.
(SFC, 1/15/98, p.A12)
1992 The Honduran government was
forced to revoke a 40-year forest concession it had granted to a
Chicago-based paper company, Stone Container, after thousands of
Hondurans marched in protest.
(SFC, 6/25/96, p.A10)
1993 Sep 9-1993 Sep 14, Hurricane
Gert caused 76 deaths. It affected Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, and
Nicaragua.
(AP, 9/11/04)(www.wunderground.com)
1993 Nov 28, Carlos Roberto Reina
(1926-2003) was elected president of Honduras with promises to crack
down on corruption and reduce the role of the military.
{Honduras, Corruption}
(AP,
8/20/03)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Roberto_Reina)
1994 Jan, Liberal Party leader
Carlos Roberto Reina took over as President and promised to prosecute
corruption and end military influence over civil society.
(SFC,11/26/97, p.C5)
1996 July 20, A new sculpture
museum is scheduled to open in Copan National Park, Honduras, with
exhibits of Mayan work.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.25)
1996 May 29, A 15-year-old
Honduran girl spoke in Washington of sweatshop conditions under South
Korean owners in the production of clothing for the Kathie Lee Gifford
line for Wal-Mart. The National Labor Committee accused marketers such
as Eddie Bauer, J. Crew, and K-Mart of selling clothes made by underage
Honduran workers.
(SFC, 5/30/96, p.A5)
1996 Jun 19, A new mandated
manpower list revealed that the army is comprised of 12,115 troops,
including 12 generals and 2,013 officers. Soldiers in Honduras are not
allowed to vote.
(SFC, 6/20/96, p.A9)
1996 Aug 7, The attorney general
accused the army of spying on thousands of public officials, judges,
politicians and journalists.
(SFC, 8/8/96, p.C1)
1996 Some 4,000 Garifuna marched
on Tegucigalpa to demand property rights.
(SFEC, 5/4/97, p.T11)
1997 Jan 7, Chagas disease, a
parasitical illness, has infected an estimated 300,000 out of a
population of 5.8 mil. Some 65,000 were in the late stages.
(SFC, 1/7/97, p.A9)
1997 Apr 12, Candido Amador, a
Chorti tribal leader, was shot to death near the ruins of Copan after a
meeting with local landowners. He had demanded that the government turn
over 35,000 acres of land that was promised to the indigenous peoples
in an agreement with the Spanish colonial government in the 18th
century. Another leader, Ovidio Perez, was gunned down less than a
month later.
(SFC, 9/30/97, p.A13)
1997 Apr, In San Pedro Sula,
Honduras, Santos Padilla and his four brothers kidnapped 25-year-old
Ricardo Maduro Andreu as he left his home. The kidnappers opened fire
on a vehicle carrying Maduro Andreu and his bodyguard, Henry Rivas.
Rivas was killed and the gang grabbed a wounded Maduro Andreu, whose
lifeless body was discovered a short time later. Maduro Andreu's
father, Ricardo Maduro, was elected president of Honduras in 2002.
Three of the Padilla brothers were killed in May 1998 during a shootout
with police in Tegucigalpa. The fourth died a year later in another
gunbattle with authorities.
(AP, 6/7/06)
1997 Jul 2, US Aid to Honduras had
dropped to $28 million from a high of $229 million in 1985. The country
had the highest AIDS rate in Central America.
(WSJ, 7/2/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 11, Some 700 inmates
escaped from prisons at Santa Barbara and Trujillo after rioting
prisoners set fire to facilities and burned them to the ground.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A9)
1997 Aug 19, Lawmakers voted to
name Archbishop Oscar Andres Rodriguez to oversee the creation of a new
civilian police force.
(SFC, 8/21/97, p.A13)
1997 Aug 24, A power outage at a
state-run hospital resulted in the death of 14 patients. The Sunday
blackout was not reported until Monday.
(SFC, 8/26/97, p.C3)
1997 Aug 27, A secret CIA report
acknowledged that the CIA knew of human rights abuses by the Honduran
military in the 1980s. It was declassified in 1998.
(SFC, 10/24/98, p.A3)
1997 Nov 30, Carlos Flores Facusse
(47), a newspaper owner, appeared to have won the presidential
elections. He defeated Nora Gunera de Melgar of the National Party, the
widow of a former military president.
(SFC, 12/1/97, p.A12)
1998 Jul 12, Honduras, Guatemala
and El Salvador agreed to join forces to build a $2 billion railroad
network to link Central America with Mexico.
(SFC, 7/13/98, p.A8)
1998 Sep 23, Transparency Int’l,
an int’l. good-government advocacy group, said that Cameroon is viewed
as the most corrupt of the 85 countries rated. Nigeria, Tanzania,
Honduras and Paraguay filled out the bottom five. Denmark, Finland and
Sweden were seen as having the cleanest political systems.
(WSJ, 9/23/98, p.B17)
1998 Oct 22-1998 Nov 9, Hurricane
Mitch was one of the Caribbean's deadliest storms ever causing at least
at least 9,000 deaths in Central America. The storm hit Honduras,
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Jamaica, and Costa
Rica. Later reports put the death toll in Honduras to 6,076. In
Nicaragua the deaths reached 4,000, in Guatemala it was157, and in El
Salvador it was 222. The storm parked over Honduras and rain poured for
6 days straight. Aid of $66 mil was ordered from the US, $8 mil
from the EU, $11.6 mil from Spain along with pledges from other
countries and private organizations.
(SFC, 11/4/98, p.A9)(SFC, 11/6/98, p.A14)(AP,
9/11/04)(www.wunderground.com)
1998 Oct 31-Nov1, Hurricane Mitch
caused a major mud slide in Nicaragua when the Casita Volcano crater
lake overflowed. The death toll was estimated in the thousands. In
Honduras Mayor Cesar Castellanos of Tegucigalpa and 3 others were
killed in a helicopter crash while surveying the flood damage where
hundreds were estimated killed.
(SFC, 11/2/98, p.A1,17)
1998 Dec 1, The death toll from
Hurricane Mitch was lowered to 5,657. Some 8,058 were verified as
missing, 12,272 injured and 1.4 million homeless.
(SFC, 12/2/98, p.C12)
1998 Dec 4, Honduras declared a
national alert because of epidemics. 20,000 people were reported to
have cholera and 31,000 suffered from malaria. Diarrhea was affecting
some 208,000.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A10)
1999 Jan 26, In Honduras the
legislature voted to end 41 years of military autonomy and to put the
military under civilian control.
(SFC, 1/27/99, p.C10)
1999 Feb 16, The 240-foot Juan
Ramon Molina bridge in Tegucigalpa was rebuilt with help from US
Marines and $800,000 from the World Bank.
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.A12)
1999 Mar 9, Pres. Clinton visited
Honduras and paid tribute to US military efforts in rebuilding roads,
bridges, schools and clinics following Hurricane Mitch.
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.A12)
1999 Apr 19, One of the annual
Goldman Environmental Prizes went to: Jorge Varela, a Honduran
conservationist, for fighting the destructive shrimp farming practices
in the Gulf of Fonseca.
(SFC, 4/19/99, p.A2)
1999 Jul, Pres. Facusse fired 4
top military officials in an attempt to quell a power struggle and
denied media reports of an attempted coup.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1999 Aug 8, In Honduras the
government began investigating the El Aguacate air base where human
remains had been discovered 4 days earlier. The site was a former
training base for Nicaraguan Contras.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1999 Sep 24, Two weeks of
torrential rain left 6 people dead and flood gates were opened to save
the El Cajon dam.
(SFEC, 9/26/99, p.A21)
1999 Sep 29, Flooding from weeks
of hard rain was reported to have left 13 dead along with extensive
crop damage.
(WSJ, 9/29/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 3, Flooding in Central
America left 21 dead in Honduras, 10 dead in Nicaragua, and 11 dead in
El Salvador and thousands were forced to flee their homes.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A13)
1999 Nicaragua filed the border
case against Honduras, saying international law gave it the right to
"explore and exploit" natural resources, including possible oil
reserves and fish stocks within a zone 200 miles from its coast.
Honduras claimed that a ruling by the Spanish king in 1906 set a
boundary projecting eastward along the 15th parallel from the mouth of
the Coco River. The UN resolved the dispute in 2007.
(AP, 10/8/07)
2000 Feb 23, The government
announced that it would pay $2.1 million to the families of 19 of 184
political activists kidnapped and killed by death squads in the 1980s.
(SFC, 2/24/00, p.A14)
2000 May 11, Mexico reached a
free-trade agreement with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
(SFC, 5/12/00, p.D2)
2000 Jul 10, Honduras qualified
for debt relief and was expected to save over $556 million in debt
service under a program of the world Bank and the IMF.
(SFC, 7/11/00, p.A10)
2000 Aug 24, It was reported that
13 street kids had been killed over the last 7 months.
(SFC, 8/24/00, p.A12)
2000 Sep 5, In Honduras protestors
from the Chorti tribe began blocking Copan Archeological Park and
demanded land to farm. Police removed some 900 protestors on Sep 7 and
at least 17 people were injured.
(SFC, 9/9/00, p.A12)
2001 Aug 17, It was reported that
police and private security forces in Honduras had killed at least 66
children this year.
(SFC, 8/17/01, p.A14)
2001 Aug 18, It was reported that
a month-long drought ravaged Central America. Honduras lost 80% of its
basic grains, El Salvador lost 80% of grains in its eastern provinces,
Nicaragua lost 50% and Guatemala lost 80% of its beans in the eastern
provinces. Hundreds of thousands of peasants were affected.
(SFC, 8/18/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 30, A 5th day of rain on
Caribbean coast force 25,000 people from their homes in Honduras. 4
people were reported killed.
(SFC, 10/31/01, p.C2)(SFC, 11/1/01, p.C7)
2001 Nov 25, In Pres. elections
Ricardo Maduro (50) led polls over Rafael Pineda of the governing
Liberal Party. Early returns showed Maduro with a 52% lead.
(SSFC, 11/25/01, p.A18)(SFC, 11/26/01, p.A12)
2002 Jan 26, Congress elected
Justice Vilma Cecilia Morales as the 1st woman to head the Supreme
Court.
(SSFC, 1/27/02, p.A19)
2002 Jan 27, Honduras restored
diplomatic ties with Cuba just before Ricardo Maduro took office.
(WSJ, 1/28/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 9, In Honduras police
broke up a drug-smuggling, kidnapping and bank robbery ring in Lempira.
It was an arm of cartels based in Tijuana.
(SSFC, 2/10/02, p.A14)
2002 Apr 25, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes
(31), top female singer in the trio TLC, was killed in a car crash in
Honduras.
(SFC, 4/26/02, p.A2)
2002 Aug 26, In San Antonio,
Honduras, Jose Callejas (46), director of a Human Rights Committee, was
killed. Organized crime was blamed.
(SFC, 8/29/02, p.A12)
2002 Dec 11, A US Black Hawk
helicopter on routine training crashed and killed five American
soldiers in the hills of central Honduras.
(AP, 12/14/02)(SFC, 12/13/02, p.A14)
2003 Jan 20-27, In Honduras a
drastic drop in oxygen in rivers and ponds may have killed 5.5 million
fish near the El Cahon hydroelectric plant.
(AP, 2/8/03)
2003 Apr 5, A prison riot in
northern Honduras left 69 prisoners dead and dozens more injured at the
1,600-inmate El Porvenir prison outside of La Ceiba. Soldiers and
police searched for escaped inmates. Honduras' 26 prisons were built to
house 5,500 inmates but are crammed with 13,000 prisoners. In 2008 a
court sentenced 22 soldiers and police to a combined 740 years in
prison for the massacre. In 2008 a Honduran court sentenced Dimas
Antonio Benitez, a former prison official, to 1,051 years in jail for
the deaths in the prison massacre.
(AP, 4/6/03)(SFC, 4/7/03, p.A8)(AP, 6/4/08)(AP,
9/7/08)
2003 Apr 12, In San Pedro Sula,
northern Honduras, gunmen opened fire on a restaurant killing 11 people
and wounding 7 others in what police said appeared to be a dispute
between rival drug gangs.
(AP, 4/14/03)
2003 May 8, In Honduras 2 gunmen
with automatic weapons fatally shot Arnulfo Gutierrez (62), an honorary
Belgian consul as he drove his car in San Pedro Sula. His wife was
kidnapped March 18 as she left a San Pedro Sula beauty parlor.
(AP, 5/8/03)
2003 May, Police in Tegucigalpa,
Honduras, found the dismembered body of Martha Isabel Moncada (28) in 2
suitcases. In 2007 Andrew Gole (49) of Long Island, NY, was sentenced
to 38 years in prison for killing and dismembering his Honduran wife.
(AP, 1/14/07)
2003 Aug 4, In Honduras 9 members
of a family were shot to death by suspected gang that raided their home
in San Pedro Sula.
(AP, 8/4/03)
2003 Aug 19, Carlos Roberto Reina
(77), a former political prisoner who rose to Honduras' presidency
(1993), died at his home in Tegucigalpa. After his presidential term,
he was a judge of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights and an
ambassador to France.
(AP, 8/20/03)
2003 Aug, Honduras passed an
anti-gang law. Gang leaders faced 9-12 years in prison.
(SSFC, 9/28/03, p.A8)
2003 Oct 14, Across Honduras
thousands of protesters blocked streets and burned tires to demand the
government not renew a debt-payment agreement with the IMF.
(AP, 10/14/03)
2003 Nov 30, A 3rd day of storms
in Honduras left at least 3 people dead.
(SFC, 12/1/03, p.A3)
2003 Dec 17, The Bush
administration reached a free-trade deal with El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua for immediate duty-free access to half of all US
farm exports and 80% of consumer goods.
(WSJ, 12/18/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 21, In Honduras crowds at
a Christmas toy giveaway at National Stadium surged out of control, and
a 7-year-old girl was killed and about 80 other people were injured.
Television station, Compania Televisora, has run the charity giveaway
for eight years, and many businesses contributed toys to the event.
(AP, 12/21/03)
2004 Feb 21, in northern Honduras
the disfigured body of a young man was found along with a message
threatening the Honduran president. The discovery marks the 10th such
slaying apparently carried about by gangs protesting a government
crackdown.
(AP, 2/23/04)
2004 Apr 19, Honduras President
Ricardo Maduro announced the pullout of his 370 troops from Iraq "in
the shortest time possible."
(AP, 4/20/04)(WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A1)
2004 May 17, In northern Honduras
authorities said a short-circuit caused a fire that killed 103 inmates
before dawn. Survivors of the fire claimed that the inferno was
intentionally set by fellow inmates. The prison at San Pedro Sula,
designed for 800, was crammed with 2,200.
(AP, 5/18/04)(SFC, 5/18/04, p.A8)(Econ, 5/22/04,
p.31)
2004 May 28, US officials and 5
Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua) signed a free trade pact (CAFTA), to be later
approved by Congress. The Dominican Republic would be included later.
(SFC, 5/29/04, p.A4)
2004 Jul 20, President Ricardo
Maduro said he is sending troops to help police quell a clash between
loggers and environmentalists in south-central Honduras.
(AP, 7/20/04)
2004 Nov 29, More than a dozen
people hunting rabbits being smoked out of a Honduran sugarcane field
were engulfed by the fast-moving flames. Eleven children and four
adults died.
(AP, 12/1/04)
2004 Dec 23, In Honduras
assailants claiming to be members of a revolutionary group opposed to
the death penalty ambushed a bus filled with people bringing home
Christmas gifts and killed at least 28 people, including six children,
in an escalation of the battle between gangs and the government. On Feb
10, 2005, US Border patrol officials arrested a Honduran gang leader
wanted in the massacre. In 2007 a three-judge tribunal found two
members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang guilty of killing 28 people in the
shooting attack, and acquitted two other men. In 2008 Juan Carlos
Miranda (22) and Darwin Alexis Ramirez (23) were accused of being among
about 10 gang members. They received sentences totaling 822 years each.
(AP, 12/24/04)(WSJ, 2/25/05, p.A1)(AP, 2/21/07)(AP,
3/13/08)
2004 Dec 27, Honduras' security
minister pledged to eliminate violent youth gangs, nine of whose
members have been charged with homicide in connection with a Dec. 23
shooting attack on a public bus that killed 28 people.
(AP, 12/27/04)
2005 Jan 3, Honduras Pres. Ricardo
Maduro said that police have arrested the alleged mastermind of an
attack on a public bus that left 28 passengers dead two weeks ago. The
suspect was identified as Juan Carlos Miralda, 24, one of the leaders
of the violent Mara Salvatrucha criminal gang.
(AP, 1/4/05)
2005 Mar 3, The seven Central
American nations (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua and Panama) agreed to create a rapid-response force to combat
drug trafficking, terrorism and other regional threats.
(AP, 3/3/05)
2005 Apr 18, The annual Goldman
Environmental Prizes were awarded in San Francisco. Recipients included
Rev. Jose Andres Tamayo Cortes of Honduras for his leading efforts in
fighting unregulated logging.
(SFC, 4/18/05, p.B2)
2005 Jun 26, Heavy rains caused
flooding and landslides in El Salvador and Honduras, leaving a total of
39 dead in both countries, including 21 people killed when a bus was
carried away by flood waters.
(AP, 6/27/05)
2005 Jun 30, In Honduras Central
American leaders agreed to create a regional special forces unit to
fight drug trafficking, gang violence and terrorism within their
borders. The 2-day regional meeting included the presidents of Costa
Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua,
and Panama.
(AP, 6/30/05)
2005 Jul 10, Vidal Cerrato (63), a
former vice president of Honduras (1998-2001) and a representative of
the Central American Parliament, died.
(AP, 7/11/05)
2005 Jul 29, In Honduras Timothy
Markey, a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent, was shot and killed
in an apparent robbery attempt at a Roman Catholic shrine outside
Tegucigalpa.
(AP, 7/30/05)
2005 Jul 31, A Honduran official
said police had arrested Erlan Colindres, a 13-year-old gang member,
and Manuel Romero, his teenaged bodyguard, for the July 29 killing of
Timothy Markey, a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent, during an
apparent bungled robbery.
(AP, 7/31/05)
2005 Sep 6, Dominican Republic
legislators overwhelmingly approved a free-trade agreement with the US
and five Central American countries, rejecting arguments that the pact
would devastate the domestic sugar industry. The other five countries
are Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Costa
Rica and Nicaragua had not yet ratified the pact.
(AP, 9/6/05)
2005 Sep 8, El Salvador said that
“Operation International” simultaneous raids this week in El Salvador,
the US, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico netted 660 dangerous gang
members.
(AP, 9/9/05)
2005 Oct 5, Hurricane Stan knocked
down trees, ripped roofs off homes and washed out bridges in
southeastern Mexico, but it was the storms it helped spawn that were
far more destructive, killing more than 65 people in Central America.
Officials in El Salvador said 49 people had been killed, mostly due to
two days of mudslides sparked by rains. 9 people died in Nicaragua,
including six migrants believed to be Ecuadorians killed in a boat
accident. Four deaths were reported in Honduras, three in Guatemala and
one in Costa Rica.
(AP, 10/5/05)
2005 Oct 24, Jose Azcona Hoyo
(78), the former president of Honduras (1986-1990), died of a heart
attack. He oversaw the start of the dismantling of bases for
U.S.-backed Nicaraguan rebels in his country.
(AP, 10/25/05)
2005 Nov 3, The Environmental
Investigation Agency, a London-based environmental watchdog said US
businesses are unwittingly importing illegal Honduran wood,
contributing to deforestation, corruption and social strife in the
Latin American country.
(AP, 11/3/05)
2005 Nov 18, In Honduras Herlan
Colindres (16), a street gang member implicated in 17 killings
including a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, escaped from a
juvenile prison for the fifth time in three years, just as he promised.
(AP, 11/20/05)
2005 Nov 20, Tropical Storm Gamma
weakened into a tropical depression after it deluged the Central
American coast, killing 14 people in Honduras and Belize. 2 US
newlyweds were among the dead in Belize.
(AP, 11/20/05)(WSJ, 11/22/05, p.A1)
2005 Nov 22, In Honduras officials
raised the death toll from a tropical storm that hit over the weekend
to 32 with 13 people missing.
(AP, 11/22/05)
2005 Nov 27, Hondurans voted for
president with Porfiro Lobo, a hard-line death penalty proponent of the
ruling National Party, favored over Manuel Zelaya, the Liberal Party
candidate. Opposition candidate Mel Zelaya, who vowed to reinvigorate
the economy by eliminating government corruption, was elected as the
country's new president.
(WSJ, 11/26/05, p.A1)(AP, 11/28/05)
2005 Nov 27, Honduran police
recaptured Herlan Colindres (16), who is accused of killing Timothy
Markey, a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent on July 29 this
year. It was Colindres’ second escape in less than four months and the
fifth in three years.
(AP, 11/27/05)
2005 Dec 2, Honduras' ruling party
said it had enlisted 300 lawyers to check results of the country's
disputed presidential election for evidence of fraud. Officials still
hadn't declared Honduras' new president, five days after the country's
contentious election.
(AP, 12/02/05)(AP, 12/03/05)
2005 Dec 7, Honduras' ruling-party
candidate for president conceded defeat, even though official results
were still unavailable 10 days after the election because of
vote-counting delays.
(AP, 12/07/05)
2005 Dec 23, In Honduras, official
results confirmed that opposition candidate Manuel Zelaya won the
presidency in November elections.
(AP, 12/24/05)
2006 Jan 5, A shootout between
inmates at Honduras' biggest prison left at least 13 inmates dead and
another 30 wounded.
(AP, 1/6/06)
2006 Jan 27, In Honduras Manuel
Zelaya was inaugurated as the new president. He promised to fight
corruption and help criminal and gang members become useful citizens.
(AP, 1/27/06)
2006 Feb 2, Honduras numbered 24
state prisons, but only one, the National Penitentiary, was actually
built to house inmates. Prison facilities built for 6,000 prisoners
housed 13,000.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006 Mar 16, In northern Honduras
a speeding bus crashed into a small van carrying a group of US
soldiers, killing two and injuring one.
(AP, 3/16/06)
2006 Jun 6, Santos Padilla (40), a
leader of a violent kidnapping gang that abducted and killed the son of
a former Honduran president in 1997, was among four inmates who escaped
from a prison outside Tegucigalpa.
(AP, 6/6/06)
2006 Jun 29, Honduras officials
said floods caused by heavy rains have left four people dead, forced
1,500 others from their homes and caused more than $8 million in damage
to croplands.
(AP, 6/29/06)
2006 Jul 10, In Honduras a bus
with failing brakes slammed into the back of another bus on the
outskirts of Tegucigalpa, killing 15 people and injuring more than 24.
(AP, 7/11/06)
2006 Jul 11, Central American
presidents agreed on a plan to ease border controls and install a
common customs system on the way to negotiating an eventual free-trade
agreement with the EU. The agreement signed by Panama, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize would allow
residents to cross borders without passports or visas.
(AP, 7/11/06)
2006 Jul 15, A Honduras newspaper
quoted a senior military official that the United States is helping
Honduras establish a new military base to combat international drug
trafficking in the northeastern province of Gracias a Dios.
(AP, 7/15/06)
2006 Oct 5, In Tegucigalpa,
Honduras, a fire raged through a building housing abused women and
their families, killing three adults and six children.
(AP, 10/5/06)
2006 Oct 17, In eastern Honduras a
military truck plunged off a cliff, killing five soldiers and injuring
12.
(AP, 10/18/06)
2007 Jan 12, An American man
dubbed by local media the "butcher of New York" was sentenced to 38
years in prison for killing and dismembering his Honduran wife. Andrew
Gole (49) of Long Island, NY, confessed to strangling and cutting up
his wife, Martha Isabel Moncada (28) with an electric saw in May 2003.
(AP, 1/14/07)
2007 Jan 17, In Honduras a
concrete wall collapsed at a coffee warehouse in Villanueva, crushing
six workers under tons of bagged coffee beans.
(AP, 1/17/07)
2007 Feb 6, In Honduras 3
Americans on a charity mission were killed and 17 other people were
injured in a traffic accident.
(AP, 2/7/07)
2007 Feb 28, Honduras named its
first ambassador to Cuba in 45 years, completing the restoration of
diplomatic ties with communist-run island that were severed during the
Cold War.
(AP, 2/28/07)
2007 Mar 16, The Inter-American
Development Bank announced it would forgive $4.4 billion in debt owed
by five of the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The bank excused the foreign debts of Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Haiti and Guyana in an announcement ahead of its annual meeting.
(AP, 3/16/07)
2007 Sep 4, Hurricane Felix roared
ashore as a fearsome Category 5 storm, the first time in recorded
history that two top-scale storms have made landfall in the same
season. The storm hit near the swampy Nicaragua-Honduras border, home
to thousands of stranded Miskito Indians dependent on canoes to make
their way to safety. Some 332 people left dead or missing.
(AP, 9/4/07)(Econ, 11/10/07, p.45)
2007 Oct 8, The UN's highest court
in the Hague granted Honduras sovereignty over four Caribbean islands
in its decades-old dispute with Nicaragua, and carved up rich fishing
grounds and offshore exploration concessions for oil and gas. Nicaragua
filed the case in 1999, saying international law gave it the right to
"explore and exploit" natural resources, including possible oil
reserves and fish stocks within a zone 200 miles from its coast.
Honduras claimed that a ruling by the Spanish king in 1906 set a
boundary projecting eastward along the 15th parallel from the mouth of
the Coco River.
(AP, 10/8/07)
2007 Oct 13, In Honduras 3
children and a woman were killed when their boat capsized, raising to
21 the death toll from days of torrential rains that have driven
thousands from their homes across Central America.
(AP, 10/14/07)
2008 Mar 2, In northern Honduras 8
people were shot dead at a billiards hall by gunmen disguised as
policemen in San Pedro Sula, a city plagued by violent gangs and drug
traffickers. Honduras last month began a nationwide effort to halt a
rising wave of violence and stem the flow of guns on the street.
(AP, 3/3/08)
2008 Mar 25, In western Honduras a
passenger bus plunged off a highway and rolled 500 yards down a
hillside, killing 26 people and injuring at least 19.
(AP, 3/26/08)
2008 Apr 24, In Honduras gunmen
ambushed and killed Altagracia Fuentes (60), the leader of Honduras'
largest workers federation and two traveling companions.
(AP, 4/25/08)
2008 May 2, In Honduras 31
prisoners were attacked by their cellmates with knives and guns just
hours after they were transferred to a prison in Tegucigalpa from San
Pedro Sula. At least 18 inmates died in the attack.
(AP, 5/4/08)
2008 May 30, In Honduras a Grupo
Taca Airbus A320 overshot a runway and raced onto a busy street in
Tegucigalpa, killing the pilot, two passengers and a motorist on the
ground. At least 65 people were injured.
(AP, 5/31/08)
2008 May 31, President Manuel
Zelaya said that Honduras would create a civilian airport for
commercial jets on a US military airfield, diverting traffic from
Tegucigalpa's notoriously dangerous airport following a deadly crash.
(AP, 6/1/08)
2008 Jun 3, Belize PM Dean Barrow
declared a disaster area in southern Stann Creek Valley as flash
flooding carried away houses and ripped a child from his father's
grasp. Falling trees killed two people in Honduras, raising the death
toll from Central America's twin tropical storms this week to at least
nine.
(AP, 6/4/08)
2008 Aug 3, Hundreds of Honduran
squatters angry over a land dispute attacked the home of Henry Sorto, a
local police official. Five employees and six of Osorto's family
members were burned, shot and hacked to death with machetes.
(AP, 8/4/08)(AP, 8/5/08)
2008 Aug 25, Honduran Pres. Manuel
Zelaya signed adherence to the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas
(ALBA), a trade alliance created in 2004 by Venezuela and Cuba as a
regional alternative to trade agreements with the US.
(WSJ, 8/27/08, p.A9)
2008 Sep 16, Honduras said it will
welcome a new US ambassador after a one-week delay meant to show
support for Bolivia in its diplomatic spat with Washington.
(AP, 9/17/08)
2008 Oct 20, Officials in Honduras
said a week of heavy rains has caused landslides and flooding that have
killed at least 11 people and left two others missing.
(AP, 10/20/08)
2008 Oct 24, Officials in
Honduras said at least 29 people are dead and 14 others are missing
because of heavy rains that began 2 weeks ago.
(AP, 10/25/08)
2009 Feb 25, A UN survey said
homicides in Honduras had more than doubled from 2,155 in 2004 to 4,473
in 2008.
(SSFC, 3/1/09, p.A4)
2009 Mar 10, In northern Honduras
a plane from Venezuela that was carrying more than 2 tons of cocaine
crashed, killing the pilot. 2 US Drug Enforcement Administration
helicopters were allegedly pursuing the aircraft when it went down near
El Negrito town.
(AP, 3/11/09)
2009 Mar 23, Honduran President
Manuel Zelaya announced his government will hold a nationwide poll by
June 24 on whether the country should convoke an assembly that would
write a new constitution.
(AP, 3/24/09)
2009 Mar 31, In Honduras
assailants stopped journalist Rafael Munguia (36) as he was driving
night in the city of San Pedro Sula, dragged him from his vehicle and
shot him at least eight times. Munguia had recently been reporting on
the country's violent crime wave.
(AP, 4/2/09)
2009 Apr 1, Honduras Pres. Manuel
Zelaya's government announced a series of measures to crack down on
crime, including allowing the state telephone company to obtain court
orders to record cellular phone conversations and read e-mails sent
from computers at Internet cafes or hotels.
(AP, 4/1/09)
2009 May 10, A small plane filled
with cocaine crashed in Honduras. The plane registered in Venezuela was
carrying around 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of cocaine when it
crashed on Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the country's northern
coast.
(AP, 5/11/09)
2009 May 28, In Belize and
Honduras a magnitude 7.1 earthquake collapsed more than two dozen
homes, killing at least 6 people and injuring 40 others as terrified
people ran into the streets in towns across much of Central America.
(AP, 5/28/09)
2009 Jun 3, The Organization of
American States (OAS), meeting in Honduras, cleared the way for Cuba's
possible return to the group by lifting a 1962 ban on the communist-run
country, a move backed by Washington despite initial objections.
(AP, 6/4/09)
2009 Jun 25, Honduras Pres. Manuel
Zelaya said he would ignore a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to
reinstate a military chief he fired.
(SFC, 6/26/09, p.A2)
2009 Jun 26, In Honduras leftist
President Manuel Zelaya pushed ahead with a June 27 referendum on
revamping the constitution, risking his rule in a standoff against
Congress, the Supreme Court and the military.
(AP, 6/26/09)
2009 Jun 28, In Honduras more than
a dozen soldiers arrested President Manuel Zelaya and disarmed his
security guards after surrounding his residence before dawn. Protesters
called it a coup and flocked to the presidential palace as local news
media reported that Zelaya was sent into exile in Costa Rica. He was
detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional
referendum the president had insisted on holding even though the
Supreme Court ruled it illegal and everyone from the military to
Congress and members of his own party opposed it. The nonbinding
referendum was to ask voters if they want to hold a vote during the
November presidential election on whether to convoke an assembly to
rewrite the constitution. Roberto Micheletti, the leader of Congress,
was sworn in to serve until Zelaya's term ends. This was the first
military ouster of a Central American president since 1993, when
Guatemalan military officials refused to accept President Jorge
Serrano's attempt to seize absolute power.
(AP, 6/28/09)(AP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jun 29, Presidents from
around Latin America gathered in Nicaragua for meetings on how to
resolve the coup in Honduras, the fist in Central America in at least
16 years, while the European Union offered to help start talks between
the two sides. Security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to
scatter protesters, who hurled rocks and bottles as they retreated. At
least 38 protesters were detained. Zelaya said that Organization of
American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza had agreed to
accompany him back to Honduras.
(AP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jun 30, The UN adopted a
resolution calling on all 192 UN member states not to recognize any
government in Honduras other than Zelaya's. Roberto Micheletti,
Honduras' interim leader, warned that the only way his predecessor will
return to office is through a foreign invasion. The regime that ousted
Zelaya claimed that the deposed president allowed money and tons of
cocaine to be flown into the Central American country on its way to the
US.
(AP, 7/1/09)
2009 Jul 1, In Honduras thousands
demonstrated for the return of ousted Pres. Manuel Zelaya. Thousands
more rallied in favor of the military-backed government. The
Organization of American States said Honduran coup leaders have three
days to restore deposed President Manuel Zelaya to power, before
Honduras risks being suspended from the group.
(AP, 6/30/09)(SFC, 7/2/09, p.A3)
2009 Jul 3, In Honduras Roberto
Micheletti said new elections would be held on Nov. 29, as some200,000
demonstrated both for and against the return of Pres. Zelaya.
(SSFC, 7/5/09, p.A3)
2009 Jul 4, The OAS suspended
Honduras participation in the organization because of last week's
military coup.
(AP, 7/4/09)
2009 Jul 5, Honduras' ousted
President Manuel Zelaya said he was getting on a flight home to reclaim
his post, accompanied by the UN General Assembly president and a group
of journalists. The interim government said it ordered the military to
prevent the landing of Zelaya's plane. Soldiers clashed with thousands
of Zelaya backers massed at the airport in hopes of welcoming home the
deposed leader removed a week earlier. Isis Obed Murillo Mencia (19)
was killed by soldiers as a crowd tried to break through an airport
fence. Pilots of the plane loaned by Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chavez
circled the airport and decided not to risk a crash.
(AP, 7/5/09)(AP, 7/6/09)(SFC, 7/7/09, p.A3)
2009 Jul 6, Honduras' interim
government closed its main airport to all flights after blocking the
runway to prevent the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
(AP, 7/6/09)
2009 Jul 12, Hondurans enjoyed
their first night of unfettered freedom in two weeks after the interim
government lifted a curfew imposed following the ouster of President
Manuel Zelaya.
(AP, 7/13/09)
2009 Jul 15, Honduras' interim
government suggested that backers of ousted President Manuel Zelaya
were taking up arms to return him to power and it reinstated an
overnight curfew it had lifted only days earlier.
(AP, 7/16/09)
2009 Jul 21, Honduras’s interim
government ordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country in 72
hours as the int’l. community threatened new sanctions if negotiations
fail the resolve the overthrow of Pres. Manuel Zelaya.
(SFC, 7/22/09, p.A2)
2009 Jul 24, Ousted Honduras
President Manuel Zelaya stood on the edge of his country and called on
his fellow Hondurans to resist the coup-installed government. He then
quickly retreated back to Nicaraguan territory, saying he wanted to
avoid bloodshed and give negotiations another try.
(AP, 7/25/09)
2009 Jul 28, The US government
turned up the pressure on the interim government of Honduras to accept
the return of exiled President Manuel Zelaya, suspending the diplomatic
visas of four Honduran officials a month after a military coup.
(AP, 7/29/09)
2009 Jul 30, In Honduras Roger
Vallejo (38), a high school teacher in the capital of Tegucigalpa, was
wounded as thousands of Zelaya supporters blocked a highway and clashed
with security forces. Vallejo died of his wounds on Aug 1.
(AP, 8/2/09)
2009 Aug 11, In Honduras some
10,000 protesters arrived in Tegucigalpa after staging weeklong walks
across Honduras, producing one of the largest demonstrations in support
of Zelaya since he was ousted by the army June 28 and flown out of the
country.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, In Honduras
supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya clashed with police in
Tegucigalpa and some of them attacked the second-ranking member of
Congress.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 14, In Honduras 2 dozen
supporters of ousted Pres. Zelaya were charged with sedition in an
intensifying crackdown on protests against the coup-installed
government.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 19, Rights group Amnesty
International alleged widespread abuse of protesters demanding the
return of the Honduran president ousted in a coup, saying in a report
that hundreds of people have been beaten and detained under the interim
government.
(AP, 8/19/09)
2009 Aug 24, In Honduras foreign
ministers from seven OAS nations launched a direct, high-profile
attempt to persuade the interim government to restore ousted Pres.
Manuel Zelaya. The delegation failed to win a pledge to restore ousted
President Manuel Zelaya.
(AP, 8/24/09)(AP, 8/25/09)
2009 Aug 26, Central America's
development bank said it is freezing credits to Honduras following the
June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Many other
multilateral agencies and foreign governments have put Honduras aid
projects on hold, in the face of the interim government's refusal to
reinstate Zelaya.
(AP, 8/26/09)
2009 Aug 27, In Honduras a plan
was made public in which the interim leader offered to resign and back
exiled President Manuel Zelaya's return home, provided the ousted
leader gives up his claim to the presidency.
(AP, 8/28/09)
2009 Sep 3, Washington cut off
millions of dollars in aid to Honduras. Interim Pres. Roberto
Micheletti vowed that ousted Pres. Zelaya would not return to power
despite increasing international pressure.
(AP, 9/4/09)
2009 Sep 4, Thousands of opponents
of Hugo Chavez marched against the Venezuelan president across Latin
America, accusing him of everything from authoritarianism to
international meddling. The protests, coordinated through Twitter and
Facebook, drew more than 5,000 people in Bogota, and thousands more in
the capitals of Venezuela and Honduras. Smaller demonstrations were
held in other Latin American capitals, as well as New York and Madrid.
(AP, 9/5/09)
2009 Sep 21, In Honduras deposed
President Manuel Zelaya sneaked back into the country and holed up at
the Brazilian embassy to avoid threatened arrest.
(AP, 9/22/09)
2009 Sep 22, In Honduras
baton-wielding police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators,
chasing them away from the Brazilian embassy where deposed President
Manuel Zelaya, who a day earlier had sneaked back into the country,
remains holed up, avoiding threatened arrest.
(AP, 9/22/09)
2009 Sep 23, Honduras' interim
government extended an already long curfew after police skirmished with
backers of ousted President Manuel Zelaya throughout the night and
arrested more than 100 people for vandalism and looting. The curfew was
lifted for 6 hours to allow businesses to reopen and people to restock
supplies.
(AP, 9/23/09)(SFC, 9/24/09, p.A2)
2009 Sep 24, In Honduras the
national curfew was lifted, but hundreds of troops and police continued
to ring the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where an increasingly
exhausted President Manuel Zelaya, his family and about 70 supporters,
have been sheltered since he sneaked back into Honduras on Sep 21.
(AP, 9/24/09)
2009 Sep 28, Honduras'
coup-installed government silenced two key dissident broadcasters hours
after it suspended civil liberties to prevent an uprising by backers of
ousted Pres. Manuel Zelaya. The measures were announced just hours
after Zelaya called on his backers to stage mass protest marches in
what he called a "final offensive" against the government. Interim
president Roberto Micheletti promised to restore civil liberties and
allow an Organization of American States mediation team into the
country, quickly backpedalling from tough measures amid criticism from
his own allies that he had gone too far in his fight to stay in power.
(AP, 9/28/09)(AP, 9/29/09)
2009 Sep 30, In Honduras soldiers
and police enforced an emergency decree suspending civil liberties
despite promises by the coup-imposed government to lift the measures
criticized by its own allies as going too far.
(AP, 9/30/09)
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Subject = Honduras
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