| Armed Forces of Honduras Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras |
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 1825 |
| Service branches | Honduran ArmyHonduran Navy |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Porfirio Lobo Sosa |
| General | René Arnoldo Osorio Canales |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 18 for voluntary 2-3 year service |
| Available for military service |
1,868,940[1] males, age 16-49, 1,825,770 (2008 est.) females, age 16-49 |
| Fit for military service |
1,397,938 males, age 16-49, 1,402,398 (2009 est.) females, age 16-49 |
| Reaching military age annually |
92,638 males, 88,993 (2009 est.) females |
| Active personnel | 20,000[2] |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $100,600,000[2] |
| Percent of GDP | 0.6%[1] |
This article deals with the armed forces of Honduras.
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During the twentieth century, Honduran military leaders frequently became presidents, either through elections or by 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 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.
Events during the 1980s in El Salvador and Nicaragua led Honduras — with US assistance — to expand its armed forces considerably, laying particular emphasis on its air force, which came to include a squadron of US-provided F-5s.
The military unit Battalion 316 carried out political assassinations and 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 both in Honduras and at U.S. military bases[3] and in Chile during the presidency of the dictator Augusto Pinochet.[4] Amnesty International estimated that at least 184 people were "disappeared" during from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras, most likely by the Honduran military.[5]
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 now is 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.
Since 2002 soldiers have been involved in crime prevention and law enforcement, patrolling the streets of the major cities alongside the national police.
On 28 June 2009, in the context of a constitutional crisis, the military, acting on orders of the Supreme Court of Justice, 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.[6] 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."[7] He said the decision was taken by the military leadership "in order to avoid bloodshed".[8]
Following the 2009 ouster of the president, the Honduran military together with other government security forces were allegedly responsible for thousands of allegedly arbitrary detentions[9] and for several forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of opponents to the de facto government, including members of the Democratic Unification Party.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
According to a statement in July 2009 by a legal counsel of the Honduras military, Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza, the Honduran military was opposed to President Manuel Zelaya, whom the military had removed from Honduras a few days earlier, because of his left-wing politics. Inestroza stated, "It would be difficult for us [the military], with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government. That's impossible."[7]
The current head of the armed forces is Carlos Antonio Cuéllar, graduate of the General Francisco Morazan Military Academy and the School of the Americas. In January 2011 the General Rene Arnoldo Osorio Canales former head of the Presidential Honor Guard, was appointed Commander.
| Model | Type | Number | Dates | Manufacturer | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scorpion | Light tank | 12 | Alvis Cars, United Kingdom | FV-101\76 76mm main gun. | |
| Scimitar | Armoured Recce tank | 3 | Alvis Cars, United Kingdom | FV-107 30mm main gun. | |
| Sultan | Command Vehicle | 1 | Alvis Cars, United Kingdom | FV-105 | |
| AM General Humvee M998 | APC 4x4 | 30 | United States | 4x4. some with M40 106mm RCL. | |
| RBY MK 1 | Wheeled Reconnaissance Vehicle | 16 | IAI (RAMTA division), Israel | 4x4. some with M40 106mm RCLs. | |
| Saladin | Armoured Car | 72 | Alvis Cars, United Kingdom\ West Germany | FV-601. 6x6 76mm main gun. |
| Model | Type | Number | Dates | Manufacturer | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M151 MUTT | Light Utility Vehicle | Various, United States | |||
| M35 | Medium Cargo Truck | Various, United States | |||
| Stallion | 4x4 Truck | 110 | 2009- | Ashok Leyland, India | Ordered in January, 2009. Part of an order for 139 miscellaneous utility and transport vehicles.[19] |
| Topchi | 4x4 Truck | 28 | 2009- | Ashok Leyland, India | Ordered in January, 2009. Part of an order for 139 miscellaneous utility and transport vehicles.[19] |
| Model | Type | Number | Dates | Manufacturer | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M102 | Towed 105mm Howitzer | 24 | United States | ||
| M101 | Towed 105mm Howitzer | 20 | United States | ||
| M198 | Towed 155mm Howitzer | 4-12 | United States| | ||
| M-66 | 160mm Mortar | 30 | Soltam Israel | ||
| M-65 | 120mm Mortar | 30 | Soltam Israel | ||
| Brandt M0-120LT | 120mm Mortar | 60 | Brandt France\ Argentina | ||
| M55A2 | 20mm AA-Gun | 80 | Yugoslavia| | 34 in service, most in storage. |
|
| M167 VADS Vulcan | 20mm AA-Chain gun | 30 | United States | ||
| TCM-20 | 20mm AA-Gun | 24 | Israel\ Swiss |
The FAH operates from 4 air bases located at:
With the exception of Soto Cano Air Base, all other air bases operate as dual civil and military aviation facilities.
Additionally, 3 air stations located at:
Also a radar station operates at:
The navy is a small force dealing with coastal and riverine security.
The navy has 31 patrol boats and landing craft.[21]
| Class | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guaymuras class (105 foot Swift type) | United States | patrol boat | 3 | FNH 101 Guaymuras FNH 102 Honduras W/O FNH 103 Hibueras W/O |
|
| Yojoa (Hollyhock class) | United States | coastal buoy tender | 1 | FNH 252 Yojoa - ex-US Coast Guard Walnut W/O Broke in half during Huricane Mitch | |
| Punta Caxinas (149 foot Lantana type) | United States | coastal transport | 1 | FNH-1491 | |
| Choluteca Class (65 foot Swift type) | United States | coastal patrol craft | 5 | FNH 651 Nacaome FNH 652 Goascoran FNH 653 Petula FNH 654 Ulua FNH 655 Choluteca |
|
| Piraña class | Napco United States | riverine ops boat | 8 | ||
| Boston Whaler Guardián Class | United States | riverine ops boat | 10 | ||
| Tegucigalpa Class (106 foot Lantana type) | United States | patrol boat | 3 | FNH 1061-1062 | |
| Chamelecán Class (85 foot Dabur type) | Israel | patrol boat | 1 | FNH-8501 | |
| WARUNTA Class (75 foot LCM-8) | United States | landing craft | 3 | FNH 741-743 | |
| United States | LCU | 1 | |||
| United States | small river patrol boat | 15 |
The Honduran navy has 4 naval bases:
Additionally, the Honduran navy has the following unit and schools:
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