From 2009:
Becomes U.S. Military Foothold for Central America
When Honduran President Manuel Zelaya visited Washington this past June, he had two security-related requests for President Bush. The first was to convert the Colonel Enrique Soto Cano airbase (also commonly known as Palmerola) into a commercial air cargo terminal, while the second was to deploy U.S. Special Forces along the Mosquitia region in eastern Honduras to help combat drug-trafficking along the Caribbean coast.
Alex Sánchez
When Honduran President Manuel Zelaya visited Washington this past June, he had two security-related requests for President Bush. The first was to convert the Colonel Enrique Soto Cano airbase (also commonly known as Palmerola) into a commercial air cargo terminal, while the second was to deploy U.S. Special Forces along the Mosquitia region in eastern Honduras to help combat drug-trafficking along the Caribbean coast.
At the time of President Zelaya’s visit, there were numerous media reports indicating that a military facility would be built in the Mosquitia with Washington aid that would, most likely, house some form of a U.S. military presence.
The U.S. has used the Soto Cano base for several decades, saddling it with a somewhat infamous record. During the 1980s, Palmerola was part of a sizeable tract of land, assigned on a de facto basis, which became known as the Nicaraguan Contras’ “unsinkable aircraft carrier.” From there, the U.S–backed irregulars launched raids into Nicaragua. The toll from this deadly sport of stalk and kill amounted to over 30,000 fatalities. Recently, there has been a growing debate about the facility’s future. If Soto Cano becomes a mixed-use civilian facility, it seems very likely that the Pentagon will move ahead to help create the proposed replacement facility along the Mosquitia coast, which would also have important anti-drug functions. Should the construction of the base and transfer of U.S. personnel come to pass, it is likely that its overarching role would be to support Honduras’ war against drug traffickers. More importantly, it is unclear what other U.S. security operations will take place at the air base under the rubric of safeguarding this country’s national interests. But it is instructive to remember that U.S. military ties usually do not come without long and very binding strings attached.
More:
https://nacla.org/news/honduras-becomes-us-military-foothold-central-america
[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
U.S. military intervenes in Latin America, Marines going to Honduras
by: W. T. Whitney Jr.
April 6 2015
Honduran military authorities announced March 27 that some 250 U.S. Marines arriving soon will be based at the U. S. airbase at Soto Cano. Equipped with a high-speed "JHSV Spearhead" catamarans at least four "CH-53E Super Stallion" helicopters," and possibly "MV-22 Osprey tilt rotors and KC-130 Hercules tankers," they are part of the "Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-South." The official version of their mission is to carry out "training for forces in the region, humanitarian assistance missions, and anti-drug operations."
The SPMAGTF, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is part of Marine Expeditionary Force II. According to the Marine Corps' web site, a "MEF possesses the capability for projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a period of 60 days. A similar [Marine Corp] expeditionary force is based at Moron Air Base in Spain as support for the U.S. Africa Command.
The announcement of the Marines' arrival coincided with the opening in Tegucigalpa of the Central American Regional Security Conference. The official purpose was to build a "shield against organized crime." Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez welcomed the gathering of military, intelligence and drug-war officials from 14 nations. U.S. Marine General John Kelly, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, told attendees that, "There is a large contingent of U.S. officials here ... Ms. Erin Logan is here from the White House. ... [T]his is the first time we've had someone from the White House, at that high a level, attend this conference." The region is among President Obama's "top four national security and national policy priorities."
The Soto Cano airbase has been emblematic of the U.S. military's long presence in Honduras. It's home-base for 500 U.S. troops and was the organizational center for U.S. support for the anti-Sandinista Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980's. Critics of a U.S. role in the 2009 military coup that overthrew elected President Manuel Zelaya often cite the Soto Cano base. They point to the stopover there of the plane carrying Zelaya from the capital to exile in Costa Rica.
More:
http://peoplesworld.org/u-s-military-intervenes-in-latin-america-marines-going-to-honduras/
= new reply since forum marked as read
