Roberto Suazo Córdova (17 March 1927 – 22 December 2018) was the

President of Honduras The president of Honduras ( es, Presidente de Honduras) officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: ''Presidente de la República de Honduras''), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Comm ...

from 1982 until 1986. Suazo Córdova died on 22 December 2018 following an ulcer surgical operation at the age of 91.

Presidency

In 1981, Suazo Córdova was the President of the National Constituent Assembly that drew up the 1982 Honduran Constitution. He won a clear majority as a member of the Liberal Party of Honduras and became president in January 1982. The Liberal victory surprised many who believed the armed forces would interfere in favor of its erstwhile National Party allies. Colonel

Gustavo Álvarez Martínez Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Martínez (12 December 1937 - 25 January 1989) was a Honduran military officer. He was head of the armed forces of Honduras from January 1982 until his ouster on 31 March 1984 by fellow officers when he sought to expand hi ...

became head of the armed forces. The Reagan administration put heavy pressure on Honduras to assist in U.S. efforts against the

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

Sandinistas The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto Cé ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

's guerrillas operating in Honduras. A U.S military spokesman neatly summarized the U.S. appraisal of the situation: "Honduras is the keystone to our policy down there". Suazo and Alvarez accepted U.S. troops on continuous "maneuvers", the construction and expansion of military bases and facilities, and even U.S. training of Salvadoran troops within Honduras. Honduras provided sanctuary and overt cooperation to the Contra army the United States was developing to attack Nicaragua's Sandinista government. Honduras thus became the active ally of the U.S. military strategy for Nicaragua and El Salvador. The country was described at the time as an aircraft carrier—the "USS Honduras". In exchange, Honduras received hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S assistance—especially military aid.

References

1927 births 2018 deaths People from La Paz Department (Honduras) Presidents of Honduras Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni Liberal Party of Honduras politicians Honduran Roman Catholics {{Honduras-politician-stub