POLITICS-HONDURAS: Military Power an Unresolved Question

By Thelma Mejía Reprint | | Print |

Thelma Mejía

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug 4 1999 (IPS) - The future of the Honduran armed forces is uncertain after last Friday’s coup attempt against president Carlos Flores, who was alerted by counter-intelligence services in time to prevent a military takeover.

A group of armed forces officers had been planning the coup since May, according to reports released to IPS by military moderates and other sources linked to the army. The group resents the fact that the armed forces are now under civilian power, as established by a constitutional reform last January.

In response to the coup attempt, Flores replaced the head of the joint military staff, Col. Eugenio Romero Euceda, with Col. Daniel Lopez Carballo, who had been chief of the presidential guard and part of Flores’s personal security apparatus.

Carballo has been blamed for a lack of internal leadership and is considered a “disloyal” officer by military circles.

Meanwhile, the officers behind the attempt, colonels Rodolfo Interiano Portillo and Oscar Hernandez Chavez, continue in their posts and, according to several officers who were discharged from military service, maintain their power and loyalty among the troops.

According to the military sources, officials from three different sectors planned the coup attempt, and on May 24, while president Flores was traveling in Sweden, had gathered troops in the first infantry battalion in Tegucigalpa.

Flores was in the Swedish capital on that date attending an international conference on assistance for the Central American countries that were victims of the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch late last year.

May’s intimidation manoeuvres were orchestrated by the current commander of the army, Col. Interiano and Col. Hernandez Chavez. Both oppose decisions made by the minister of defence, Edgardo Dumas, the first civilian in the nation’s history to head the armed forces.

Dumas had announced investigations into the military budget, reorganised battalions and denounced other military irregularities.

His actions bothered some among military ranks, because the measures threatened economic activities which, until the end of armed forces autonomy in January, had been free of legal scrutiny by the civilian government.

At the time of the military manoeuvres, only three batallions refused to respond to the call by Cols. Interiano and Hernandez Chavez, but their refusal did not dampen further steps toward the coup attempt, according to a colonel who requested anonymity.

“What is really at stake are the economic interests (of) a privileged group within the armed forces,” the colonel told IPS.

The disgruntled military officials went so far as to consult Honduran intellectuals two months ago, who rejected the possibility of a coup, added the informant.

Political analyst Victor Meza told IPS that the coup attempt was indeed real. “What happened is that president Flores was warned in time, and he was able to put an end to the attempt in exchange for negotiating and granting some concessions to the military,” he added.

“The true scope of these negotiations is unknown. The only thing we can deduce is that the civilian government was intimidated and Flores had to negotiate in order to prevent a more serious crisis,” said Meza.

President Flores was alerted to the coup attempt by his own counter-intelligence service, according to a group of military officers. Even though important pieces of the military gameboard were moved, military structures remain intact, they said.

The military crisis did not end with the military replacements made by Flores. Though he was able to avoid a coup, Flores’s civilian government took a weak stance when confronted with military intimidation, say experts. In addition to weapons, the military officers still hold great economic power.