Incidents

H29 · 1981 (possibly 23 Sep, disputed); Tegucigalpa (verify)

A CRS historical chronology reproduced in the Congressional Record on 23 January 1991 describes five U.S. military advisers in a car in Tegucigalpa on 23 September 1981, with two wounded (printed p. 2112 / PDF p. 92). This is an attributed historical account, not congressional adjudication or a reviewed incident investigation. Later specialist history also reports five advisers and two wounded. Former ambassador Negroponte recalled an attack on two U.S. advisers in late 1981, one critically wounded; contemporary press likewise recalled an early-1981 attack with two seriously wounded. A 1985 U.S. government paper, as described by a veteran advocacy group, may say two were killed; the original page has not yet been independently inspected and this conflicts with the wound accounts. The chronology explicitly dates its account to 23 September, but the 2001 hearing does not establish that date and the contemporary press retrospective says “early 1981.” Whether these accounts describe the same event remains unresolved. The intended CIA document and cited page remain unverified; the chronology does not authenticate them. No fatality count or exact incident date is adopted as an established fact.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. adviser connection reported, identities/units unknown. R/U, low to moderate; first-priority casualty verification.

Provenance: U.S. Congressional Record—Senate, 23 Jan 1991, printed p. 2112 / PDF p. 92, reproducing James P. Wootten’s CRS issue brief dated 9 Oct 1990, Terrorist Incidents Involving U.S. Citizens or Property 1981–1990: A Chronology; attributed historical account. Rex A. Hudson, Castro's America Department, note 164, historical study; CIA-released Nicaraguan Aggression Against Costa Rica and Honduras, 1979 to Present, 26 Jun 1985, p. 3, original PDF requiring direct inspection; advocacy interpretation. CIA custody of a paper is not independent confirmation of every assertion in it. Senate Foreign Relations, Nomination of John D. Negroponte, printed p. 57 / PDF p. 61, ambassador testimony; Washington Post, 19 Sep 1982, retrospective.

H32 · Before 14 Jul 1982; Honduras power stations, including Tegucigalpa plant per later recollection (precise attack dates/sites unresolved)

President Reagan publicly described recent attacks on Honduran power stations that interrupted power to hospitals, water and other essential services. Former ambassador John Negroponte recalled a Tegucigalpa power-plant bombing in 1982. Neither source supplies a casualty count or proves these accounts refer to only one attack.

U.S. connection and evidence: Honduran infrastructure and U.S. diplomatic concern; no U.S. military target or participant established. V1 for official acknowledgment; R/U for event count, date and specific sites.

Provenance: Reagan and Suazo, Remarks Following Their Meeting, 14 Jul 1982, transcript, remarks para. 3; Senate Foreign Relations, Nomination of John D. Negroponte, 2001 hearing, printed p. 57 / PDF p. 61, testimony.

H33 · 17–25 Sep 1982 (contemporary account says last hostages freed 25 Sep); Chamber of Commerce, San Pedro Sula

Cinchoneros took Honduran business leaders and officials hostage, demanding release of prisoners and removal of U.S. military advisers. Contemporary hostage estimates differ as releases occurred; do not give a single verified total. Former ambassador Negroponte recalled roughly one hundred held for about a week. No American hostage or casualty is established.

U.S. connection and evidence: Demand targeted U.S. adviser presence; contemporaneous press reported U.S. Embassy military officers arriving to meet Honduran command during siege, without proving U.S. participation in assault or negotiation. V1 for documented U.S. diplomatic testimony about event; V2/R for reported adviser movements.

Provenance: Senate Foreign Relations, Nomination of John D. Negroponte, printed p. 57 / PDF p. 61, testimony; Washington Post, 20 Sep 1982, siege report; UPI, 26 Sep 1982, retrospective.

H20 · Aug–Sep 1983; Olancho Department, exact disappearance date unknown

U.S. priest James Carney, who traveled with an armed guerrilla group, was reported missing to U.S. Embassy by late September. Fate and cause remain contested; a CIA inspector-general summary says available information cannot definitively rule out capture, interrogation and killing by Honduran military. Do not report a proven killing or perpetrator.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. citizen/consular interest, no U.S. military service connection established. V1 for disappearance; U for fate.

Provenance: U.S. Senate Foreign Relations hearing, Nomination of John D. Negroponte, printed pp. 7–9 / PDF pp. 9–11, reproduced CIA IG findings, GPO hearing; State, 1997 Human Rights Report: Honduras, archived report.

H26 · 26 Nov 1983 (inferred from 29 Nov report's “Saturday”); Regional Military Training Center, near Puerto Castilla

Honduran army communiqué reported a high-voltage cable touched metal security works, killing Honduran soldier José Iván Tróchez and seriously burning eleven Honduran soldiers. No U.S. casualties stated.

U.S. connection and evidence: Accident at center where U.S. Special Forces trained Salvadoran soldiers; the source does not establish U.S. personnel witnessed or participated in accident. V2/R, moderate; original communiqué needed for V1.

Provenance: UPI, One dead, 11 wounded in accident at U.S. base, 29 Nov 1983, reproducing Honduran army communiqué, report.

H21 · 11 Jan 1984; near Nicaragua border, landing in Honduras

Unarmed U.S. OH-58 took fire, landed in Honduras; pilot CW2 Schwab was killed after exiting, two U.S. passengers survived according to White House statement. Subsequent Pentagon investigation reportedly found possible/actual incursion into Nicaraguan airspace before the forced landing; flight path and sequence must be sourced to full inquiry.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. Army helicopter in Honduras exercise context, individual passengers/units and award status require records. V1, high for fatal attack, U for route/sequence.

Provenance: White House, Statement by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Speakes on the Nicaraguan Attack on an Unarmed United States Helicopter, 12 Jan 1984, Reagan Presidential Library; contemporary Pentagon-investigation report, Washington Post, 14 Mar 1984. White House spells name “Jeffrey”; V3’s Schwab research lead uses “Jeffry”; check official casualty record before public name standardization.

H22 · 2 Feb 1984; mountainous south-central Honduras on El Aguacate–San Lorenzo route, precise site unresolved

U.S. Army UH-60 crashed in bad weather; contemporaneous U.S. Embassy statement gave four U.S. service members dead and six injured, three critically. Embassy said no indication of hostile action.

U.S. connection and evidence: Flight supported joint U.S.–Honduran exercise; unit/occupants require accident/casualty records. V2 with contemporaneous official statement reported, moderate to high.

Provenance: Washington Post, 4 Feb 1984, quoting U.S. Embassy one-page statement and reporting 2 Feb crash, article; UPI, 3 Feb 1984, article.

H27 · c. 12–14 Dec 1984; northeastern Honduras river, exact site unverified

The ERIC-hosted secondary compilation The Rise and Fall of Democracies in Third World Societies reports that two Navy personnel died in a demolition accident, citing the Washington Post of 14 December 1984, p. A20. HVSR has checked that passage at printed p. 236 / PDF p. 252; the original newspaper page has not been reviewed. A veteran advocacy chronology identifies Arthur Fusco and Michael Uyeda and places it at Río Amatingni on 12 Dec, but neither names nor location has been checked against Navy records.

U.S. connection and evidence: Navy connection reported, unit and mission unverified. L/R, low to moderate.

Provenance: College of William and Mary, Department of Anthropology, The Rise and Fall of Democracies in Third World Societies, Studies in Third World Societies 27, ERIC ED271367, printed p. 236 / PDF p. 252; cites Washington Post, 14 Dec 1984, p. A20. Secondary compilation and veteran advocacy lead; neither is an official Navy finding. ERIC hosting is not federal endorsement.

H28 · 16 Dec 1984; near Mocorón, eastern Honduras

UPI reported on 16 June 1985 that Capt. W. Drew Harrington was killed and three U.S. soldiers injured when U.S. mortar rounds landed short during training. UPI attributed its account to Seattle Times reporting on Army investigative transcripts. Allegations about old ammunition and safety lapses remain attributed press reporting; HVSR has not reviewed the complete Army investigation or an adjudicated finding.

Airborne Ranger in the Sky identifies CPT Drew Harrington, 2/75, and a live-fire accident on 16 December 1984. The 75th Ranger Regiment Association lists Drew Harrington under 2/75, B Co, with that date and “Training Honduras”; Ranger Legacy Foundation lists Winburn Drew Harrington III, that date and 2/75. These memorials corroborate identity, date and unit association only; their underlying source independence is not established. This is reported as a training accident, not hostile fire.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. Army Ranger training reported; exact unit/order and investigation outcome require records. V2/R, moderate to high for deaths/injuries, U for cause beyond short mortar fire.

Provenance: UPI, An Army Ranger captain killed in Honduras last December..., 16 Jun 1985, reporting Seattle Times examination of FOIA-released Army transcripts, report; Airborne Ranger in the Sky, CPT Drew Harrington (biography incomplete); 75th Ranger Regiment Association, Active Units, 2/75 casualty-table row; Ranger Legacy Foundation, Our Fallen Heroes, Winburn Drew Harrington III entry. Memorial corroboration is limited to identity/date/unit association; cause and investigative conclusions require Army records.

H24 · 22 Jan 1985; sea off Trujillo, Colón Department

U.S. C-130A (56-0501) crashed while attempting to land; all 21 aboard died. The Air Force wing history says seven crew and fourteen passengers, differing from the initial press description of five crew and sixteen passengers. Do not assign occupant categories without manifest.

U.S. connection and evidence: 440th Tactical Airlift Wing aircraft; military airlift from Panama to Honduras documented. No hostile action established. V1, high for date, crash, 21 deaths and wing; U for passenger breakdown and cause.

Provenance: U.S. Air Force, History of the 440th Airlift Wing, “The 440th in the 1980s,” official history; Air Education and Training Command, Family of fallen Airman visits clinic bearing his name, 21 May 2015, official corroboration; Army/Air Force death determination quoted by UPI, 26 Jan 1985, contemporaneous report.

18–19 Apr 1985 · OA-37B crash · northern Honduras

The official 111th Attack Wing memorial records the deaths of Capt. Donald F. Benton Jr. and Capt. Ronald B. Schatz on different dates. The crash occurred during a training flight; exact position, accident findings and the date difference need underlying files. An engagement or close air support action is not established.

111th Attack Wing, 11th Fighter Wing Memorial, entries for Benton and Schatz, official archived newsletter

H25 · 11 Jun 1986; eastern Honduras, exact site unknown

Contemporary U.S./Honduran military statements reported that U.S. soldier Paul J. Sexton died of a heart attack during Cabañas 86 maneuvers. This is a medical death, separate from H23's stabbing. Another nonofficial chronology gives 17 Jun; obtain casualty record to resolve.

U.S. connection and evidence: Joint maneuvers reported; particular unit/medical finding unverified from primary record. V2/R, moderate for reported death; U for exact date.

Provenance: UPI, Two U.S. soldiers die, one injured in joint maneuvers, 24 Jun 1986, report.

H23 · 18 Jun 1986 (derived from “last Wednesday” in 24 Jun report); forested eastern Honduras, exact site unknown

Contemporary account citing U.S. and Honduran officials says Staff Sgt. Timothy Hudgens was fatally stabbed by a Honduran soldier and Sgt. Christopher Bresko wounded in the leg. It describes the stabbing as accidental, but the U.S. Embassy said an investigation was ongoing; motive and legal determination remain unresolved.

U.S. connection and evidence: Both were taking part in Cabañas 86 joint maneuvers according to the report; specific unit assignment needs official personnel records. V2/R, moderate; date inferred from relative wording.

Provenance: UPI, Two U.S. soldiers die, one injured in joint maneuvers, 24 Jun 1986, reporting U.S. Embassy and military statements, report.

13 Jun 1987 · Palmerola Air Base · SSG Randall J. Harris

JTF-Bravo records that Harris was shot and killed while performing security duty at the front gate of Palmerola Air Base. A later official memorial record identifies his deploying unit as the 978th Military Police Company and states that he served in support of JTF-Bravo.

Classification note: The official sources establish a line-of-duty death during security duty. HVSR does not classify the death as combat or terrorist action without additional evidence.

8 Aug 1987 · China Palace bombing · Comayagua

Public Law 100-204 records congressional findings that a terrorist bomb exploded at the China Palace restaurant in Comayagua, Honduras; that it was directed at American soldiers; that American soldiers and an American contractor were wounded; and that the military personnel were assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo.

The Congressional Record identifies five wounded soldiers as SFC Ronald W. Rodriguez, SFC Robin Jackson, SFC Ian Holt, SFC Direak McKeen and SFC David Lambert, and identifies contractor Barry Stein. Individual Purple Heart entitlement is tracked separately and is not inferred from the incident record.

H04 · 7 Apr 1988; U.S. Embassy annex, Tegucigalpa

Violent attack/riot at annex, listed as arson in a State diplomatic-installation table; casualties not established. The State human rights report links related disorders in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, but their precise sequence needs separate documentation.

U.S. connection and evidence: Diplomatic installation; no U.S. military connection documented. V1, high for date and attack; moderate for arson classification.

Provenance: State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1988, Honduras introduction and disappearance section, archived State text; State, Attacks on U.S. Diplomatic Installations, 1987–1997, “Annex–Tegucigalpa / Arson,” table; State Department, State Magazine, July 1988, News Highlights, reports convening its first accountability review board after extensive annex damage, archived issue.

H18 · 17 Jul 1988; outside Confettis discotheque, San Pedro Sula

Armed attackers used guns and an explosive as U.S. servicemen boarded a vehicle. Initial report counted five wounded; subsequent reporting counted six. Exact weapon and final casualty roster require official files.

U.S. connection and evidence: Contemporary U.S. official statement identifies personnel as attached to JTF-Bravo at Palmerola; State 1988 human rights report independently notes an attack on U.S. military personnel without date. V2 with official confirmation of an attack, high for event, U for final count.

Provenance: State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1988, Honduras introduction, archived text; UPI, 17–18 Jul 1988, citing U.S. officials, initial report and follow-up.

H30 · 8 Dec 1988; near La Ceiba, northern Honduras

U.S. Army CH-47 crashed during maneuvers; subsequent contemporaneous accounts say all five Americans aboard died, after initial reports counted only three or four confirmed dead. Cause requires Army accident board.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. Embassy spokeswoman identified personnel as stationed with JTF-Bravo at Palmerola. Do not infer a particular brigade, crew duty or hostile action. V2 with attributed U.S. Embassy confirmation; high for crash and five fatalities, U for cause.

Provenance: UPI, Four American soldiers killed in helicopter crash, 8 Dec 1988, quoting embassy, initial report; Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec 1988, five-fatality follow-up.

H05 · 19 Dec 1988; Peace Corps headquarters, Tegucigalpa

Bombing; State human rights report says no injuries; damage not established from summary.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. government civilian target; no military link established. V1, moderate; obtain 1988 annual detail.

Provenance: State diplomatic-installation table, row “12/19/88 Peace Corps Hqs.–Tegucigalpa / Bombing,” table; State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1988, Honduras introduction, archived text.

H06 · 30 Jan 1989; near Peace Corps building, Tegucigalpa

Homemade bomb found by a private residence roughly 100 m from Peace Corps building and disarmed; no responsibility claim; injuries not stated. This does not establish the intended target.

U.S. connection and evidence: No military link. V1, high for discovery.

Provenance: State, Significant Incidents of Political Violence Against Americans: 1989, publication 9767, printed p. 3 / PDF p. 8; OJP copy.

1 Feb 1989 • Yoro Province

State reports fire on a seven-vehicle convoy during Fuertes Caminos; no injuries reported. Participant identities remain unresolved.

18 Feb 1989 • Comayagua area

State reports a bombing beside a contract bus returning to Soto Cano, with injuries.

H09 · 23 Feb 1989; La Ceiba

Grenade at Standard Fruit Company offices; windows shattered, no injuries; perpetrators unknown.

U.S. connection and evidence: American affiliated business interest; military link unestablished. V1, high.

Provenance: Same State report, printed p. 4 / PDF p. 9, PDF.

H19 · 25 Feb 1989; mountain in Honduras, exact location not given

Private Honduran air-cargo contractor’s DC-6, used to air-drop USAID-financed supplies to Resistance camps, crashed into a mountainside; all ten aboard killed. GAO says cause undetermined; AID officials believed fuel exhaustion. Nationalities and military status of those aboard not stated.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. government-funded contractor transportation; no U.S. military crew or hostile action documented. V1, high for crash and count, U for cause and identities.

Provenance: GAO, Central America: Humanitarian Assistance to the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance, GAO/NSIAD-90-62, printed p. 26 / PDF p. 26.

11 Apr 1989 • Yoro Province

State reports an ambush, exchanged fire and vehicle damage; no casualties reported. Attackers’ contrary claims are not accepted as findings.

H11 · 16 Apr 1989; U.S. Embassy warehouse, Tegucigalpa

Device exploded prematurely while two people reportedly tried to plant it: one killed, one seriously injured; minor door damage; unexploded grenade found. These are attacker casualties, not U.S. casualties.

U.S. connection and evidence: Diplomatic facility; no military participation established. V1, high for event; police inference about intent attributed.

Provenance: Same State report, printed p. 5 / PDF p. 10, PDF.

H12 · 10 Jul 1989; near Avance offices, Tegucigalpa

Honduran police disarmed timed dynamite under a car near a USAID funded educational organization; Americans reportedly on staff; prior threats reported by press. No injuries in report.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S. aid connection; no military link. V1 for device, V2/R for reported staffing and threats.

Provenance: Same State report, printed p. 7 / PDF p. 12, PDF.

13 Jul 1989 • La Ceiba

State reports a grenade attack injuring U.S. military policemen in La Ceiba during their Fuertes Caminos assignment.

31 Mar 1990 · U.S. Air Force bus attack · north of Tegucigalpa

On March 31, 1990, a bus carrying U.S. Air Force engineering personnel was attacked north of Tegucigalpa. State Department accounts report six and seven wounded. Eight Hall of Honor profiles associate Purple Heart awards with this date. HVSR has not reconciled the final injury roster or reviewed the underlying award orders.

Specific unit and operation remain unresolved. Injury, casualty and award totals are evaluated separately.

H15 · 13 May 1991 · Cerro la Mole

A published retrospective account describes a fatal MEDEVAC crash at Cerro la Mole on May 13, 1991. An Air Medal certificate reproduction for crew member William L. Jarrell II has been located. The complete accident report, casualty records and award orders remain sought; cause and individual recognition details remain under review.

The retrospective account describes California Army National Guard crew connections. Assignment records remain needed. Neither hostile action nor accident responsibility is established by the certificate reproduction.

H16 · 31 May 1991; Tegucigalpa

Small bomb exploded roughly 50 yards from Burger King; no reported damage or injuries. Leaflets made anti-American references and expressed anger at former MPL-C members. Intended target is not established.

U.S. connection and evidence: No military link documented. V1, high for explosion; U for intended target.

Provenance: State, Significant Incidents of Political Violence Against Americans: 1991, printed p. 15 / PDF p. 20, OJP copy.

H17 · 2 Dec 1991; San Pedro Sula

RPG attack on Cervecería Hondureña brewery, owned by U.S. firm Castle & Cooke; no injuries reported; damage estimated by State at $1 million. FPM faction claimed responsibility in taped message.

U.S. connection and evidence: U.S.-owned business; no military link documented. V1, high.

Provenance: Same 1991 State report, printed p. 20 / PDF p. 25, PDF.