Notorious Honduran School of the Americas Graduates

*Hector Aguilar Claros 1966, Radio Operator
1972, Officer Basic Combat Arms Abuse of authority: Rafael Nodarse, owner of a local television station accused Aguilar Claros of abuse of authority when Aguilar ordered his troops to surround the station after allegations of his involvement with human rights abuses were made on the air. (ET) GEN Gustavo Alvarez Martínez 1976, Joint Operations Course Battalion 3-16, brutal human rights abuses: His tenure as Armed Forces Commander in the early to mid 1980's was marked by brutal human rights abuses by the Honduran military and the formation - with the help of the CIA and Argentine advisors - of death squad Battalion 3-16. (AW:HRH) Alvarez Martínez was forced (with a gun to his head) to step down in 1984. He fled to Miami, got religion, returned to Honduras and was assassinated. (Baltimore Sun, 6/11/96) In 1982, former chief of military intelligence Colonel Leonidas Torres Arias stated that Alarez Martinez ordered the disappearance of Nelson Mackay and a number of Hondurans. *CPT Carlos Rodolfo Aleman 1956, Radio Operator Threatening a priest: Threatened Spanish priest Elias Ruiz in an attempt to make him cease his demands for an investigation into the true perpetrators of the massacre of the peasants at "El Astillero". (OMCT) *COL Juan Ramon Alvarado 1960, Policia Militar para Alistados
1972, Irregular Warfare Operations
1981, Administracion/Recursos Cover-up in assassination case: Alvarado was one of five military officials named to a panel to investigate the murder of union leader Francisco Javier Bonilla in May of 1990. Although witnesses identified a DNI agent as the assassin, the panel never questioned the agent. Instead, it produced three suspects, all of whom stated that they had been tortured into confessing. None of the witnesses identified these suspects as responsible for the crime., and a key witness was repeatedly harassed by military personnel. When the case was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Commission, the Commission concluded that the Honduran government had violated the victims' rights to judicial protection. (IACHR, Case 10.793) MAJ Carlos Alberto Andino Benítez 1972, Cadet Course Battalion 3-16: Aided battalion members in capturing and murdering several rebels in 1983. (AW:HRH) GEN Reinaldo Andino Flores 1974, Military Personnel Management Arbitrary detention, torture, rape: Andino Flores, current defense minister of Honduras, has been accused by Honduras' Supreme Court of crimes committed under his command of the 101st Infantry Brigade during the 1980's, when many Hondurans were "tortured, mistreated, sexually violated and arbitrarily detained" by that unit. (AP, 11/94) *Lazaro Melanio Avila Soleno 1956, Cadet
1967, Jungle Operations
1967, Comando y Estado Mayor Accused of disappearance: Rosa Suazo Castillo has requested that the Honduran courts investigate Avila Soleno's participation in the 1988 disappearance of her son Leonel Suazo. (La Tribuna)
Cover-up in assassination case: Avila Soleno was one of five military officials named to a panel to investigate the murder of union leader Francisco Javier Bonilla in May of 1990. Although witnesses identified a DNI agent as the assassin, the panel never questioned the agent. Instead, it produced three suspects, all of whom stated that they had been tortured into confessing. None of the witnesses identified these suspects as responsible for the crime., and a key witness was repeatedly harassed by military personnel. When the case was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Commission, the Commission concluded that the Honduran government had violated the victims rights to judicial protection. (IACHR, Case 10.793) *COL Marco Tulio Ayala Vindel 1968, C-1 Arrest Warrant Pending, Sept 1997: CODEH brought charges in a Honduran court against Ayala Vindel and other Honduran officials for their involvement in the disappearance of Amado Espinoza and Adan Avilez Funes. Although the judge has issued an arrest warrant, Ayala Vindel has failed to present himself before the court. Ayala Vindel was head of Battalion 3-16 in 1984. (CAP 6-30-96) COL Lufty Azaad Matute 1968, Irregular Warfare Course
1963, Cadet Course (Distinguished graduate) Plot to take over armed forces, 1986: One of three officers (all SOA graduates) dismissed from Honduran military in 1986 for involvement in a plot to overthrow then-chief of Armed Forces Humberto Regalado. (AW:HRH) GEN Daniel Balí Castillo 1978, Joint Operations Course
1973, Command & General Staff College
1972, Internal Defense Battalion 3-16: A key member of Battalion 3-16, organizing death squad activity during the early and mid 1980's. (AW:HRH) *1LT Felipe Ballesteros 1986, Basico para Oficiales de Infanteria Planting bombs: Ballesteros' wife signed a formal complaint stating that her husband admitted to planting two bombs for MCAS, a clandestine organization of Hondurans and Cubans that claimed responsibility for 10 bombings in 1994 and 1995 (MH, 9-28-97) CPT Oscar Barahona 1982, Military Intelligence Officer Course (Distinguished graduate) Disappearance: Responsible for the disappearance of Gerardo Vega Barbosa, April 26, 1981. (AW:TFS) COL Inocente Borjas 1971, Supply Officer Course Battalion 3-16: National commander of the battalion through 1986. (AW:TFS) GEN José Abnego Bueso Rosa 1961, General Supply Officer Course Plot to assassinate, drug trafficking, 1984: Formerly an ally in the U.S.'s Contra operations, Bueso pled guilty in 1986 to involvement in a 1984 shipment of 760 pounds of cocaine to Florida. Oliver North strove to keep Bueso from having to serve prison time in the U.S. (WP, 5/29/94; NSN 6/12/94) The drugs were to finance the assassination of Honduran president Roberto Suarez Cordoba. Bueso Rosa was convicted in a U.S. district court in Miami in 1986. (Baltimore Sun, 6/11/95) *COL Luis Alonso Carranza Peña 1973, O-1
1972, Military Intelligence O-11
1955, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic Torture, 1988: Col. Carranza ordered the arrest and torture of Daniel de Jesus Sarmiento, an opposition congressional candidate. Carranza's troops have also been accused of torturing José Rafael Sánchez. (AW:HWW) COL Andino Cesar Angel Castillo Maradiaga 1982, Joint Operations Course
1980, Command & General Staff College
1973, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course Murder, rape (convicted): Convicted in 1993 for the rape and murder of 18-year-old student Riccy Mabel Martinez in 1991, a crime which, because of its brutality, became a high-profile human rights case in Honduras. (HRWWR94) On May 18, 1996, the First Court of Appeals upheld his 16-year sentence. *COL Julio Cesar Chavez 1965 Military Police, Enlisted Failure to Carry Out Arrest Warrant, 1996: Chavez failed to carry out Judge Aristides Aguilera's arrest warrant for fellow military officers accused of participation in the disappearance of Adan Avilez Funes and Amado Espinoza Paz. (CAP 6/30/96) 1LT Noel Corrales 1978, Infantry Officer Basic Course Battalion 3-16: Was sub-commander of Battalion 3-16 in San Pedro Sula in the early 1980's. (AW:TFS) MAJ Adolfo Díaz 1979, Command & General Staff College
1971, Command and Unit Staff Course Battalion 3-16 (Group of Fourteen): In 1981, commanded the Group of Fourteen, a precursor to Battalion 3-16. (AW:TFS) *Rodolfo Raúl Díaz Velasquez 1982, Military Intelligence Attempted Kidnapping, Arms Theft, Dumping Bodies: Witnesses say that he directed the attempted kidnapping of Angel Caballero Sánchez by police agents in 1987. Caballero was killed during the incident. (EH) In 1997, Díaz was formally accused of stealing arms from the Logistical Command of the Armed Forces. (BI2/20) Díaz was also accused by Marco Tulio Gonzalez Reyes of dumping 10 bodies in the Montañita zone during the early 1980's. (LT) GEN Luis Alonso Discua Elvir 1982, Military Intelligence Officer Course
1972, Irregular Warfare Operations
1967, Officer Cadet, Jungle Operations Battalion 3-16: Current Chief of Staff, Honduran Armed Forces. In early eighties, Discua commanded Intelligence Battalion 3-16, known for its death squad activity. (AW:TFS) *COL Danilio Ferrara Suazo 1963, Infantry Officer
1970, Basico de capacitacion para oficiales
1973, Comando y Estado Mayor
1978, Operaciones Conjuntas Involvement with contra forces illegally operating in Honduras: According to a cable from the U. S. Embassy in Nicaragua to the U.S. Dept. of State, Ferrara was one of the Honduran army officials "accused of being involved with the contras.".(NSAN #01613) CPT Pio Flores 1974, Military Police Officer Course
1973, "O-27"
1971, Don de Mando
1968, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanics Battalion 3-16: His house was used as a detention facility for the disappeared prior to their executions. (TFSFT, AW:TFS) *COL Enmanuel Flores Mejía 1972, Basic Officer Qualification Course Threats against priest, 1991: Threatened the Spanish priest Elias Ruiz if he continued his demands for an investigation into the true perpetrators of the massacre in "El Asillero" (OMCT) 1LT Segundo Flores Murillo 1978, Infantry Officer Basic Course Battalion 316: Was in charge of interrogation and torture for Battalion 3-16 in the early 1980's. (AW:TFS) *COL Oscar Fuentes 1971, Don de Mando
1972, Officer Basic Combat Arms Threats and intimidation, 1988: After Radio America reporter David Romero broadcast the names of five military officials allegedly involved in drug-trafficking, Romero was arrested without a warrant by plain-clothes police officers and taken to Col Fuentes, who threatened him and interrogated him about the source of his information. For several weeks after his release, he and his wife were repeatedly harassed by police agents under Fuente's command. (AW:HWW) *COL Leonel Galindo 1986, Administracion de recursos Implicated in Aguas Calientes Massacre, 1991: On May 3, 1991, Felipe Huete and four other members of the National Association of Honduran Peasants were killed and eight others wounded by soldiers and armed civilians. This incident occurred on a piece of land attributed to peasants in 1975 and claimed by Galindo. One of his employees was amongst the perpetrators of the massacre. (TORT) *COL Leonel Gutierrez Minera 1963, Cadet Suspected links to drug-trafficking: According to Juan Arancibia of the Institute for Socio-Economic Research of Honduras, Honduran newspapers have frequently linked Guitierrez Minera and other top Honduran officials to drug-trafficking. (WRH) COL Juan López Grijalva 1991, 1992, SOA Guest Speaker
1975, Command & General Staff College
1969, Irregular Warfare Operations
1963, Officer Cadet Course Battalion 3-16: Key member of Battalion 3-16, organizedg death squad activity during the early and mid 1980s. (AW:HRH, AW:TFS) MAJ Oscar Hernández Chavez 1973, Cadet Course Battalion 3-16: Former commander of Battalion 3-16 in San Pedro Sula, accused in 1986 of trying to assassinate the head of the Honduran Human Rights Commission. (CODEH, AW:HRH) * COL Diego Landa Celano 1961, Counter Resistance
1970, Comando y Plana Mayor
1972, Command and General Staff Suspected links to drug-trafficking: According to Juan Arancibia of the Institute for Socio-Economic Research of Honduras, Honduran newspapers have frequently linked Landa Celano and other top Honduran officials to drug-trafficking. (WRH) *Carlos Lara Cruz 1982, Aspirantes a Oficial Failure to cooperate with human rights investigation: In what appears to be a government cover-up of the murder of Miguel Angel Pavon, who was one of the first witnesses to testify against Honduras in the Inter-American Court, Lara Cruz and other agents who were on duty at the time have repeatedly ignored court subpoenas to present themselves for questioning. (AW:HWW). *MAJ Marco Antonio Leiva 1978, Basico para Officiales de Infanteria
1980, Officiales de Inteligencia Militar Under Investigation for car-theft: Leiva is one of 13 officials currently under investigation by the DIC for car-theft. (BI6-27-97) GEN Walter López Reyes 1983, Joint Operations Course Battalion 3-16: Key member of Battalion 3-16, organized death squad activity during the early and mid 1980's. (AW:HRH) *CPT Leonel Luque Jimenez 1965, Military Police Officers
1974, Const de Vehiculos motores para oficiales Murder, 1983: According to testimony by Efren Mondragon, Cpt. Luque, while acting as the Honduran army's liaison with the contras, participated in the murder of Commanders "Suicida", "Criler", "Ebacu". The three were murdered in Tierras Coloradas, Jurisdiction Lauca, Department El Paraiso. They had previously been prisoners in the First Battalion of Infantry of the Army of Honduras. The murder took the orders of Adolfo Calero and Enrique Bermudez. (NSAN #02419) *CPT Ernesto Martinez Paz 1974, Jefes de Comunicaiones Threats, 1987: Martinez Paz and other officers threatened Jose Lito Aguilera, who was later arrested by army intelligence agents and killed in military custody on January 4, 1988. Although the military claimed that the death was an accident, witnesses who saw the body say that it had been mutilated with the testicles cut off and the face battered. (AW:HWW) *Marco Antonio Matute Lagos 1972, Officer Basic Combat Arms Arrest Warrant Pending, Sept 1997: CODEH brought charges in a Honduran court against Matute Lagos and other Honduran officials for their involvement in the disappearance of Amado Espinoza and Adan Avilez Funes. Although the judge has issued an arrest warrant, Matute Lagos has failed to present himself before the court. (CAP, 6/30/96) 2LT Ramón Mejia 1983, Faculty Development (OE-2) Battalion 3-16: In charge of communications and transporting kidnap victims from various parts of Honduras to Tegucigalpa (AW:HRH). Along with Marco Tulio Regalado (brother of both Regalados, above), he was one of the officers most involved in torture, interrogation and murder. (AW:TFS) GEN Juan Melgar Castro 1962, "SOPM" Course Military dictator, 1975-78: Installed to replace former, more liberal military dictator. (WP, 5/19/94) *COL Freddy Miranda 1970, Bascio de Capatacion para Oficiales
1970, OE-8
1972, Engineer, officer
1975, Military Intelligence Cover-up in assassination case: Miranda was one of five military officials named to a panel to investigate the murder of union leader Francisco Javier Bonilla in May of 1990. Although witnesses identified a DNI agent as the assassin, the panel never questioned the agent. Instead, it produced three suspects, all of whom stated that they had been tortured into confessing. None of the witnesses identified these suspects as responsible for the crime., and a key witness was repeatedly harassed by military personnel. When the case was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Commission, the Commission concluded that the Honduran government had violated the victims rights to judicial protection. (IACHR, Case 10.793) *CPT David Ricardo Mutillo Ateaga 1977, Infantry Officer Basic
1982 , Admin. de la Instruccion de Unidades Pequeñas Threats, 1987: Murillo Ateaga and other officers threatened Jose Lito Aguilera, who was later arrested by army intelligence agents and killed in military custody on January 4, 1988. Although the military claimed that the death was an accident, witnesses who saw the body say that it had been mutilated with the testicles cut off and the face battered. (AW:HWW). LTC Roberto Nuñez Montes 1965, Military Intelligence
1963, Officer Cadet Course Former military intelligence chief accused, in 1987, of organizing a raid on the household of an alternate Honduran congressional deputy. (AW:HRH) *COL Herber Munguia 1967, Cadet C-2
1967, Jungle Operations Cover-up in assassination case: Munguia was one of five military officials named to a panel to investigate the murder of union leader Francisco Javier Bonilla in May of 1990. Although witnesses identified a DNI agent as the assassin, the panel never questioned the agent. Instead, it produced three suspects, all of whom stated that they had been tortured into confessing. None of the witnesses identified these suspects as responsible for the crime., and a key witness was repeatedly harassed by military personnel. When the case was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Commission, the Commission concluded that the Honduran government had violated the victims rights to judicial protection. (IMCHR, Case 10.793) GEN Policarpo Paz García 1988, SOA "Hall of Fame"
1959, General Supply Officer Course Military dictator, 1980-82: Achieved power through military appointment (replaced Melgar Castro, above). Tenure noted for corruption, and the high level of military repression, including the startling leap of activity attributable to Battalion 3-16. (AW:TFS) Juan Ramón Peña Paz 1965, Counterinsurgency Battalion 3-16: Executioner of Battalion 3-16. The disappeared were executed on his order. (TFSFT) COL Guillermo Pinel Calix 1983, Command & General Staff College
1973, "0-6" Police brutality, 1987: Former head of the much- feared DNI, the investigative arm of the national police. The former Honduran ambassador to Spain, Dr. Moncada Medrano, accused Pinel Calix of threatening his life in March 1987, when Pinel Calix allegedly burst into the former ambassador's house with 6 agents. When Moncada - with machine guns pressed against his chest and back - protested, Pinel Calix. who seemed heavily under the influence of drugs, said that he was "the boss in Honduras. If you give me that bullsh- I'm going to make you disappear." (AW:HRH) *CPT Carlos Quezada Aguilar 1984, Military Intelligence Torture, 1984: Captured and tortured Osiris Villalobos Pineda, Honduran economist and former student leader of the Jose Trinidad Reyes Institute in San Pedro Sula. This occurred just six weeks after Quezada completed his SOA course. (WOLA:HRH) GEN Humberto Regalado Hernández 1988, SOA "Hall of Fame"
1975, Command & General Staff College
1972, Internal Defense Course
1971, Command and Unit Staff Course
1961, Infantry Weapons and Tactics Corruption, strong links to drug trafficking, 1980's: One year after being inducted into the SOA Hall of Fame, fellow officers accused Regalado Hernández of misappropriating millions of dollars in U.S. military aid. Officers contended that equipment provided through U.S. military assistance was regularly sold to unit commanders by Regalado, who then deposited the money in a "special account." Military assistance supplies sold by Regalado ranged from batteries to tires to gasoline. The New York Times article describing the unsubstantiated charges against Regalado also reported that the Reagan administration - in 1988, the year Regalado was inducted into the SOA Hall of Fame - suspected Regalado of providing protection to Colombian drug traffickers living in Honduras. Regalado's half-brother (SOA graduate Rigoberto Regalado Lara, convicted and imprisoned in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges) told authorities that his supplier was a close friend of General Regalado Hernández. (NYT, 10/15/89) On a different tack, as chief of Honduran armed forces, Regalado refused to take action against soldiers involved in Battalion 3-16 death squad activity (AW:HRH), and indeed appeared to cover-up at least some of that activity (AW:TFS). LTC Rigoberto Regalado Lara 1971, Commando Unit Staff Course
1966, Basic Airborne and Parachute Rig.
1962, Communications Officer Course Drug Trafficking, 1988: As the Honduran ambassador to Panama, 1988, Regalado was arrested in Miami while attempting to smuggle 26 pounds of cocaine into the U.S. (AJC, 10/30/88) *Guadalupe Reithal Caballero 1987, Curso de Administraci&ocaute;n de Recursos Links to death squads: Reithal was chief of Battalion 3-16 in 1990. CODEH has also accused him of involvement in the Triple A Death Squad. (CODEHUCA) *LTC Alvaro Reyes Lopez 1971, Policia militar para oficiales Threats, 1987: Reyes Lopez and other officers threatened Jose Lito Aguilera, who was later arrested by army intelligence agents and killed in military custody on January 4, 1988. Although the military claimed that the death was an accident, witnesses who saw the body say that it had been mutilated with the testicles cut off and the face battered. (AW:HWW). *COL Leonel Riera Lunati 1963, Cadet
1967, Military Intelligence
1967, Counterintelligence Suspected links to drug-trafficking: According to Juan Arancibia of the Institute for Socio-Economic Research of Honduras, Honduran newspapers have frequently linked Riera Lunati and other top Honduran officials to drug-trafficking. (WRH) COL Thomas Said Speer 1980, Joint Operations Course
1979, Administration Review
1977, Command & General Staff College
1964, Engineer Officer Course Plot to take over armed forces: One of three officers (all SOA graduates) dismissed from Honduran military in 1986 for involvement in plot to overthrow then-chief of Armed Forces Humberto Regalado. (AW:HRH) Subtte Juan Blas Salazar Meza 1972, Internal Defense O-7 Drug trafficking: Sentenced in October 1995 to 21 years in prison for drug trafficking. The judge said that Salazar had taken seven of 80 kilograms of cocaine that were confiscated in an anti-narcotics operation in 1994. On Dec. 5, 1995 he was ordered arrested in connection with the abduction and torture of six university students in 1982. Salazar is the former head of the Honduran Secret Police (DIN).(UPI, Jan. 3, 1996) * GEN José Wilfredo Sanchez Valladares 1959, Policia Militar para Alistados
1965, Infantry Officer
1978, Administracion/Logistica Suspected links to drug-trafficking: According to Juan Arancibia of the Institute for Socio-Economic Research of Honduras, Honduran newspapers have frequently linked Sanchez Valladres and other top Honduran officials to drug-trafficking. (WRH) CABO Aquilino Sorto González 1974, Jefes de Comunicaciones Torture: As director of the Comayagua penal farm (granja penal) jail in Honduras, Sorto was accused of torturing 12 children on November 12, 1995. The children ranged from 10 to 17 years old and were punched, beaten and tortured, by hanging them up by handcuffed hands. In July 1998, a Honduran judge ruled that Sorto had not violated the children's rights, despite significant evidence to the contrary. The ruling will be appealed. La Tribuna, July 25, 1998 *COL Manuel Enrique Suarez Benavides 1971, Comando y Estado Mayor Flight from Justice, 1997: When charges were brought against Suarez Benevides for the 1982 disappearance of Adan Avilez Funes and Amado Espinoza Paz, he went into hiding to avoid prosecution. He was later detained and as of September 1997 was awaiting trial. (BI9/3) COL Guillermo Thuman Cordon 1973, Command & General Staff College
1960, Military Intelligence Course Plot to take over armed forces: One of three officers (all SOA graduates) dismissed from Honduran military in 1986 for involvement in plot to overthrow then-chief of Armed Forces Humberto Regalado. (AW:HRH) LTC Luis Alonso Villatoro Villeda 1982, Administration
1973, "O-6" Battalion 3-16: Was head of Battalion 3-16 from 1986-1988, when that battalion disappeared, among others, Roger Samuel González Zelaya, a 24-year-old student. (AW:TFS) COL Amílcar Zelaya 1972, Command & General Staff College
1970, Command and Unit Staff Course Battalion 3-16: His country home was used as a detention, torture, and killing center for Battalion 3-16 in the early to mid 1980's, where up to 30 prisoners could be kept at once. (TFSFT,& Baltimore Sun, 6/11/95)