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29-513: The U.S. government once used Palmerola (as previously known) as a base of operations to support its foreign policy objectives in the 1980s. Now the U.S. military uses Soto Cano as a launching point for humanitarian aid missions throughout Honduras and Central America. In addition to the Honduran Air Force Academy, the U.S. military's Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B) is headquartered at Soto Cano. José Enrique Soto Cano Air Base

58-576: A 24-hour C-5 Galaxy -capable runway. The Army Forces operate finance, personnel and airborne operations. Joint Security Forces consists of Air Force and Army force protection personnel who patrol the base and provide gate guard duty alongside their Honduran counterparts. Health care services are performed by the Medical Element. The 1-228th Aviation performs a variety of airlift support missions throughout Central and South America with UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. U.S. forces are guests on

87-564: A coup in 1978, Callejas remained in this post. During the transition to democracy culminating in November 1981 elections, which were won by the Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH), he rose within the ranks of the National Party of Honduras (PNH), and in 1982 presided over their central committee. He supported former President Ricardo Maduro's Unidad y Cambio (Unity and Change) movement within

116-444: A five-minute walking distance. Apartments and dormitories are replacing some of the 270 wooden hooches used for decades by permanent party personnel that are now used by permanent party and temporary duty personnel. Most permanent party personnel are stationed at JTF-Bravo for several months and the assignment is treated as a remote assignment, much like assignments to Republic of Korea. All military and U.S. civilian personnel live on

145-542: A great deal of hardship in what was already one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. Gasoline supplies were non-existent when he took office and long lines of cars were seen at the gas stations trying to obtain fuel. This led to many strikes and a lot of social agitation, until his government successfully negotiated with the United States the write-off of a $ US430 million debt, in September 1991. He presided over

174-459: A liberal reformist government, opened the Honduran economy to local and foreign investment and managed steady growth during the last three years of his presidency, although during the fourth year of his term fiscal indiscipline led to a new set of economic measures being imposed by the following government. Poverty was reduced by 8% under his tenure. Infrastructure was a priority and large investments in

203-560: A period of 60 days, after the crash of TACA Flight 390 at Toncontín International Airport which resulted in 5 deaths was blamed on the runway being too short at Toncontín. Following an investigation into the incident, Pilot error was found to be the main cause. The military was placed in charge of building a civilian air terminal with funding from the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (enabled by emergency decrees). This however

232-600: Is a Honduras military installation and home of the Honduras Air Force and Honduras Air Force Academy . It is located less than 10 mi (16 km) from Comayagua (population: 33,000), and 60 mi (97 km) from the Honduras capital, Tegucigalpa. The base is about 2 mi × 6 mi (3.2 km × 9.7 km); lies in the Comayagua Valley and is ringed by 8,000 ft (2,438 m) mountain peaks to

261-433: Is located. However, in a September 25, 2011 update, President Lobo stated officials were still "evaluating the pros and cons" of constructing the new airport. This comes three years after former President Manuel Zelaya had announced that all commercial flights would be transferred to Soto Cano Air Base; however, work on the new terminal at Soto Cano was then cancelled after Zelaya was removed from office on 28 June 2009 in

290-539: The 2009 Honduran coup d'état . Upon realization of the Palmerola airport, commercial flights to and from Toncontín would continue to operate but would be limited to small aircraft and domestic flights . [REDACTED] Media related to Soto Cano Air Base at Wikimedia Commons US foreign policy Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

319-551: The Summer Olympics . His election in 1989 marked the first time since 1932 that power was transferred peacefully between Honduras' two major parties. Callejas was once again the PNH candidate in the 1989 elections where a reported 200,000 identifications from deceased Honduran citizens were used. Callejas won with 52.3% of the votes, becoming the first PNH President since 1972. He had to confront severe economic problems, and he followed

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348-703: The 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment. The 1-228th Aviation provides aviation support for the JTF-Bravo humanitarian and disaster recovery missions. The Joint-Staff provides command and control for JTF-B and falls directly under the JTF-B Commander. The requirement is for a U.S. Army Colonel to be the Commander of JTF-B and a U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel to be the Deputy Commander. In addition, MEDEL, 1-228th AV, and ARFOR are commanded by U.S. Army officers, while,

377-493: The 612th ABS and JSF are commanded by U.S. Air Force officers. Within the Joint Staff, Air Force personnel remain under the administrative control (ADCON) of AFSOUTH while Army personnel are ADCON under ARSOUTH. The J-1 Staff Directorate retains the responsibility for any local administrative requirements for all Joint-Staff service members. The 612 ABS has among its functions; weather forecasting, fire protection, and maintaining

406-715: The PLH candidates gained 51.5% of the total vote, and therefore it was their most voted for candidate, José Azcona del Hoyo , with 27.5% of the vote, who became president. Until 2015, Callejas was President of the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras (FENAFUTH). Under his tenure, Honduras qualified for the FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014, the first time Honduras qualified for two consecutive World Cups. During his tenure, Honduras qualified for all major football soccer competitions in all age brackets, including

435-476: The PNH that brought the party more towards the center, and a liberal economic path. Callejas then created his own faction, the Movimiento Nacional Callejista (National Callejista Movement), to advance his candidature in the 1985 presidential elections. At the time both main political parties allowed various candidates to stand, and while Callejas gained the highest vote of any candidate with 42.6%,

464-489: The United States and Honduras, can be abrogated with little notice. Soto Cano lodging for U.S. personnel there consists of "hooches" with a tin roof, with air conditioners and fans for cooling. Metal dormitories are more permanent structures and have air conditioning. Both contain beds and other furniture, televisions, refrigerators and microwaves. The hooches and metal barracks had no running water. However, latrines, shower facilities and laundry rooms were centrally located within

493-637: The advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by cutting public spending, resulting in many public servants being laid off, and by devaluing the Lempira . At the time of the devaluation of the Lempira, the Honduran Central Bank, presided over at the time by Ricardo Maduro Joest, did not have any dollars available to the general public. Instead, people were given back devalued Lempiras causing

522-413: The base which is the home of the Honduran Air Force Academy. Soto Cano is not a U.S. installation as some media report. The Constitution of Honduras does not permit a permanent foreign presence in Honduras. A handshake agreement between the United States and Honduras allows JTF-Bravo to remain in Honduras on a semi-permanent basis. This agreement, an annex to the 1954 military assistance agreement between

551-441: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 380889703 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:48:44 GMT Rafael Leonardo Callejas Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero (November 14, 1943 – April 4, 2020) was the 31st President of Honduras from January 27, 1990 to January 27, 1994, representing the National Party of Honduras (PNH). Callejas

580-431: The east and west. Soto Cano sits at an elevation of 2,062 ft (628 m) above sea level. The American contingent at Soto Cano Air Base is designated Joint Task Force-Bravo and consists of U.S. military personnel, U.S. civilians and Honduran civilians. They work in five different major support commands (MSCs) including the 612th Air Base Squadron (ABS), Army Forces Battalion, Joint Security Forces, Medical Element, and

609-707: The installation; contractors live off base on the local economy. Contractors and foreign national employees are the only personnel allowed to drive personal vehicles on base and the majority of people walk or ride bicycles. Because the base is so compact, this poses no problem getting around. Personnel assigned to Soto Cano can ride a bus that will transport them to Soto Cano from Tegucigalpa. The bus runs in conjunction with aircraft arrival and departure times. In 1990 Honduran President Rafael Leonardo Callejas decreed that commercial cargo flights were authorized to operate from Soto Cano. In 2008 President Manuel Zelaya announced that commercial flights would begin at Palmerola within

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638-657: The irregular forces of the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries, the Contras , were required to leave Honduras in April 1990 after intense negotiations. Callejas was accused of 7 counts of corruption during his term. He was also accused by an aide in the George H. W. Bush administration, resulting in a Bush executive order denying him U.S. visa status. In 2005, the Honduran Congress revoked

667-463: The law by which ex-Presidents, among other former officials, had legal immunity. Mr. Callejas voluntarily presented himself to court (first person to do so after the law was revoked). Mr. Callejas then faced trial. He was acquitted by the Honduran Judiciary of all of the counts which were presented against him. On 3 December 2015, Mr. Callejas was indicted in U.S. Federal Court in connection with

696-426: The living areas. In February 2015, three brand new barracks were opened on the installation, allowing the "hooches" to be torn down and personnel reassigned to better housing. Volleyball courts, barbecues and bohios (covered picnic areas) are also located throughout the base. All the domestic facilities, like the post office, library, dining facility, fitness center, pool and base exchange, are clustered together within

725-489: The ongoing 2015 FIFA Corruption Case . 12 days later, he flew to the United States and was taken into custody. A few days later, he was released on bond. He was represented by the noted criminal defense attorney Manuel Retureta of Retureta & Wassem, PLLC in Washington, DC . On 27 March 2016, he pleaded guilty to accepting $ 500,000 in bribes in 2012 to be shared with another football official. In December 2016, Callejas

754-536: The rich Sula Valley area were made resulting in more than 90 kilometers of four-lane highways. His government had some important accomplishments in the social area, such as the creation of the Family Assistance Program (PRAF) and the Honduran Fund for Social Investment (FHIS). Expatriates of the previous Military and Liberal governments were allowed to return to Honduras, with no risk to their lives, and

783-680: Was born on 14 November 1943 in Tegucigalpa in Honduras . He studied agricultural economics at Mississippi State University becoming an expert on financial and economic issues connected to agronomy . At Mississippi State University , Callejas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 and a Masters of Science degree in 1966. Also in 1966, Mississippi State University 's Department of Agricultural Economics published Callejas' thesis titled Hog Production Opportunities in Mississippi . In 1990, Callejas

812-533: Was cancelled after Zelaya was removed from office on June 28, 2009, in the 2009 Honduran coup d'état . The airport authority and the government of Honduras resumed airport relocation talks in April 2011 and announced that work on the new Palmerola airport would start by the fall of 2011 after years of efforts to replace Toncontín International with an airport at Palmerola in Comayagua where the Soto Cano Air Base

841-703: Was named Mississippi State University's Alumni of the Year and was invited along with U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle to deliver the university's commencement address. Between 1967 and 1971 Callejas worked at the Council for Economic Planning ( CONSUPLANE ). In 1968, Callejas was made the Director of Economic Planning by the then President Oswaldo López . in 1975 another General and President, Juan Alberto Melgar , named Callejas Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources. When another general and President Policarpo Paz took over in

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