Honduras: Update to HND27111.E of 25 June 1997 on whether Batallion 3-16 continues to operate; whether a death squad known as Group 13-16 operated at any time between 1990 and 1992; whether Colonel Alvarez Martinez or General Regalado Hernandez commanded either of these groups (1990-December 2001)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 4 December 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | HND38010.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Honduras: Update to HND27111.E of 25 June 1997 on whether Batallion 3-16 continues to operate; whether a death squad known as Group 13-16 operated at any time between 1990 and 1992; whether Colonel Alvarez Martinez or General Regalado Hernandez commanded either of these groups (1990-December 2001), 4 December 2001, HND38010.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be3b10.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No mention of a death squad known as Group 13-16 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
No reports indicating that General Regalado Hernandez or Colonel Alvarez Martinez commanded Batallion 3-16 (also known as Batallion 316) could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, General Humberto Regalado Hernández, while serving as commander-in-chief of the Honduran armed forces between 1986 and 1990 (La Nación 19 Feb. 2001; El Tiempo 15 Mar. 2001; La Prensa 2 May 1998), allegedly "refused to take action against soldiers involved in Battalion 3-16 death squad activity ... , and indeed appeared to cover-up at least some of that activity (School of the Americas Watch 2001). Regalado was subsequently implicated in the assassination of an individual, Major Juan Pablo Rivas, who had accused him of corrupt practices (La Prensa 2 May 1998), and in February 2001 the office of the prosecutor general indicated that it would initiate legal action against Regalado and two other former commanders-in-chief of the Honduran armed forces in connection with the diversion of public funds (La Nación 19 Feb. 2001). No information on the outcome of such legal action could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
While no mention of an individual known as Colonel Alvarez Martinez could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate, several reports claimed that General Gustavo Alvarez Martinez was responsible for the establishment of Batallion 3-16 while serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces (CIA 18 Feb. 1995; CAR 12 Feb. 1998; School of the Americas Watch 2001). Alvarez, who was appointed commander-in-chief in January 1982, was removed from this position in March 1984 and subsequently relocated to the United States (CIA 27 Aug. 1997). He was reportedly assassinated in Honduras in 1989 (School of the Americas Watch 2001; The Baltimore Sun 28 July 1995).
In a de-classified report, the Inspector General of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stated General Regalado signed an order in September 1987
dissolving the 316th Batallion. That same order created the "Counterintelligence (CI) Division" of the Honduran armed forces. The CI Division was placed under the Honduran armed forces chief of staff for intelligence (C-2). Although the CI Division retained some of the 316th Military Intelligence Batallion's functions and personnel [section deleted], a considerable number of the unit's personnel, sub-units and functions, such as analysis centers, were transferred to other sections within the C-2 (18 Feb. 1995).
In January 1998, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Honduras (Comité para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Honduras, CODEH) claimed that Batallion 3-16 had been "revived," but was now "targeting common criminals rather than political activists" (The Minnesota Daily 15 Jan. 1998). The president of CODEH, Ramón Custodio, had earlier claimed that the CI Division was behind a crime spree on the country's northern coast (Latinamerica Press 19 June 1997). According to Custodio,
20 sergeants trained as Special Operations Commandos by Israeli agents between 1982 and 1984 were the principal actors in the current rash of car thefts and kidnappings.
The CODEH president has made similar charges in the past, but this time he named several sergeants of the Special Operations Commandos. Custodio said that 20 military criminals were under the command of Col. Anibal Burgos Moya and his boss, Col. Jorge Alberto Juárez Bueso, chief of military intelligence (ibid.).
In February 1998, Attorney General Edmundo Orellana also claimed, without providing any details, that death squads had been "reactivated," adding that those "who trained in the 1980s to kill other Hondurans remain at large" (Central America Update 7-13 Feb. 1998).
No information subsequent to February 1998 on the activities or existence of Batallion 3-16 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Baltimore Sun. 28 July 1995. Ginger Thompson and Gary Cohn. "Honduran Judge Considers Arresting 11 Military Men Accused of Torture." (NEXIS)
Central America Report (CAR) [Guatemala City]. 12 February 1998. "Military Files Confiscated."
Central America Update [Toronto]. 7-13 February 1998. "Honduras: Human-Rights Worker Killed."
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 27 August 1997. "Report of Investigation: Selected Issues Relating to CIA Activities in Honduras in the 1980s (96-0125-IG)."
_____. 18 February 1995. "The 316th MI Batallion."
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 19 June 1997. Vol. 29, No. 23. "Harsh Measures to Control Crime."
The Minnesota Daily [Minneapolis]. 15 January 1998. "Report: Death Squads Revived in Honduras to Target Criminals."
La Nación [San José]. 19 February 2001. "Acusarán a tres exjefes militares de las fuerzas armadas por uso de fondos."
La Prensa [San Pedro Sula]. 2 May 1998. "Nueva búsqueda de ex jefe de las FFAA ahora acusado de hacerse rico en forma ilícita."
School of the Americas Watch. 2001. "Honduras."
El Tiempo [Tegucigalpa]. 15 March 2001. "Sobreseido juicio por corrupción contra Regalado Hernández."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases.
LEXIS-NEXIS.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact three oral sources.
Internet sites including:
Center for International Policy (CIP).
Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CONADEH).
Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH).
Honduras This Week [Tegucigalpa]. 1997-2001.
La Nación [San José]. 1997-2001.
National Security Archive (NSA).
La Prensa [San Pedro Sula]. 1996-2001.
School of the Americas Watch (SOAW).
Tico Times [San José]. 1997-2001.
World News Connection (WNC).
