Honduras

1999. The country’s foreign debt is condoned by some of the most developed nations as a way to pitch a hand in the nation’s reconstruction efforts

1998. On January 27 and after a landslide victory in the presidential elections held the year before, Carlos Roberto Flores Facusse (Liberal Party) takes power. Hurricane Mitch causes extensive damages across the whole country

1997. In May, small-scale armed clashed occurred between Honduran and Nicaraguan gunboats in the Gulf of Fonseca. The conflict stemmed from unresolved negotiations among Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras over the boundaries of jurisdictional waters in that particular area.

1993. Carlos Roberto Reina, from the National Party, replaces Rafael Callejas as president of the republic after winning the elections held later that year. His policy focused on civil control over the Armed Forces and economic stability.

1989. In March, San Pedro Sula hosted the Ministerial Meeting of the European Economic Community with Central American nations in order to foster political dialogue and economic development in the region. Conservative leader Rafael Callejas, from the National Party, wins the presidential elections held in November. His Central American policy was equally outlined during his candidacy: allegiance to the U.S. and a steadfast anti-Sandinista stance.

1988. 3,000 U.S. marines were dispatched to the region after a skirmish launched by the Nicaraguan regular forces chasing contras along the Honduras border. After the marines pullout in April, the state of emergency is decreed for the country’s two major cities: Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. The government attempts to rein in anti-American demonstrations on the heels of the deportation to the U.S. of an alleged drug-smuggling lord.

1987. A meeting of Central American foreign ministers and the Contadora Group. Honduras proposes a new peace plan for Central America, a complement to President Oscar Arias’ plan already on the table at the time. Increasing tensions are sparked off by the presence along the Nicaragua border of two foreign armies: U.S. troops and Nicaraguan contras.

1986. On January 27, Jose Azcona Hoyo takes the oath as the nation’s new president, thus inheriting a $2.5-billion foreign debt. Azcona sought to jack up economic growth, but the presence of Nicaraguan contra guerrillas along the border brought on new tensions between both countries. In the month of December, the frontier fight with Nicaragua flares up and diplomatic tensions are heightened to the utmost. Negotiations between the two countries put an end to the fighting.