The connection between the U.S. government and the Honduran military came to a peak during the 1980s when the U.S. government used Honduras as a military base in its proxy wars against Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The Honduran military, financed and directed almost exclusively by the United States acted independently of the Honduran government until only recently. In the early '80s, the CIA helped the military organize Battalion 316, a terror squad that operated by disappearing, torturing and killing its victims. The United States had a greater military and intelligence presence in Honduras than in any other Latin American country, but it has declassified only a few documents and continues to deny any knowledge of military abuses. Such ignorance is curious since the Honduran newspapers were full of reports about such abuses.
Evidence suggests that the ignorance was, and is, a cover-up.
Rick Chidester and Ambassador Jack Bins, both formerly of the U.S. embassy in Honduras, told the Baltimore Sun that their superiors repressed reports of human rights violations and forbad further investigation. The Guatemalan and Honduran search for truth and justice is greatly obstructed by the refusal of the U.S. Defense and Intelligence agencies to declassify documents. The agencies justify secrecy as a protection of national security, but there is no guarantee that information is not withheld to protect employees and allies who have been involved in criminal abuses. Any other government or truth commission would be able to request information in the same way. The bill allows information to be withheld in the interest of national security provided that the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel and the President agree to keep it classified.