Military of Honduras This article deals with the armed forces of Honduras . History . pre - 1979 . During the twentieth century , Honduran military leaders frequently became presidents , either through elections or by coups d ' état . General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected in 1932 , he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to be reelected , and his rule became more authoritarian until an election in 1948 . During the following decades , the military of Honduras carried out several coups d ' état , starting in October 1955 . General Oswaldo López Arellano carried out the next coup in October 1963 and a second in December 1972 , followed by coups in 1975 by Juan Alberto Melgar Castro and in 1978 by Policarpo Paz García . 1980s . Events during the 1980s in El Salvador and Nicaragua led Honduras — with US assistance — to expand its armed forces considerably , laying particular emphasis on its air force , which came to include a squadron of US - provided F - 5 s . The military unit Battalion 316 carried out political assassinations and the torture of suspected political opponents of the government during this same period . Battalion members received training and support from the United States Central Intelligence Agency , in Honduras , at U . S . military bases and in Chile during the presidency of the dictator Augusto Pinochet . Amnesty International estimated that at least 184 people were " disappeared " during from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras , most likely by the Honduran military . 1990s . The resolution of the civil wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua , and across - the - board budget cuts made in all ministries , has brought reduced funding for the Honduran armed forces . The abolition of the draft has created staffing gaps in the now all - volunteer armed forces . The military is now far below its authorized strength , and further reductions are expected . In January 1999 , the Constitution was amended to abolish the position of military commander - in - chief of the armed forces , thus codifying civilian authority over the military . 2000s . Since 2002 , soldiers have been involved in crime prevention and law enforcement , patrolling the streets of the major cities alongside the national police . 2009 . On 28 June 2009 , in the context of a constitutional crisis , the military , acting on orders of the Supreme Court of Justice , arrested the president , Manuel Zelaya after which they forcibly removed elected President Zelaya from Honduras . See the article 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis regarding claims regarding legitimacy and illegitimacy of the event , and events preceding and following the removal of Zelaya from Honduras . The military ' s chief lawyer , Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza Membreño , made public statements regarding the removal of Zelaya . On June 30 , he showed a detention order , apparently signed June 26 by a Supreme Court judge , which ordered the armed forces to detain the president . Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order : " In the moment that we took him out of the country , in the way that he was taken out , there is a crime . Because of the circumstances of the moment this crime occurred , there is going to be a justification and cause for acquittal that will protect us . " He said the decision was taken by the military leadership " in order to avoid bloodshed " . Human rights violations during 2009 . Following the 2009 ouster of the president , the Honduran military together with other government security forces were allegedly responsible for thousands of allegedly arbitrary detentions and for several forced disappearances and extrajudicial execution s of opponents to the " de facto " government , including members of the Democratic Unification Party . However , evidence about these actions has yet to be provided and there has been some questioning in local media about the actual perpetrators , suggesting that they could actually be related to disputes within the leftists organizations themselves . Military - civilian relations and leadership . According to a statement in July 2009 by a legal counsel of the Honduras military , Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza , part of the elite Honduran military generals were opposed to President Manuel Zelaya , whom the military had removed from Honduras via a military Coup d ' état , because of his left - wing politics . Inestroza stated , " It would be difficult for us [ the military ] , with our training , to have a relationship with a leftist government . That ' s impossible . " The current head of the armed forces is Carlos Antonio Cuéllar , graduate of the General Francisco Morazan Military Academy and the School of the Americas . In January 2011 , the General Rene Arnoldo Osorio Canales former head of the Presidential Honor Guard , was appointed Commander . As of 2012 the Honduran Military has the highest military expenditures of all Central America . Air Force . The FAH operates from 4 air bases located at : With the exception of Soto Cano Air Base , all other air bases operate as dual civil and military aviation facilities . Additionally , 3 air stations located at : Also a radar station operates at : Navy . The navy is a small force dealing with coastal and riverine security . The navy has 31 patrol boats and landing craft . The Honduran navy has 4 naval bases : Additionally , the Honduran navy has the following unit and schools : +