Honduras Weekly
This coming Sunday will mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC. It will also mark the 92nd anniversary of the invasion of Honduras by the United States. In 1919, Honduran President Francisco Bertrand Barahona, who whose was elected to serve from 1916-1920, was reluctant to allow free elections to select his successor. President Bertrand faced opposition from the governor of Tegucigalpa, and General Rafael López Gutierrez, who organized a force and sought support from the governments of Nicaragua and Guatemala. Bertrand countered and sought support from the government of El Salvador.
Determined to avoid a revolution and protect US economic interests (including banana holdings by the Cuyamel Fruit Company, Vacarro Brothers and Company, and United Fruit Company and the mining concessions of New York's Rosario Mining Company), US President Woodrow Wilson ordered a contingent of US Marines to land in Honduras.*
The US Envoy to Honduras, Thomas Sambola Jones of Louisiana, offered to mediate the conflict and threatened to intervene militarily. Bertrand soon resigned and left the country. Jones then arranged for the installation of Francisco Bográn as interim President, who promised free elections. Following a series of negotiations to agree on an election formula, general elections were held during October 26-26, 1919. López Gutierrez of the Liberal Party won with a total of 79,068 (81 percent) votes over Alberto Membreño of the National Democratic Party with 18,582 (19 percent). López Gutierrez took office in October 1920.
Jones, left his post on October 17, 1919. The US Legation in Tegucigalpa reported on January 1, 1920 that Jones was no longer persona grata to the government of Honduras, and he did not return.
Honduras Weekly
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*As part of the so-called Banana Wars all around the Caribbean, Honduras saw the insertion of American troops in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924, 1925 and separately in 1988. You know, only a couple of times.
*Besides Honduras, Wilson also ordered invasions of Russia, Nicaragua, Panama, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic during his term.
