Honduras did not experience civil war in the 1980s, but its geography (bordering El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua) made it a key location for US military operations: training Salvadoran soldiers, a base for Nicaraguan contras, military exercises for US troops. The notorious Honduran death squad Battalion 316 was created, funded and trained by the US. The state-sponsored terror resulted in the forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of approximately 200 people during the 1980s. Many more were abducted and tortured. The 2009 military coup d’etat spawned a resurgence of state repression against the civilian population that continues today. "We have documented grave violations against human rights defenders, like targeted killings of social movement leaders fighting for the conservation of the environment, as well as of community leaders who organised protests," states Mario Roberto Chinchilla of the Coalition against Impunity in Honduras. At pro-democracy demonstrations, "military and police officers have been observed infiltrating...with the double purpose of stirring up violence and identifying human rights defenders and leaders," according to Andrea Bolaños of the International Platform against Impunity (Pi).
