Word: alvarezes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Much of the anxious talk in Tegucigalpa centers on one man: General Gustavo Alvarez Martínez, 45, the fervently anti-Communist commander in chief of the Honduran armed forces. When Roberto Suazo Córdova was sworn in last year as Honduras' first civilian President in a decade, Alvarez vowed that the army would be at the service of the state. But growing U.S. military involvement in Honduras may have weighted the delicate power balance in favor of Alvarez. Critics argue that Alvarez, who was scheduled to visit Washington this week, now plays such an important role...
...Ambassador to Honduras John Negroponte dismisses the notion that Alvarez really rules Honduras, calling it "a myth that serves the stereotypical view of Central Americans." Still, the return to civilian rule has left a tempting power vacuum. Business and labor leaders know that if they want anything done quickly they must go to the general because problems referred to the President's office all too often become entangled in bureaucratic red tape. The Honduran Congress, which was restored in 1982, has been timid about exercising its constitutional powers, although the recent U.S.-Honduran military talks may prompt reluctant legislators...
Fearful that leftist radicals might try to exploit Honduras' domestic woes, Alvarez began to crack down on terrorists after the inauguration of Suazo in January 1982. The Argentine-trained Alvarez seemed to be adopting the same tactics the military junta in Buenos Aires used in its "dirty war" against leftist terrorists in the 1970s. According to human rights activists, 34 people have been murdered and an additional five have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. In April, paramilitary squads gunned down three trade-union leaders. Says Ramón Custodio López, a doctor who helped found the Honduran Commission...
...defense, the general contends that reports of human rights abuses are considerably exaggerated and points out that the men responsible for the trade-union murders were quickly brought to trial. Alvarez, as he sees it, has been forced to respond to the dramatic upsurge of leftist terrorism that followed the return to civilian rule. Last year, for example, Honduran leftists hijacked a domestic airliner and later held 100 businessmen and government leaders captive in the San Pedro Sula Chamber of Commerce building. Honduran security police have also uncovered "safe houses" used by El Salvador's guerrillas to store guns...
...author describes such rogues, they live their resolutely unreal lives with a style that touches gallantry. His account is as close to Binion's as a prudent soul will venture, but Alvarez knows both poker and the writing of English, and even if he does call bettors "punters," this field guide is the reader's equivalent of an inside straight. -By John Skow