Honduras-United States Joint Communique

The Presidents of the United States of America and The Republic of Honduras, meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 1986, recognizing the continuing seriousness of the Central American crisis and the need to take appropriate measures to protect the mutual security of their respective countries, issue the following communique:

The Presidents reaffirmed the joint communique issued in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1985, with particular reference to the review of the security relationship. The two Presidents reiterated their governments' intention to continue to work closely together in the face of the serious threats to the peace and security of both countries through mutual assistance and the development of defensive capabilities. To this end, the Government of the United States will continue to cooperate, as necessary and appropriate, in the strengthening of Honduras' defenses and the modernization of its armed forces.

The Government of the United States further reiterated its firm and unwavering commitment to cooperate in the defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Honduras in accordance with the reciprocal rights and obligations relating to legitimate individual and collective self-defense and the use of armed force, as expressed in the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, the Charter of the United Nations, and the Charter of the Organization of American States.

In view of the close cooperation in the two countries' political and security relationships and the very serious security threats that exist in Central America, the Governments of the United States and Honduras reaffirmed the rights and obligations in the three above-mentioned instruments, including Article 3 of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, and Article 21 of the Charter of the Organization of American States.

In case of an armed attack against Honduras, the United States will take appropriate measures, consistent with the rights and obligations cited above, to consult with and to support the Government of Honduras in a timely and effective manner in its efforts to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against communist aggression.

The two Presidents, recognizing the importance of democratic political and economic development to ensure peace and the economic and social well-being of the region's people, reaffirmed their intention to enhance bilateral cooperation to achieve the economic prosperity and to strengthen the democratic social development of Honduras. In this regard, the Government of the United States reaffirms its intention to disperse during this year the full $61.25 million available from 1986 United States Economic Support Funds to assist the implementation of the economic stabilization program recently announced by the Government of Honduras.

The two Presidents also reaffirmed their conviction that Central America can achieve its full development only in a climate of peace and complete freedom. In this sense, they reiterated their firm support for the efforts undertaken by the four Central American democracies to conclude a comprehensive and verifiable agreement for peace and democracy in Central America through the Contadora process. In particular, they noted the need for a treaty in which all commitments are fulfilled simultaneously and which provides for the clearly verifiable implementation of national reconciliation, democratization, and the limitation of armaments and troops. Such an agreement would guarantee the exercise of democracy in the five nations of the region.

Washington, D.C.,

May 27, 1986.