Soto Cano Air Base

The Soto Cano Air Base, also commonly known as Palmerola Air Base, is a joint Honduras and United States military base located near Comayagua in Honduras, approximately 60 miles (97 km) from the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. The airbase became operational in 1981.¹

Operations and Significance

The United States military uses Soto Cano as a launching point for its war on drugs efforts in Central America as well as humanitarian aid missions throughout Honduras and Central America. A large concentration of U.S. troops and the Honduran Air Force academy utilize the airbase. The U.S. military's Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B) is headquartered at Soto Cano, consisting of a Medical Element – Military Hospital, Army Forces, Air Force Forces, Joint Security Forces, and the 1st Battalion-228th Aviation Regiment (comprising approximately 18 aircraft, a mix of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and CH-47 Chinook helicopters).¹

Political Context

The Honduran Constitution does not permit a permanent foreign presence in Honduras. A "handshake" agreement between the United States and Honduras allows the U.S. military's Joint Task Force (JTF-Bravo) to remain on a "semi-permanent" basis. This agreement, an annex to the 1954 military assistance agreement, can be abrogated with little notice.¹

Oliver North once used this air base as a base of operations for the Contras in the 1980s. If President Manuel Zelaya had sided with Hugo Chavez militarily, the United States could have lost this airbase in Honduras.¹