In the 1980s, the Honduran Battalion 3-16, a military intelligence unit trained, supplied, and directed by the CIA, "disappeared" hundreds of leftist activists - students, teachers, unionists, and would-be guerrillas - who were never seen again, dead or alive. The members of the unit wore civilian clothes and often disguised themselves with masks, wigs, false beards, and mustaches. Armed with Uzi machine guns or pistols, they surveilled their victims, abducted them, and then sped off in double-cab Toyota pickup trucks. One infamous Times reporter did some dirty work of his own for good measure. In a letter to the Times (09/08/88), Ines Murillo, a Honduran victim of torture, responds to James LeMoyne's reporting of the interview with her, noting a series of distortions and falsehoods, which "have caused great damage to me and my family" and "could be used to justify the kidnapping, disappearance and assassination of hundreds of people." LeMoyne's response doesn't challenge any of her specific points. Years later, one senior State Department official conceded that their hands were dirtied in the disappearances. "The green light was kill a commie," said the official. "Everybody was winking and nodding." Death squads returned in 2009, shortly after President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown in a military coup supported by Hillary Clinton's State Department: Hundreds of opposition activists have been killed by death squads since then, including Berta Cáceres, the country's leading environmentalist. Moreover, there persists an all too familiar pattern:
The Times holds up Honduras as success story of U.S. power, albeit one that the reporter acknowledges probably won't not change "the reputation of the United States in this part of the world, where we are famous for exploiting workers and resources and helping to keep despots in power."
