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Article Excerpt
With the intention of lengthening the list of countries contributing troops to the post-war situation in Iraq, Spain has signed up El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic in its Brigada Multinacional Plus Ultra. The plan would put 1,200 or more of the region's troops under Spanish command.
Early plans called for a mission that concentrates on peacekeeping, minesweeping, and medical services, with an emphasis on keeping the troops away from direct contact with Iraqi resistance forces. The deployment is expected to last about a year, with the US and others picking up the tab.
Honduras intends to send 370 troops, sometime in August. Defense Minister Federico Breve said, "We are not going to confront Iraqi troops, the motive of our mission is simply to contribute to the re-establishment of order in that country."
The contingent will be composed of 40 officers, 22 noncommissioned officers, 21 technicians, and 287 soldiers, under the command of Col. Carlos Andino Cobos. Of these, 110 are land-mine specialists. They have, during the past eight years, deactivated 24,000 mines and other explosive ordnance left in Honduras after the Nicaraguan contra war. Most members of the Fuerza de Tarea Xatruch, as the contingent is called, have been deployed to peace missions in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Western Sahara.
The Honduran legislature narrowly approved the deployment on May 29, at the request of President Ricardo Maduro. Only 66 of 128 deputies in the congress voted for it, 61 from the governing Partido Nacional (PL), four from the Partido Democrata Cristiano de Honduras (PDCH), and one dissident from the leftist Partido de Unificacion Democratica (PUD).
Dominican Republic and Nicaragua approve despite opposition
The Dominican Republic's 300-person contribution...
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More articles from NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs
REGION'S COFFEE THREATENED BY BERRY BORER., July 10, 2003
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