Flag of Honduras is three equal horizontal bands of blue (top),
white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars
arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars
represent the members of the former
Federal Republic of Central
America -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua.
PROFILE
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Republic of
Honduras
Geography
Area: 112,090 sq. km. (43,278 sq. mi.); slightly larger than
Virginia. Cities:
Capital--Tegucigalpa (1,150,000); San Pedro Sula (800,000-900,000).
Terrain:
Mountainous.
Climate: Tropical to subtropical, depending on
elevation.
People
Nationality: Noun and
adjective--Honduran(s).
Population (2006 est.): 7.3
million.
Growth rate (2006 est.):
2.16%.
Ethnic groups: 90% mestizo (mixed Indian and European); others of
European, Arab, African, or Asian ancestry; and indigenous
Indians.
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant
minority.
Language:
Spanish.
Education (2003): Years compulsory--6. Attendance--88% overall, 31%
at junior high level.
Literacy--76.2%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--29.64/1,000. Life expectancy--66.2
yrs. Work force: Services--42.2%;
natural
resources/agriculture--35.9%;
manufacturing--16.3%;
construction/housing--5.6%.
Government
Type: Democratic constitutional
republic.
Independence: September 15,
1821.
Constitution: 1982; amended
1999.
Branches: Executive--president, directly elected to 4-year
term.
Legislative--unicameral National Congress, elected for 4-year
term.
Judicial--Supreme Court of Justice (appointed for a 7-year term by
Congress and confirmed by the president); several lower
courts.
Political parties: National Party, Liberal Party, Innovation and
National Unity Party, Christian Democratic Party,
and the Democratic Unification
Party.
Suffrage: Universal and compulsory at age
18.
Administrative subdivisions: 18
departments.
Economy (2006
est.)
GDP: $22.3 billion (PPP) or $9.3 billion (official exchange
rate).
Growth rate:
5.5%.
Per capita GDP: $2,900
(PPP).
Per capita income: $
894.00
Natural resources: Arable land, forests, minerals, and
fisheries.
Agriculture (14.1% of GDP): Products--coffee, bananas, shrimp and
lobster, sugar, fruits, basic grains, and
livestock.
Manufacturing (18% of GDP): Types--textiles and apparel, cement,
wood products, cigars, and
foodstuffs.
Services (53.2% of
GDP).
Trade: Exports (goods)--$1.95 billion: apparel, coffee, shrimp,
bananas, palm oil, gold, zinc/lead concentrates, soap/detergents,
melons, lobster,
pineapple, lumber, sugar, and tobacco. Major market--U.S. (54.4%).
Imports (goods)--$5.00 billion: fabrics, yarn, machinery,
chemicals, petroleum, vehicles,
processed foods, metals, agricultural products, plastic articles,
and paper articles. Major source--U.S.
(37.5%).
PEOPLE
About 90% of the population is mestizo. There also are small
minorities of European, African, Asian, Arab, and
indigenous Indian descent. Most Hondurans are Roman Catholic, but
Protestant churches are growing in number. While
Spanish is the predominant language, some English is spoken along
the northern coast and is
prevalent on the Caribbean Bay Islands.
Several indigenous Indian
languages and GarÃfuna (a mixture of
Afro-indigenous languages) are
also spoken. The restored Mayan ruins near the
Guatemalan border in Copan reflect the great
Mayan culture that flourished there for hundreds of
years until the early 9th century. Columbus landed at mainland
Honduras (Trujillo) in 1502, and named the area "Honduras" (meaning
"depths") for the deep water off the coast. Spaniard Hernan Cortes
arrived in 1524.
HISTORY
Independence
Honduras and other Central American provinces gained independence
from Spain in 1821. The country was then briefly annexed to the
Mexican Empire. In 1823, Honduras joined the newly formed United
Provinces of Central America
federation, which collapsed in 1838. Gen. Francisco Morazan--a
Honduran national hero--led
unsuccessful efforts to maintain the federation. Honduras'
agriculture-based economy was dominated in the 1900s by U.S. companies
that established vast banana plantations along the north coast.
Foreign capital, plantation life, and conservative politics
held sway in Honduras from the late 19th century
until the mid-20th
century.
Military
Rule
Authoritarian Gen. Tiburcio Carias Andino controlled Honduras during
the Great Depression, until 1948. In
1955--after two
authoritarian
administrations and a strike by banana workers--young military
reformists staged a coup that installed a
provisional junta and paved the way for
constituent assembly elections in 1957. This assembly appointed Ramon
Villeda Morales as President and transformed itself into a national
legislature with a 6-year term. The Liberal Party ruled during
1957-63. In 1963, conservative military officers preempted
constitutional elections and deposed Villeda in a bloody coup. These
officers exiled Liberal Party members and took control of the
national police. The armed forces, led by Gen. Lopez Arellano, governed
until 1970. Popular discontent continued to rise after a 1969 border
war with El Salvador, known as "the Soccer War." A civilian
President--Ramon Cruz of the National Party--took power briefly
in 1970 but proved unable to manage the government. In
1972, Gen. Lopez staged another coup. Lopez adopted more
progressive policies, including land reform, but his regime was brought down
in the mid-1970s by corruption scandals. The regimes of Gen. Melgar
Castro (1975-78) and Gen. Paz Garcia (1978-82) largely
built the current physical infrastructure and
telecommunications system of Honduras. The country also
enjoyed its most rapid economic growth during this period, due to
greater international demand for its products and
the availability of foreign
commercial
lending.
Seven Consecutive Democratic
Elections
Following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua in 1979 and
general instability in El Salvador at the time, Hondurans elected a
constituent assembly in 1980 and voted
in general elections in 1981. A new constitution was approved
in 1982, and the Liberal Party government of President Roberto
Suazo Cordoba took office. Suazo relied on U.S. support during a
severe economic recession, including
ambitious social and economic development
projects sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID). Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps mission in
the world, and nongovernmental and international
voluntary agencies
proliferated.
As the 1985 election approached, the Liberal Party interpreted
election law as permitting multiple presidential candidates
from one party. The Liberal Party claimed victory when
its presidential candidates, who received 42% of the vote,
collectively outpolled the National Party candidate,
Rafael Leonardo Callejas.
Jose Azcona Hoyo, the candidate receiving the most votes among
the Liberals, assumed the presidency in 1986. With the endorsement of
the Honduran military, the Azcona administration ushered in the
first peaceful transfer of
power between civilian presidents in more than 30
years.
Four years later, Nationalist Rafael Callejas won the presidential
election, taking office in 1990. The nation's fiscal deficit
ballooned during Callejas' last year in office. Growing public
dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living and with
widespread government corruption led voters in 1993 to elect Liberal
Party candidate Carlos Roberto Reina with 56% of the vote. President
Reina, elected on a platform calling for a "moral revolution,"
actively prosecuted corruption and
pursued those responsible for human rights abuses in the 1980s.
He created a modern attorney general's office and
an
investigative police force, increased civilian control over the armed
forces, transferred the police from military to civilian authority,
and restored national fiscal
health.
After winning the 1997 election by a 10% margin, Liberal Carlos
Roberto Flores Facusse took office in
1998. Flores inaugurated programs of reform and modernization of the
Honduran government and economy, with emphasis
on helping Honduras' poorest
citizens while maintaining the country's fiscal
health and improving international competitiveness. In October
1998, Hurricane Mitch
devastated Honduras, leaving more than 5,000 people dead and 1.5
million displaced. Damages totaled nearly $3 billion. President
Flores and his administration successfully managed more
than $600 million in
international assistance. Flores also moved judicial and penal
reforms forward, establishing an
anticorruption commission, and supporting passage of a new penal code
based on the oral accusatorial system and a law that created an
independent Supreme Court. Flores also established a civilian Minister of
Defense.
Ricardo Maduro Joest of the National Party won the 2001
presidential
elections, and was inaugurated in 2002. During his campaign, President
Maduro promised to reduce crime, reinvigorate the economy, and fight
corruption. Maduro's first act as President was to
deploy a joint police-military force to the streets to permit
wider neighborhood patrols in the ongoing fight
against the country's massive crime and gang problem. Maduro was a
strong supporter of the global war on terrorism and
joined the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq with an 11-month contribution of
370 troops. Under President Maduro's guidance, Honduras
also negotiated and ratified the U.S.-Central America Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA), received debt relief, became the first
Latin American country to
sign a Millennium Challenge Account compact with the
U.S., and actively promoted greater Central American
integration.
Jose Manuel "Mel" Zelaya Rosales of the Liberal Party won the
November 27, 2005 presidential elections with less than a
4% margin of victory, the
smallest margin ever in Honduran electoral history. Zelaya's campaign
theme was "citizen power," and he has vowed to increase
transparency and combat narcotrafficking, while
maintaining macroeconomic stability. The Liberal
Party won 62 of the 128 congressional seats, just short of an
absolute majority. Zelaya was
inaugurated on January 27,
2006.
GOVERNMENT
The 1982 constitution provides for a strong executive, a unicameral
National Congress, and a judiciary appointed by the National
Congress. The president is directly elected to a 4-year term by
popular vote. The Congress also serves
a 4-year term; congressional seats are assigned the
parties'
candidates in proportion to the number of votes each party receives in
the various departments. The judiciary includes a Supreme
Court of Justice (one president and 14 magistrates chosen by
Congress for a seven-year term), courts
of appeal, and several courts of original jurisdiction--such as labor,
tax, and criminal courts. For administrative purposes, Honduras is
divided into 18 departments, with municipal officials
selected for 4-year terms.
POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Reinforced by the media and several political watchdog
organizations, concerted
efforts to protect human rights and civil liberties
continued. Organized labor now represents
approximately 8% of the work force and its economic
and political influence has declined. Honduras held its
seventh consecutive democratic elections in
2005 to elect a new president, unicameral Congress, and mayors. For
the first time, as a result of the newly reformed Electoral
Law, voters were able to vote for individual members of Congress,
with photos of each candidate on the ballot, rather than party lists.
For the electoral period 2006-2010, 31 women were elected to Congress;
27 of them chose women as their alternates for a
total of 58 women in the legislature, an unprecedented number
in the political history of the
country.
Political
Parties
The two major parties are the slightly left-of-center Liberal Party
and the slightly-right-of-center National Party. The three much
smaller registered parties--the Christian Democratic
Party, the Innovation and National Unity Party, and the
Democratic Unification Party--hold a few seats each in the
Congress, but have never come close to winning the
presidency.
Principal Government
Officials
President--Jose Manuel "Mel" ZELAYA
Rosales
Minister of Foreign Relations--Milton JIMENEZ
Puerto
President of Congress--Roberto
MICHELETTI
Ambassador to the United States--Roberto FLORES
Bermúdez
Ambassador to the United Nations--Ivan ROMERO
Martinez
Ambassador to the OAS--Carlos SOSA
Coello
Honduras maintains an embassy in the United States at 3007 Tilden
Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel.
202-966-7702).
ECONOMY
Honduras is one of the poorest and least developed countries in
Latin America, with nearly
two-thirds of Hondurans living in poverty. Although
historically dependent on exports of coffee and bananas, the economy
has diversified over the past 20 years with
the development of non-traditional exports such as
oriental vegetables, cultivated shrimp, melons, and tourism, and the
establishment of a growing maquila industry (primarily assembly of
apparel for re-export). The maquila industry employs approximately
130,000 Hondurans. Honduras also has extensive forest,
marine, and mineral resources, although widespread slash-and-burn
agricultural methods and illegal logging continue to destroy
Honduran forests. Family remittances from
Hondurans living abroad (mostly in the
United States) have risen significantly, to an estimated $2.3
billion in 2006, which represents 15% of the country's foreign
exchange earnings and over 20% of its
GDP.
The exchange rate through the first quarter of 2007 was 18.89
Honduran Lempira to the dollar, a
slight devaluation from the 2005 rate of 18.92.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, was estimated
at approximately 6.0%
in 2006 and was projected to remain at that rate in 2007.
International reserves totaled $2.6 billion in 2006, up from an
estimated $2.23 billion in 2005. Unemployment was
estimated at around 28% in 2005.
In 2005, Honduras reached completion point under the Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, qualifying the country
for multilateral debt
relief.
NATIONAL
SECURITY
With the cessation of the 1980s civil wars in El Salvador and
Nicaragua, the Honduran armed forces refocused their orientation
toward combating
transnational threats such as narcoterrorism and organized crime.
Honduras supports efforts at regional integration and
deployed troops to Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 1999, the constitution was amended to
abolish the position of military commander in chief of the armed forces,
thus codifying civilian authority over the military. Former President
Flores also named the first civilian Minister of Defense in the
country's history.
FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Honduras is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade
Organization (WTO), the Organization of
American States (OAS), the Central American
Parliament (PARLACEN), the Central American Integration System
(SICA), the Conference of Central American Armed Forces
(CFAC), and the Central American Security Commission (CASC). During
1995-96, Honduras--a founding member of the United
Nations--served as a nonpermanent member of the UN
Security Council for the first
time. Honduras is currently a member of the UN Human
Rights Commission. Honduras is a party to all UN and OAS
counterterrorism conventions and
protocols.
Honduras is a strong proponent of Central American cooperation
and
integration, and continues to work towards the implementation of a
regional customs union and Central American passport, which
would ease border controls and tariffs among Honduras, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and El
Salvador.
In 1969, El Salvador and Honduras fought the brief "Soccer War" over
disputed border areas. The two countries formally signed a peace
treaty in 1980, which put the border dispute before the International
Court of Justice (ICJ). In 1992, the Court awarded most
of the disputed territory to Honduras, and in January
1998, Honduras and El Salvador signed a border demarcation treaty to
implement the terms of the ICJ decree although delays continue due
to technical difficulties.
However, Honduras and El Salvador maintain normal
diplomatic and trade relations. Honduras also has unresolved maritime border
disputes with El Salvador, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and
Cuba.
U.S.-HONDURAN
RELATIONS
Overview
The United States and Honduras have close and friendly relations.
Honduras is supportive of U.S. policy in the United Nations and other
fora, as well of the war on terrorism. Honduras was among
the first countries to sign an
International Criminal Court (ICC) Article 98 Agreement with the U.S.,
and the Honduran port of Puerto Cortes is part of the
U.S. Container Security Initiative
(CSI).
The United States favors stable, peaceful relations between Honduras
and its Central American neighbors. During the 1980s, Honduras
supported U.S. policy opposing a revolutionary Marxist government in
Nicaragua and an active leftist
insurgency in El Salvador. The Honduran Government also played a key
role in negotiations that culminated in the 1990 Nicaraguan
elections. Honduras continues to
participate in the UN observer mission in the Western Sahara,
contributed 370 troops for stabilization in Iraq, and
remains interested in
participating in other UN peacekeeping
missions.
The United States is Honduras' chief trading partner, with two-way
trade in goods increasing to over $7 billion in 2006.
U.S.-Honduran trade is dominated by the Honduran maquila industry,
which imports yarn and textiles from the United States
and exports finished articles of clothing. Other
leading Honduran exports to the
United States include coffee, bananas,
seafood (particularly shrimp),
minerals (including zinc, lead, gold, and silver), and other fruits
and
vegetables.
U.S. investors account for nearly two-thirds of the foreign direct
investment (FDI) in Honduras. The stock of U.S. direct investment in
Honduras in 2005 was $402 million, up from $339 million
in 2004. The overall flow of FDI into Honduras in 2005 totaled $568
million, $196 million of which was spent in the maquila sector. The
United States continued as the largest contributor of
FDI. The most substantial U.S. investments in Honduras are in the
maquila sector, fruit production (particularly
bananas, melons, and pineapple),
tourism, energy generation, shrimp aquaculture, animal feed
production, telecommunications, fuel
distribution, cigar manufacturing,
insurance, brewing, leasing, food
processing, and furniture manufacturing. Many U.S.
franchises, particularly in the restaurant sector, operate in
Honduras.
In 2004, the United States signed the U.S.-Central America Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
with Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa
Rica, and the Dominican Republic. The legislatures of all signatories
except Costa Rica ratified CAFTA in 2005, and the agreement entered
into force in the first half of 2006. CAFTA eliminates
tariffs and other barriers to trade in goods, services, agricultural
products, and investments. Additionally, CAFTA is
expected to solidify democracy, encourage greater
regional
integration, and provide safeguards for environmental protection and
labor
rights.
In June 2005, Honduras became the first country in the hemisphere to
sign a Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) compact with the US
Government. Under the compact, the U.S. Millennium Challenge
Corporation will invest $215 million over five years to help
Honduras improve its road infrastructure, diversify its
agriculture, and get its products to
market.
The United States maintains a small presence at a Honduran military
base; the two countries conduct joint peacekeeping, counternarcotics,
humanitarian, disaster relief, and civic action
exercises. U.S. troops conduct and provide logistics support for a
variety of bilateral and
multilateral
exercises--medical, engineering, peacekeeping, counternarcotics, and
disaster relief--for the benefit of the Honduran people and their
Central American neighbors. U.S. forces--regular,
reserve, and National Guard--benefit greatly from these
exercises.
U.S. Policy Toward
Honduras
U.S. policy toward Honduras is aimed at consolidating democracy,
protecting human rights, and promoting the rule of law. U.S.
Government programs are aimed at promoting a
healthy and more open economy capable of sustainable
growth, improving the climate for business and investment while
protecting U.S. citizen and corporate rights, and
promoting the well-being of the
Honduran people. The United States also works with Honduras to
meet
transnational challenges--including the fight against terrorism,
narcotics trafficking, money laundering, illegal
migration, and trafficking in
persons--and encourages and supports Honduran efforts to protect
the environment. The
goals of strengthening democracy and promoting
viable economic growth are
especially important given the geographical proximity of Honduras to
the United States. Approximately 800,000 to 1 million Hondurans
reside in the United States; consequently, immigration issues are
an important item on
our bilateral
agenda.
U.S.-Honduran ties are further strengthened by numerous private
sector contacts, with an average
of between 80,000 and 110,000 U.S.
citizens visiting Honduras
annually and about 15,000 Americans residing there. More
than 150 American companies operate in
Honduras.
Economic and Development
Assistance
In order to help strengthen Honduras' democratic institutions and
improve living conditions, the United States has
provided substantial economic
assistance. The United States has historically been the largest
bilateral donor to Honduras. The USAID budget for
Honduras is $37 million for fiscal year 2007. Over the
years, U.S. foreign assistance has helped advance such
objectives as fostering democratic institutions, increasing private
sector employment and income, helping Honduras manage its
arrears with international financial institutions, providing
humanitarian aid, increasing agricultural production, and
providing loans to
microbusinesses.
1998's Hurricane Mitch left hundreds of thousands homeless,
devastated the road network and other public
infrastructure, and crippled certain key
sectors of the economy. Estimates show that Hurricane Mitch caused
$8.5 billion in damages to homes,
hospitals, schools, roads, farms, and businesses throughout Central
America, including more than $3 billion in Honduras alone. In
response, the United States provided more than $461 million in immediate
disaster relief and humanitarian aid spread over the years 1998-2001.
This supplemental assistance was designed to help repair
water and sanitation systems; replace
housing, schools, and roads; provide agricultural inputs;
provide local government crisis management training; grant debt relief;
and encourage environmental management expertise. Additional
resources were utilized to maintain
anti-crime and drug assistance
programs.
In 2001, the United States also provided food aid in response to a
short drought and the depressed state of the
agriculture sector. Subsequently, the United States provided $265,000
in disaster assistance after Tropical Storm Michelle inundated
the north coast with floods. Most recently, the United
States provided assistance for Honduras' recovery from 2005's
devastating storms, including Hurricane Beta and
Tropical Storm
Gamma.
The Peace Corps has been active in Honduras since 1962, and currently
the program is one of the largest in the world. In
2005, there were 220 Peace Corps Volunteers working
in the poorest parts of
Honduras.
The U.S. Government strongly supports the professionalization of the
civilian police force as an important element in strengthening the
rule of law in Honduras. The American Embassy
in Tegucigalpa provides specialized training to police
officers.
Security
Assistance
The role of the Honduran armed forces has changed significantly in
recent years as many institutions formerly
controlled by the military are now under civilian authority. The
annual defense and police budgets have hovered at
around $35 million during the past few years. Honduras receives modest
U.S. security assistance funds and
training.
In the absence of a large security assistance program, defense
cooperation has taken the form of increased participation
by the Honduran armed forces in military-to-military contact programs
and bilateral and multilateral combined exercises oriented toward
peacekeeping, disaster relief, humanitarian/civic assistance,
and counternarcotics. The U.S. Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B),
stationed at the Honduran Soto Cano Air Base, plays a vital role
in supporting
combined exercises in Honduras and in neighboring Central American
countries. JTF-Bravo plays a critical role in helping the United
States respond to natural disasters in
Central America by serving as a platform for rescue missions,
repairing critical infrastructure, and in meeting
high priority health and sanitation
needs. JTF-Bravo forces have helped deliver millions of
dollars worth of privately donated goods to those in
need.
U.S. Business
Opportunities
Bilateral trade between the two nations totaled $7.4 billion in 2006,
up from $7 billion in 2005. Exports of goods and services from the
U.S. increased from $3.24 billion in 2005 to $3.69
billion in 2006, while Honduran exports to the U.S. fell
slightly from $3.75 billion in 2005 to $3.72 billion in 2006 More than
150 American companies operate in Honduras; U.S. franchises
are present in increasing
numbers.
Opportunities for U.S. business sales include textile machinery,
construction equipment, automotive parts and accessories,
telecommunications equipment, pollution control/water
resources equipment, agricultural machinery, hotel and
restaurant equipment, computers and software, franchising, and household
consumer goods. The best prospects for agricultural products are
corn, milled rice, wheat, soybean meal, and consumer-ready
products.
U.S. citizens contemplating investment in real estate in Honduras
should proceed with extreme caution,
especially in the Bay Islands or coastal areas, because of frequently
conflicting legislation, problems with land titles, and a weak
judicial system. Investors or their attorneys should check property
titles not only with the property registry office having jurisdiction
in the area in which the property is located (being especially
observant of marginal annotations on the deed and that the property is
located within the area covered by the
original title), but also with the National Agrarian Institute (INA)
and the National Forestry Administration (COHDEFOR). Investors in land
should be aware that even clear title is not a guarantee that a
future dispute over land would be
resolved
equitably.
Principal U.S. Embassy
Officials
Ambassador--Charles A.
Ford
Deputy Chief of Mission--Jim
Williard
Political Counselor--Frank Penirian
(Acting)
Economic Counselor--Martin Healy
(Acting)
Consul General--Rachel Schofer
(Acting)
Management Counselor--Jesse
Coronado
USAID Director--Harry
Birnholz
Public Affairs Officer--Chantal
Dalton
Defense Attache--COL Derek
Dickey
Military Group Commander--COL Jeffrey
Moragne
Peace Corps Director--Trudy
Jaycox
The U.S. Embassy in Honduras is located on Avenida La Paz,
Tegucigalpa (tel.: 011-504-236-9320; faxes: general--011-504-236-9037,
USAID--011-504-236-7776, Consulate--011-504-237-1792). Internet: http://honduras.usembassy.gov/english
/index_e1.htm
Contact
Information
American Chamber of
Commerce
Hotel Honduras
Maya
Apartado Postal
1838
Tegucigalpa,
Honduras
Tel: (504)
232-7043/232-6035
Fax: (504)
232-9959
Branch office in San Pedro
Sula
Tel: (504)
557-6402/559-6412
Fax: (504)
557-6402
U.S. Department of
Commerce
International Trade
Administration
Office of Latin America and the
Caribbean
14th and Constitution Avenue,
NW
Washington, DC
20230
Tel:
202-482-0057
800-USA-TRADE
Fax:
202-482-0464
Internet: http://trade.gov
U.S. Agency for International
Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW
Washington, DC
20523-0001
Tel:
202-712-4810
Fax:
202-216-3524
Internet: www.usaid.gov
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS
INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises
Americans traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information
Sheets, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry and exit requirements, currency
regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime,
political disturbances, and
the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Public
Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly
about terrorist threats and other relatively
short-term conditions overseas that pose significant
risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are
issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel
to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or
unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling
abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau
of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the
current Worldwide Caution, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings
can be found. Consular Affairs Publications,
which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe
trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov.
For additional information on international
travel, see http://www.usa.gov/
Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens who traveling or
residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel
registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate
abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in
case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will
enable you to receive up-to-date information on security
conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be
obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and
Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for
callers outside the U.S. and
Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S.
Department of State's single, centralized public
contact center for U.S.
passport
information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer
service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY
are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight,
Eastern Time, excluding federal
holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations
or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for
regions and countries. A booklet entitled "Health
Information for International Travel"
(HHS
publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202)
512-1800.
Further Electronic
Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at
http:// www.state.gov, the Department of State web
site provides timely, global access to
official U.S. foreign policy information, including
Background Notes and daily press briefings
along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service
posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides
security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies
working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and
market information offered by the federal
government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help
with the export process, and
more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
provides authoritative economic, business, and
international trade information from the Federal
government. The site includes current and
historical
trade-related releases, international market research, trade
opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the
National Trade Data Bank.
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Background
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Honduras
