Guardsmen to Go to Honduras, Governor Insists

Gov. George Deukmejian remained firm Wednesday in his decision to send 30 Spanish-speaking members of the California National Guard to Honduras despite growing pressure from Democrats to stop the military mission.

A large group of Democratic legislators had protested Deukmejian’s decision and asked him to reconsider sending Californians to the Central American country.

Aides to the Republican governor downplayed the possible danger to the citizen-soldiers, describing their mission as a relatively routine assignment that will involve providing security and interpreters for a highway construction project.

15 Leave Today

A 15-member Alameda-based military police unit is scheduled to leave today and a second one will replace it in three weeks. The units are composed of both men and women.

Col. Donald T. Foley, spokesman for the California National Guard, compared the risks involved to those encountered at training exercises conducted at the guard’s Camp Roberts base near Paso Robles.

“We are convinced the guard units will be in no more danger than they would be if they were training at Camp Roberts,” Foley said.

But Democrats, apparently hoping to turn up the political heat on Deukmejian, claimed the governor is endangering the lives of Californians, pointing to common borders that Honduras shares with strife-torn El Salvador and Nicaragua. Fighting between U.S.-backed rebels, called contras, and the Marxist-led government of Nicaragua recently spilled across the Honduran border.

Democrats’ Letter

“As you know, Honduras provides bases for the contra rebels’ operations in Nicaragua, which recently invaded Honduras to attack the contra camps,” 29 Democratic legislators said in a letter to Deukmejian.

In a separate letter, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) urged Deukmejian “not to risk California lives” in Central America.

“It was never envisioned that these citizen soldiers should be used as a first line of defense,” Brown said.

The Democratic-dominated Senate is expected to act on a measure today urging Deukmejian to call off participation of California guard members in the Honduras mission. Governors of several states have refused to let their guard troops participate in Central American operations.

Approved by Governor

Democrats said the letters were drafted after Deukmejian said at a news conference last week that he had approved sending state National Guard units to Central America. The first contingent to go was a group of 14 public relations specialists who recently returned from Panama.

Deukmejian described Honduras as “a friendly country,” and said sending guard units on such missions was “all part of their training.” He said Californians would be far from hostilities.

Responding to Democratic critics, Kevin Brett, the governor’s deputy press secretary, on Wednesday suggested the letters were motivated by election-year partisanship.

“California National Guardsmen have been sent overseas on temporary assignments for years. They are going to be involved in providing security for a highway project 100 miles from the Honduran-Nicaraguan border. It’s curious that (the Democrats) picked this particular time to raise their objections,” Brett said, noting it is an election year.