"I Will Not Be Blackmailed"

Honduran President Roberto Suazo Cordova, 56, discussed his nation's considerable troubles in a rare interview with TIME Managing Editor Ray Cave and Mexico City Bureau Chief James Willwerth at the National Palace in Tegucigalpa. Excerpts:

On relations with Nicaragua. Last September the Nicaraguans started to say that Honduras was going to invade. They said it in October. They said it again in November, and in December they said that President Reagan was supposed to give the invasion order during his visit. Our army is not even near the border. They want to look like the victim and have us look like the aggressor internationally. We will not attack. But if we are attacked, even by an inch, we will fight back.

On the contras. In 1979 the Sandinista commanders were here. They bought arms and came and went freely. Now there are anti-Sandinista refugees here, and they have also obtained arms. I feel that the anti-Sandinista cause will progress and that many of the Nicaraguan militias will defect.

On the domino theory. Subversion comes from Nicaragua and El Salvador. It is a declared theory of subversion that if Honduras falls, Mexico will. If Central America falls, then you in New York will hear the bombs of subversion. We are not going to permit foreigners to subvert our order. I will not be blackmailed. Even when my daughter was kidnaped [in 1982 she was seized in Guatemala and released after a statement from her kidnapers was published in newspapers] I asked God's forgiveness for not negotiating for her. The law must come first.

On human rights. Critics say that the fight against subversion has led to rising human-rights abuses. I do not hear those who decry human-rights abuses in Honduras mentioning Afghanistan or Cuba. We have had businessmen kidnaped by the left, but I do not hear the critics protesting.

On relations with the U.S. We do not defend the interests of the United States. We defend the interests of democracy in Honduras and in Central America. We were, we are and we will be friends of the United States, but we are not acting at the whim of the United States. You have to be blind not to see that Nicaragua is influenced by the Communists.

On the need for more U.S. aid. We have received aid from the Caribbean Basin Initiative. However, the aid is insignificant compared with what Nicaragua receives from Communist countries. If Honduras stated that it would align itself with Cuba, I am sure we would receive $500 million tomorrow. But I will not accept Communist money. We need aid for the war on poverty, not for war on other countries.

On his relations with General Alvarez Martinez. The orders of the President to the chief of the armed forces are obeyed. The day they are not obeyed, I will just go home. So far, my orders are being obeyed. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.