n of several hundred thousand Salvadorans across the ill-defined El Salvador-Honduras border and the expulsion of many of the immigrants by Honduras led to a war with El Salvador in July, 1969. Although the war lasted only five days, its effects were serious, including the country's withdrawal from and the subsequent collapse of the Central American Common Market as well as continued border incidents. In 1971 Ramón Ernesto Cruz was elected to succeed Lopez, only to be ousted by Lopez the following year. In late 1974 the Caribbean coast of Honduras was devastated by a hurricane. In 1975, Lopez was himself the victim of a coup after accepting $1.25 million in bribes from the United Brands Company. His successor was in turn ousted in 1978 in a military coup led by Gen. Policarpo Paz Garcia.
             As political unrest in the surrounding areas increased in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the United States pressured the Honduran government to hold democratic elections, and in 1982 a new constitution that called for free elections was promulgated and Dr. Robert Suazu Córdova became president. During the 1980s Honduras served as a base for insurgent activity against the government of Nicaragua by rebels known as Contras. The country's economy became heavily dependent on aid from the United States, which supported the rebel bases. In 1985 Jose Siméon Azcona del Hoyo was elected president in a disputed election. By 1988 popular discontent with the Contra presence resulted in massive demonstrations and the declaration of a state of emergency. In 1989 Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero was elected to the presidency and in 1990 the Contra war ended.
             In the 1990s Honduras benefited from regional peace and cooperation as it worked to establish economic viability independent of the United States. In 1992 an agreement was signed with El Salvador, settling the border controversy between the two countries. Carlos Roberto Reina, of...