The Tucano Buy: Law Enforcement or Defense?

It is no mere coincidence that, in June, the Lobo administration publicly expressed its interest in procuring a fleet of EMB 314 Super Tucano light attack aircraft from Embraer of Brazil, and shortly thereafter the Honduran Congress passed Decree 42-2011, the so-called "Security Tax", aimed at raising more than US$79 million annually over the next five years.

Whoever came up with the idea of buying the Tucanos must have known that some of the security funds would be set aside for the plane purchase... or perhaps the thought came to him at the last minute.

This could explain why the tax is believed to actually raise more than twice the stated amount. It is precisely the huge discrepancy between what the government plans to spend on security programs and the amount of cash that will ultimately be produced by the tax that makes the measure so controversial.

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