Billy Fernando Joya Améndola (known as Billy Joya) is a former Honduran military officer who worked in the controversial Battalion 3-16, [1] national security adviser at Manuel Zelaya's government, a post in which he has continued. [2] [3]
One of four children, Joya enrolled in military academy at 14, but was expelled "when a teacher caught him cheating on an exam." [4] He subsequently enlisted as a private and within two years had risen to become the youngest sergeant in the army. He joined the military police, and in 1981, along with a dozen other Hondurans, had 6 weeks' training in the US. He went on to become a member of Intelligence Battalion 3-16. [4]
Billy Joya was one of at least 18 members of the death squad Intelligence Battalion 3-16 who trained at the School of the Americas in the United States. [5] [6] [7]
Joya fled legal proceedings in Honduras regarding allegations of torture and forced disappearances carried out by Battalion 3-16, and sought political asylum in Spain, which was rejected. In August 1998 a claim was filed against Joya in Spain requesting his detention, asserting universal jurisdiction under the Convention Against Torture. [8] "Joya voluntarily returned to Honduras in December 1998 after receiving promises of special treatment. He was jailed but freed in August 2000 after a judge said there was not enough evidence to continue his detention." [9]
In 1996 Joya told the victims of Battalion 3-16, "I ask pardon for having contributed to that history of pain and suffering that you experienced." [10]
As of mid-2006, Billy Joya was a national security advisor to Alvaro Romero, another former Battalion 3-16 member, who was a government minister (Secretary of Security) during the presidency of Manuel Zelaya. [11]