He was born on 17 March 1858 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; his parents were Inocencio Bonilla and Juana Vasquez.

[3] In December 1893 he led armed forces that invaded from Nicaragua with support from Nicaraguan president José Santos Zelaya.

[2] Following a siege of several weeks, Bonilla's forces took the capital Tegucigalpa on 22 February 1894 and he was appointed president.

It prohibited presidents from seeking re-election and provided for the direct election of Supreme Court judges.

He served until the constitutional end of his term and was succeeded by Terencio Sierra, who won the 1898 elections.