414.118/4–1454: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in Portugal 1
323. In view sustained frantic efforts Guatemalan emissaries procure arms, ammunition or implements of war including airplanes, half-tracks and artillery from Western Europe, as already reported by Department to various missions, Department increasingly concerned possibility Guatemala can evade strict U.S. embargo exports of arms through procurement from European sources. Reports storage of arms by political groups or communist cells indicate arms intended to counterbalance anti-communist elements in Guatemalan Armed Forces or for [Page 1099] use against other countries. Current tension Central America due attempted assassination Somoza may create communist opportunity suppress anti-communist Guatemalan forces or by infiltration attempt overthrow anti-communist Central American governments.
In view desirability our position previously notified in individual cases be understood by other governments as a general application, inform appropriate officials government to which you are accredited Department’s concern this danger to free world and solicit their suggestions for measures to be taken promptly (such as alerting port authorities) to tighten arms export and transit controls in order eliminate possibility clandestine or concealed shipments. Stress that we would greatly value their active cooperation in view current instability Central American area and preponderance of Guatemalan strength if supported by adequate matériel. Department would appreciate Govt. reaction soonest.
- Drafted and signed by Mr. Leddy, with the assistance of Orray Taft of the Office of Munitions Control; sent also to Madrid, Paris, Rome, Bern, Brussels, The Hague, Stockholm, London, HICOG at Bonn, and USPOLAD at Trieste.↩