I made the oral statement which is attached hereto. The Ambassador said he
wished to ask how he should translate the sentence reading “The United
States could, of course, consult with any government in this Hemisphere from
whose territory we have information that flights were originating against
Cuba … .” He asked if this meant that we knew where these flights were
coming from. I replied that we probably had some suspicions. I did not think
the information was specific, and asked him to add the word “indicating”
after the word “information.”
The Ambassador said he hoped that Mr. Khrushchev’s motives in raising this question were
understood. He said that the Chairman believed it was to our mutual interest
to reduce tension in the Caribbean and to avoid a crisis over the Cuban
problem.
I said I was sure that the President did understand, and thought that our
position was clear from the statement which I had just made to him.
Attachment
ORAL STATEMENT
The President wished Mr. Khrushchev to know that he shares his view that the
signing of the Test Ban Treaty and the recent exchange of views with the
Soviet Government is encouraging, and he hopes it will be possible to
proceed to the solution of other problems. The President is hopeful that
the Test Ban Treaty will be approved by the United States Senate in the
course of next week.
[Page 867]
With respect to the Cuban situation, the President also agrees that the
emergence of a new crisis would be in the interest neither of the Soviet
Union nor of the United States, and can assure him that the United
States will faithfully carry out its commitments.
With respect to any air attacks on Cuba, it can be stated categorically
that not only was the United States not involved in any way in such
attacks, but has been making every effort to prevent them. It is
possible, but not likely, that a light private aircraft could take off
from one of the large number of private fields in the southeastern
portion of the United States. No such illegal flights have been detected
by the means available to us. The President has directed, however, that
the measures already taken be reviewed to see what further steps could
be taken.
In keeping with the March 30, 1963 declaration by the Departments of
State and Justice concerning hit and rUN
attacks by Cuban exile groups against targets in Cuba, the law
enforcement agencies are taking vigorous measures to assure that the
pertinent laws of the United States are observed.
Apparently it is assumed that the United States exercises control over
the policies and actions of the other sovereign, independent states of
this Hemisphere. This assumption betrays a fundamental misunderstanding
of the relationship between the United States and the other American
Republics. The history of inter-American relations makes abundantly
clear that the American Governments will not tolerate interference with
their foreign or domestic affairs. The states of this Hemisphere
jealously defend the principle of juridical equality of states and
reject any insinuation that difference of size and power in any way
modifies this fundamental rule governing their relations.
The United States could, of course, consult with any government in this
Hemisphere from whose territory we have information indicating that
flights were originating against Cuba, but, in all candor, we must point
out that such consultation would be greatly complicated by the
increasing sense of outrage among the governments of this Hemisphere
about Cuba’s deliberate stimulation and support of subversive activities
throughout the Hemisphere in direct violation of international norms.
This is not simply a matter of speeches or words by
Castro, as has sometimes been indicated. Clear
evidence of Cuban involvement in this form of aggression is to be found
in the fact that:
- a)
- The Cuban Government is recruiting Latin Americans, sending
them to Cuba for training in guerrilla tactics and returning
them to their countries to engage in terroristic activities. A
case in point are the Cuban-trained Peruvians captured on May 14
and 15, 1963, at Puerto Maldonado as they attempted
clandestinely to enter Peru from Bolivia.
- b)
- The Cuban Government is furnishing funds to revolutionary
groups seeking the overthrow of governments by force and
violence. By
[Page 868]
way of
illustration, in May 1963, two leading members of the Ecuadorean
Communist Party, Jose Maria Roura and Alejandro Roman were
seized as they were returning to Ecuador. They were carrying
over $30,000 which they confessed had been given them by Chinese
and Cuban sources.
- c)
- The Cuban leaders continue to exhort revolutionaries in Latin
American countries to resort to sabotage, terrorism and
guerrilla action. Premier Castro returned
to this theme in his July twenty-sixth address when he called on
activists in Venezuela and other countries to “open the breach”
and begin fighting. Major Ernesto Guevara, in an article
published in the September issue of Cuba Socialista, strongly
advocates guerrilla warfare as the surest road to power in Latin
America. Information available to us shows a direct connection
between terroristic activities in Venezuela and the
Castro regime. In addition to being
guilty of such aggression against other American Republics by
promoting these and other activities, the Cuban Government
recently embarked on a most risky venture of direct violation of
the territory and territorial waters of another country in this
Hemisphere using units of its armed forces. On August 14, 1963,
a Cuban helicopter and two patrol boats furnished by the Soviet
Union forcibly removed from Cay Anguila, one of the islands of
the Bahamas group, nineteen persons who had sought refuge on the
island. This incident led to a vigorous protest by the British
Government on August 21, 1963, requesting an apology and return
of the persons taken prisoners.
In sum, it is not the United States, but the behavior of the
Castro regime that is to blame for the
difficulties in the Caribbean area.
