314. Memorandum From President Kennedy to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Woodward)1
Do we have any evidence of Communist activity or Castro activities in the Dominican Republic today? Have they infiltrated the “popular Dominican movement”? Which refugees have come back and what are their political history? I want to make sure that our people there are the best people we can get, that their judgment is good and that they are not emotionally committed to one group or another and not carrying out a crusade for anything but the United States. Would you check and give me your assurances that those are the kind of people we have because a great deal will depend on their judgment. We don’t want to have another Cuba to come out of the Dominican Republic.
Previous to your return I stated that our objective was (1) have a democracy (2) to continue the present situation. I also said that if we could not have a democracy with some hope of survival I would rather continue the present situation than to have a Castro dictatorship. That is our policy and we want to make sure that in attempting to secure democracy we don’t end up with a Castro-Communist island.
We should indicate that we are opposed to permitting refugees to come back from Cuba or any Communist-controlled country. I note this is what Balaguer said, but we should indicate our approval. I want to watch this situation carefully and get a copy of all important reports coming in.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 737.00/7-1161. No classification marking. A covering memorandum from Goodwin to Woodward, July 11, reads: “The President dictated this before his meeting with you. I thought it might be useful as a reminder of your conversation.”↩