Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXXII, Dominican Republic; Cuba; Haiti; Guyana

172. Memorandum Prepared for the 303 Committee¹

Washington, April 30, 1966.

SUBJECT

• Dominican Election Operation

REFERENCES

• A. Memorandum to The 303 Committee, dated 20 Dec 65, Subject: “Presidential Election in the Dominican Republic”²
• B. Memorandum to The 303 Committee, dated 11 Jan 66, Subject: “Contingency Plan for the Dominican Elections”³

1. Summary

Neither Balaguer nor any of his party leaders knows very much about political organization or the conduct of presidential campaigns. This lack of experience combined with Balaguerʼs relative lack of success in raising campaign funds from local sources have thus far impeded full exploitation of latent but widespread pro-Balaguer sentiment. There has been a noticeable improvement in the organization and management of Balaguerʼs campaign [2 lines of source text not declassified]. An evaluation of the progress to date, however, indicates that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] should be prepared to inject additional funds into the campaign to ensure that Balaguer does not lose momentum at a critical point in the race because of shortage of cash. [5½ lines of source text not declassified] The purposes of this memorandum are (a) to report on [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] operations undertaken to date on Balaguerʼs behalf, and (b) to obtain 303 Committee authorization for an additional [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] which could be made available to Balaguer through non-attributable channels if he is unsuccessful in raising necessary funds from other sources as will probably be the case or if he obviously needs additional support for specific campaign purposes.

2. Problem

To provide Balaguer with such increased financial assistance as may be needed to enable him to campaign effectively.

3. Factors Bearing on the Problem

a. Origin of the Requirement

During a 25 April meeting among Admiral Raborn, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and Under-Secretary Mann and Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Sayre of the Department of State, the belief was voiced that Balaguer should be given whatever financial assistance is needed to enable him to campaign effectively, and that the [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] previously authorized by the 303 Committee might have to be augmented.⁴

b. Relative Strength of Candidates

[1 paragraph (18 lines of source text) not declassified]

c. Operations Designed to Promote a Favorable Election Climate and to Get Out the Vote

[5½ pages of double-spaced source text not declassified]

5. Recommendation

It is requested that the 303 Committee authorize an additional [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] which could be made available to Balaguer through [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] channels not attributable to the U.S. Government if Balaguer obviously needs additional support to enable him to campaign effectively.

1. Source: Department of State, INR/IL Historical Files, 303 Committee Records, 1966. Secret; Eyes Only.
2. The date is incorrect; the correct date is December 30, 1965; see Document 152.
3. Document 157.
4. [text not declassified]