File No. 812.00/6244.
[Untitled]
Mexico, February 18, 1913—5 p.m.
11. General Huerta has just sent me an official note announcing that he has arrested the President and his Cabinet, and asking that President Taft and the resident Diplomatic Corps be informed thereof. The Diplomatic Corps was assembled at the moment General Huerta’s note was received, and after consultation I made acknowledgment, coupled with the request that he unite with all Mexican elements for the maintenance of order. In my own name I stated that I confidently relied on his ability and good intentions to carry his expressions of patriotism to good effect, and expressed the hope that he would place the army at the disposal of the Mexican Congress. I also said I would convey the statements in his note to President Taft and to General Díaz, as requested in his note.