Office of the Historian

File No. 817.812/151

The Secretary of State to Minister Thomson 13

No. 89
Department of State,
Washington, April 18, 1916.

Sir: For your information and for the files of your Legation, there is inclosed herewith a copy of the translation of the note of the Minister of Colombia dated February 6, 1916, protesting on behalf of his Government against the inclusion of Great Corn and Little Corn Islands in any engagement already made, or hereafter to be made, by Nicaragua with the United States and also registering a like protest regarding the occupation of the Mosquito Coast by Nicaragua; and a copy of the Department’s reply thereto dated the 11th instant. As this correspondence clearly sets forth the point at issue and the position maintained by the Government of the United States in this controversy, it is deemed unnecessary to include herein a copy of the voluminous memorandum accompanying Minister Betancourt’s note.

In order to complete the records of your mission, there are also enclosed copies of translations of the correspondence, in this connection, exchanged between the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Colombia and Nicaragua.14

I am [etc.]

For the Secretary of State:
Frank L. Polk
  1. The same mutatis mutandis to the American Minister at Managua.↩
  2. For. Rel. 1913, pp. 1032–1034.↩