File No. 812.00/17920
The Acting Secretary of State to Mr. Arredondo
Washington, March 19, 1916.
My dear Mr. Arredondo: I beg to acknowledge your letter of March 18, 1916, enclosing a translation of the substance of the message from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Mexico, which you were good enough to read to me yesterday afternoon.
As I stated to you, it is a matter of sincere regret that there should have been any misunderstanding as to the attitude of General Carranza in connection with the crossing of the border by United States troops while in pursuit of Villa. It was the impression of this Department, as a result of the messages exchanged between this Government and the de facto Government of Mexico, that your Government fully understood and acquiesced in the arrangement proposed by the Minister of Foreign Relations, Señor Acuña, in his note of March 10, and accepted by this Government in our note dated March 13, presented by Special Representative Silliman, whereby the troops of either Government could, under certain conditions, pursue bandits into the territory of the other. With that understanding, troops of the United States Government were directed to pursue our common enemy, as it was realized that no time was to be lost if the pursuit was to be effective. While our military commanders have been given [Page 495] explicit instructions to scrupulously respect the sovereignty of the Mexican Government and we believe there will be no possibility of friction, yet this Government would be glad to receive any suggestions your Government may care to make as to the terms of a definite agreement to cover operation of troops either in our country or your country, under these particular conditions.
I am [etc.]