File No. 715.1715/52
The Chargé in Honduras ( Curtis ) to the Secretary of State
I have been unable to see the President until this morning, but had interview with the Minister for Foreign Affairs yesterday morning.
[Page 32]It seems certain that Nicaraguan armed forces have been entering and leaving Las Trojas constantly, so I made the intimation according to your instructions. The President, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of War, and Membreño feel strongly that Honduras is being again asked to withhold its troops from territory unquestionably Honduran just as in the case of the Guatemala boundary dispute. However, orders will be sent at once to the troops not to enter Las Trojas, but as these left Danli Sunday and as there is no telegraph line beyond that place, it is possible that they will have arrived there before the orders reach them, in which event they are to retire immediately. The foregoing orders are based on the supposition that Nicaragua will withdraw its forces as contemplated by your cable, and the whole arrangement is to be considered merely temporary.
All those above mentioned professed entire lack of confidence in Nicaragua and sought guarantee by the United States that it would adapt its agreement to withdraw its forces.
Regardless of the rights of either nation it seems to me that the United States should insist that both resume negotiations for an arbitration treaty and that the good offices of the United States through its representatives in each capital should be offered to assist in reaching an agreement. The Honduran Government will not agree to this with good grace, as it holds that Nicaragua is entirely at fault in this matter, but I am convinced that it will do so if we use pressure. …