715.1715/125: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Nicaragua (Jefferson)
7. The following telegram has just been received from Tegucigalpa:6
“The Ministers of War and Foreign Relations ask that I inform Department as follows: about 80 Honduraneans are on the Nicaraguan frontier in the disputed territory. They are the crowd who are trying to start on an invasion and they pass back and forth between the two countries unimpeded committing grave crimes. Honduras is asking Nicaragua to prevent them, failing which, the Honduranean Government will be obliged to send troops there even at the risk of being considered as invading Nicaraguan territory. This Government therefore requests such cooperation from our Government as may be expedient. All the reports in my previous correspondence on this subject are apparently verified by the actual situation today.”
The Department is telegraphing the American representative at Tegucigalpa7 to inform the Honduran Government that this Government would deplore under any circumstances any action by the Honduran Government which might be interpreted as an invasion of Nicaraguan territory and to warn the Honduran Government of the grave nature of such action.
You will also urge on the Nicaraguan Government the necessity of taking steps immediately to prevent such raids as are reported in the above telegram in accordance with their declarations reported to the Department in your January 16, 9 a.m.