817.00/4366
Draft Letter From the Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Navy (Wilbur)45
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of December 18, 1926, referring to mine of December 17,46 concerning the situation in Nicaragua, in which I stated that the adequate protection of American lives and property on the east coast of Nicaragua required the landing of American armed forces for that purpose, and recommended that Admiral Latimer be instructed to land such forces as might be necessary at Puerto Cabezas, Bragmans Bluff and such other places as he might deem necessary in order to prevent interference by the revolutionists with American citizens and American companies in the lawful discharge of their commercial activities.
I note in your letter above mentioned a paraphrase of a telegram which you have sent to the Commander of the Special Service Squadron [Page 819] stating that the establishment and maintenance of neutral zones by the employment of landing parties, or the taking of such other measures as may be necessary for the protection of American lives and interests, will, it is hoped, control effectively the Liberal bases now present on the east coast of Nicaragua and will cut off the sources of further supplies which are arriving from outside and cannot with propriety be stopped at this time before landing.
Unfortunately your letter did not come to my personal attention until yesterday. I am afraid Admiral Latimer will take this as an instruction. Although I have the utmost confidence in his ability and discretion, I believe it would be wise for you to now instruct him to confine his activities to protecting the lives and property of American and foreign citizens where they are in danger and there is no other assurance of their protection. I assume this is all he has done.
It is not the Government’s policy to intervene by armed force in the internal affairs of Nicaragua. This has been made perfectly plain by our action in the past. It is reported in the press this morning, although I do not credit it, that the whole east coast is to be declared a neutral zone. I do not think so-called neutral zones should be declared except where it is necessary for the protection of American citizens and their properties. While the State Department is loath to see munitions of war landed on the coast of Nicaragua which facilitates the continuation of hostilities between the two contending parties, I do not feel that American armed forces should endeavor to control this traffic providing the arms and munitions are not despatched from this country contrary to the provisions of the embargo on their exportation from the United States. I have been compelled reluctantly to recommend the landing of American armed forces but only for the protection of American and foreign lives and property and I feel that great care should be exercised by the American forces in Nicaragua to preserve the strictest neutrality between the revolutionists and the constitutional authorities.
I have [etc.]
-
Attached to this draft letter is a memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Latin American Affairs, dated December 29, which reads: “The attached letter, prepared but not sent, was shown to the President and the Secretary of the Navy at a conference at the White House December 28. A telegram embodying the main points of this letter was drafted at the White House and despatched to Admiral Latimer the same evening.”
For the text of the telegram as sent, see letter of the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of State, December 29, infra.
↩ - Neither printed.↩