721.2315/326: Telegram
The Ambassador in Peru (Poindexter) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:50 p.m.]
4. President Leguía told the Colombian Minister that, due to the delicate situation occasioned by the Tacna-Arica question, he would be unable to submit the boundary treaty to the present Congress. The Colombian Minister replied that, because of reiterated promises made by the President and the Foreign Office on various specific occasions during the last few years and especially during the last few months that the treaty would be submitted to Congress and promptly ratified and the fact that they had failed to fulfill any of these promises, he considered it useless to negotiate further on this subject with the Government of Peru and he would not return again to discuss the subject with him.
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The Colombian Minister also told President Leguía that if the treaty were not submitted and approved by this Congress, a dangerous condition of public opinion in Colombia would be created. President Leguía seemed greatly embarrassed and assured the Colombian Minister that the present state of affairs was due to circumstances beyond his control. He begged him to be patient, and again assured him that his intention to have the treaty ratified at some future date was as strong as ever. The Colombian Minister appears to have little confidence in this and has informed his Government of the present state of affairs.