817.00 Johnson Electoral Mission/69: Telegram
The Minister in Nicaragua ( Hanna ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:31 p.m.]
107. My telegram 103, August 13, 4 p.m. President Moncada has just given me an advance copy of his amnesty decree, dated August 13, which he plans to make public in the very near future.10 Article 1 of the decree grants “full and unconditional amnesty to all persons who have committed political offenses from January 1, 1930, to date.”
The Spanish text of this article is identical with the text of article 1 of President Diaz’s similar decree of May 5, 1927,11 except the dates.
Article 2 of the decree instructs commandants of ports to give necessary assistance to those who return to the country to enable them to reach their respective homes.
Article 3 directs the authorities of the Republic to place at liberty political prisoners who are in jail. The decree takes effect on its publication in the Official Gazette.
The President has told me that he does not deem it wise to grant amnesty to persons engaged in banditry and there appears to be no [Page 648] popular or other noteworthy demand for this. President Diaz’s decree of September 26, 1928, granted amnesty to individuals who had committed common offenses in connection with political offenses. It may be in the President’s mind to issue a supplemental decree covering such common offenses and possibly other offenses should later developments make this desirable.
- The amnesty decree was made public on August 20, 1930 (817.00 Johnson Electoral Mission/73).↩
- See telegram No. 125, May 6, 1927, 1 p.m., from the Minister in Nicaragua, Foreign Relations, 1927, vol. iii, p. 342.↩