817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/311: Telegram
The Chargé in Honduras (Higgins) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:07 p.m.]
182. Department’s No. 83 of November 27, 4 p.m. As the President is in constant attendance at the hospital bedside of his son who accidentally shot himself through the stomach on the evening of November 28, it has been impracticable to discuss the Nicaraguan bandit situation with him, so I took it up with the Minister for Foreign Affairs last evening. In pointing out to the Minister the responsibility of his Government in the matter I gave him a memorandum regarding the activities of bandit agents in Honduras which is a revision in the light of the latest information of Major Fassett’s report enclosed with my despatch No. 334 of November 6. The Minister manifested a sympathetic interest in the matter and promised to bring it to the attention of the President at the first opportunity and take it up immediately with the Minister of War urging him to take remedial measures. He agreed that his Government should do all in its power to prevent aid being furnished the bandits from Honduras but intimated that it could do little in its present state of impecuniousness and political uncertainty. [Page 831] He concluded with the statement “We must not neglect this matter of Nicaragua”. While the Minister of Foreign Affairs is certainly well disposed to act in this matter it is doubtful that he can secure effective cooperation from his colleagues particularly the Minister of War and Minister of Gobernacion and still less cooperation is to be expected from the Blue judiciary in the prosecution of bandit agents.
In the course of the conversation Minister of Foreign Affairs told me confidentially that his Government had kept Toribio Tijerino under close surveillance for some time but had discovered that he had been engaged in the arms traffic. Major Fassett’s information confirms this.
Fassett has not visited the frontier but although we do not expect he will be able to secure important information from going, as bandit activities are well concealed, we agree that it might be helpful for him to visit the Danli region. He is planning therefore to proceed there taking Sergeant Kessler with him on December 3 unless the Department wires disapproval in the interim.