721.23/588
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (White)
Doctor Pomponio Guzman called at my house on the afternoon of December 6 and said that on going to the Legation after seeing me at the Department in the morning he had found a long cable from President Olaya which had just been deciphered. In this cable President Olaya had expressed his readiness to discuss commercial matters with Peru as soon as Leticia should be evacuated. President Olaya also stated that Señor Garcia Ortiz, who is now in Lima on a mission similar to Doctor Guzman’s mission here, reported that he had had several talks with the Peruvian authorities and that it seemed likely that they would make a new statement to the effect that they respect the Treaty of 1922 and consider it in force and they might state that Peru would not put any difficulties in the way of Colombia reestablishing her authority there. Doctor Guzman said that if this were done of course it would go a long ways toward solving the difficulty. Doctor Guzman thought that the negotiations could be materially advanced by conversations here and asked me if I would take the matter up with the Peruvians but not on the basis of the initiative having come from the Colombians. I promised to do so.