816.00/850: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in El Salvador (McCafferty)
31. Your 52, February 20, 3 p.m. The Constitution of Salvador apparently contains no provision authorizing the President to “deposit the power,” other than that contained in Article 92. This article seems clearly to contemplate a temporary absence of the President from the country and his reassumption of power upon his return. The deposit of power in the first designate under the provisions of this article would thereby be effected only during the temporary absence of the President who would continue to hold the office de jure while the functions thereof were performed during his absence by the first designate as Acting President. In other words, the plan proposed by General Martínez means merely that the regime which would be headed by the first designate would be the continuation of the Martínez regime itself. In view of this the Department feels that it could not consistently with the provisions of the Treaty extend recognition to the first designate in whom Martínez would merely “deposit the power” or, a fortiori, extend recognition to Martínez upon his resumption of power a few months hence.
Apart from the legal position stated above, it is clear that the plan contemplates an evasion of the terms of the Treaty through a plot under which Martínez would merely retire for a short period from the Presidency and that the first designate to whom he would turn over the executive power for such period would be a party to the plot and would in turn retire after a few months so as to pave the way for the return to power of Martínez. Any such manoeuver would seem to be a clear violation of the spirit of the Treaty and if sanctioned by the other states would as a practical matter nullify the effectiveness thereof. The Department feels that it should not lend itself to any such attempted evasion of the obligations of the Treaty.
The Department cannot escape the conviction that if Salvador desires to put its Government on a basis whereby recognition can be extended consistently with the obligations of the 1923 Treaty, there is no other way open than for Martínez to resign the Presidency outright. You will of course make it clear that the Department as it has already stated is not motivated by any unfriendliness against General Martínez for whom it has great regard, but that its action in the matter must be consonant with the provisions of the treaty.