714.18/38
The Minister in Guatemala (Hanna) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 13.]
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report supplementing my telegram No. 9 of March 8, 1 p.m.6
[Page 238]On Monday, March 4, I called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and requested him to arrange for me to see President Ubico in connection with the Department’s telegram No. 7 of March 1, 6 p.m. concerning Guatemalan-Costa Rican relations. The Minister expressed the desire to be informed in some detail as to the nature of the Department’s views, and I therefore permitted him to read the telegram. The Minister invited me to his office the following morning and told me briefly and categorically that the President had instructed him to say that the procedure suggested by the Department was not satisfactory to this Government. I replied by expressing my regret, and added that it would appear therefore that my Government could be of no further assistance in the matter.
The Minister then launched into a prolonged general discussion of the relations between Guatemala and Costa Rica which was mainly a repetition of his previous conversations on this subject which I have reported. I made no comment other than to repeat my expression of regret from time to time. He persisted in his complaints against the Government of Costa Rica and made quite evident his desire that I should make some comment.
I thereupon told him that if I were to make any comment at all it should be made with complete frankness although of course in the most friendly spirit. I told him that my information indicated that the criticisms which have appeared in the Costa Rican press had their origin largely if not entirely in the propaganda of Guatemalan exiles in San José, and that the Government here would appear to be mistaken in its apparent belief that the criticisms represent sentiments of the Government and people of Costa Rica. I told him that I found it difficult to understand why this Government should attach so much importance to newspaper criticism, and I asked him to contrast the attitude of this Government in that respect to that of many another Government that is being subjected to similar criticisms by newspapers of foreign countries. I told him that I had been laboring diligently and conscientiously as a friend of Guatemala and its Government to show the real aims of President Ubico and his Government and to correct misunderstandings concerning them. I reminded him that, to this end, I had made numerous reports to my Government setting forth very clearly that incorrect motives were being attributed to President Ubico and that many false reports concerning his acts and intentions were being circulated. I mentioned that, as he was already aware, I had emphasized particularly my belief in the groundlessness of the charge that President Ubico was meddling in the affairs of other Central American countries, and that I had pointed out emphatically that, on the contrary, he was conscientiously endeavoring to abstain from any such meddling and seemingly was particularly [Page 239] desirous of cultivating more friendly relations with all his Central American neighbors. I then told him that, in view of his Government’s attitude toward the reasonable suggestion of my Government for improving the relations between Guatemala and Costa Rica, I felt compelled to state with all frankness that I would feel under some restraint in the future to express myself with so much clarity and conviction. I added that I very much feared that his Government’s rejection of my Government’s proposal would be learned with surprise and profound regret in the Department of State. Finally I told him in the most friendly manner that in my opinion the Government here is supersensitive to press criticism.
On returning to the Legation I addressed a personal letter to President Ubico, copy of which is enclosed.7 I was in some doubt whether the President was fully informed concerning the Department’s attitude, and whether a brusque and categorical refusal was the only reply he desired to make to the Department’s suggestion. Also, I deemed it desirable to make very clear that the Department had extended its good offices in response to the explicit request of the Government of Guatemala, as well as to draw attention to my not having been accorded an opportunity to see the President.
I called on the President on March 8 in response to his invitation. At the outset of our conversation he said that he would reply to a telegram from the Government of Costa Rica the moment it was received, but that he felt that the Costa Rican Government was mainly responsible for the present coolness in the relations between the two governments and therefore should take the initiative in an exchange of telegrams. He said he understood perfectly that the Department could adopt no other attitude than one of absolute impartiality and friendship for both the Governments concerned, even though he felt that the relations of Guatemala with the United States throughout its entire history probably entitled it to greater consideration than would be shown to Costa Rica if the latter were judged by the same standard.
I told the President that, while I had no desire to influence his decision unduly, I did feel that I could say to him that Guatemala, in view of its special position in the Central American group of states and its outstanding prestige among them, could afford to be very generous in its attitude towards Costa Rica. I told him that in all probability such an attitude would create a splendid impression not only in Central America but in all America, and certainly would not detract from the prestige of his Government. I then asked him if he would agree on an exchange of telegrams with the Government of Costa Rica on some specific day but without specifying the hour. After some slight [Page 240] hesitation, he answered in the affirmative. He added smilingly that Costa Rica probably would wait until midnight to send its telegram but that Guatemala could wait also if it chose to do so.
Respectfully yours,