752.53/30
Memorandum by the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Dunn)
The Portuguese Minister came in this, morning to say that he had been informed by his Foreign Office that the Portuguese Government has broken off diplomatic relations with the Spanish Government. The grounds for which this action has been taken are the accusations of the Spanish Government that the Portuguese Government has assisted the rebels in violation of the neutrality arrangement entered into with various other European countries; and the accusations that the Portuguese Government have forcibly transported Spaniards who had been involved in the civil war on the side of the Government across the Portuguese border into the hands of the rebel forces, where they were executed. The Minister stated further that the Portuguese diplomatic representative in Spain had been subjected to maltreatment and had been constantly in danger of his life; and also that the Spanish Government naval ships had attempted to injure Portuguese naval vessels, and on at least one occasion had attempted to take possession of the Portuguese naval vessels.
The Minister went on to say that while the Portuguese Government definitely did not want the extreme elements in the present Spanish Government to survive and would prefer to see the nationalist movement in Spain successful, they had not since entering into the neutrality agreement with the other European powers taken any action with regard to the Spanish situation which was contrary to the neutrality agreement. He said, furthermore, that the Soviets never have had a previous occasion to strike at the Portuguese Government and were using the present situation in the Neutrality Committee for the purpose of injuring the good name of the Portuguese Government as much as possible.