817.00/8450: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Guatemala (Des Portes)
40. Your 54, June 2, 1 p.m. You may inform the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs that this Government appreciates the friendly courtesy of the Government of Guatemala in advising it of the proposal addressed to it by the Government of Salvador, as well as of the views of the Government of Guatemala concerning such proposal.
You may further state that in the opinion of this Government an essential prerequisite for the consideration by the United States of any proposal to join with other American republics in tendering their joint good offices to the various factions in Nicaragua would be an invitation from all of the factions involved including that headed by General Somoza and his associates, for the extension of such good offices and the consequent assurance on the part of this Government that such offer of good offices would be not only accepted but in fact welcomed by all of the political leaders in Nicaragua. It is the view [Page 834] of this Government that except upon this basis the proposal in question might legitimately be construed as foreign interference in the strictly domestic concerns of the Nicaraguan people. You may likewise state that the American Minister in Nicaragua has been instructed to this effect and has been further informed by this Government that in the event that the necessary prerequisite above outlined is forthcoming, this Government would then be disposed promptly to consult with the appropriate Governments of other American republics in order then to determine whether participation by the United States in such a contingent tender of good offices is practicable.
You may further inform the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs that the Government of Salvador has already been informed of the views of this Government as above indicated and that the American Minister in Nicaragua has been instructed to make the position of this Government known to the various factions in that republic.
In conclusion you should take occasion to make it clear to the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs that the Government of the United States has no preference and no opinions to express with regard to the various potential candidates for the Nicaraguan presidency.