352.0022/83
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Spanish Chargé d’Affaires called to see me this afternoon by instruction of his Government. He said that his Government had been [Page 783] informed that the Government of Chile was once more taking steps in order to obtain the active support of all of the American Republics in behalf of the contention of Chile that under the rules of diplomatic asylum which should be accorded political refugees the present Government of Spain had no right to demand of the Chilean Chargé d’Affaires in Madrid the surrender to the judicial authorities of Spain of the eighteen political refugees now sheltered in the Chilean Embassy. The Spanish Government had likewise heard that the Chilean Government was endeavoring to obtain the consent of the United States Government to mediate in the dispute which had arisen between the Spanish Government and the Chilean Government, and it desired this Government to be informed in the most friendly manner that the Spanish Government would not find it possible to accept mediation in this question on the part of any other Government since it believed that it was entirely a question involving the national sovereignty of Spain.
I told the Chargé d’Affaires that I had discussed this question with the Spanish Ambassador some six weeks prior to the departure of the latter from the United States, and I had explained to him at that time that the United States Government had made it clear at the Inter-American Conferences of 1928 and of 1933 that it could not subscribe to inter-American conventions providing for the right of diplomatic asylum since this Government did not acknowledge such right within the United States and since this Government had further refused to authorize its diplomatic representatives in foreign countries to extend the right of asylum to refugees who sought shelter within American embassies and legations. I said that in consequence of this traditional practice on the part of the United States, this Government had stated, when it had been approached by the Government of Chile some two months ago on this subject, that it could not support the position of the Government of Chile and that, for the same reason, it would find it impossible to make any representations to the Spanish Government in the matter.
I stated that I was somewhat surprised by this message delivered to me today by the Spanish Chargé d’Affaires as I had taken it for granted, since I had heard nothing further on the matter from the Chilean Government for at least six weeks, that the question had been amicably settled through direct negotiations between Chile and Spain. The Chargé d’Affaires replied that he was equally surprised upon receiving this message from his Government since he likewise had taken it for granted that the situation had been adjusted.
Señor de Silva said that the Spanish Under Secretary of State, Señor Barcenas, had spoken to him about the matter before the Chargé’s departure from Spain and had given him to understand [Page 784] that while some of the refugees in the Chilean Embassy were writers and intellectuals against whom the present Spanish Government had nothing, there were one or two of the individuals who had taken refuge who were accused of criminal acts and that it was these latter that the Spanish Government felt it necessary to submit to the courts of trial. I told the Spanish Chargé that as he undoubtedly knew, the repercussions of this incident had been very considerable throughout the American continent and that I regretted, therefore, the fact that the matter had not been settled in a satisfactory way.