811.3332/90a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery)
156. From the Under Secretary. The heavy cruiser “Wichita, the flagship of Admiral Pickens, will sail from Norfolk tomorrow for Guantanamo and will proceed immediately to Brazilian waters. She will join the Quincy at sometime in the near future and will remain off the east coast of South America during the coming months.
Please telegraph me whether you think it desirable and whether the Brazilian Government would like to have the Wichita visit Rio de Janeiro, where she could arrive on June 18. It has occurred to me that the psychological effect would be good for the Wichita to arrive only 3 days after the Quincy is due to leave. On the other hand, I appreciate that for domestic considerations the Brazilian Government might prefer not to have an additional visit so soon after the departure of the Quincy. Please discuss the matter frankly with Aranha7 and, in the event that he feels it preferable for the Wichita not to go to Rio immediately, ask him what other Brazilian ports would be appropriate points of call for the Wichita to visit in southern Brazil before she joins the Quincy. [Welles.]
- Oswaldo Aranha, Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs.↩