Office of the Historian

710.Consultation(2)/232: Telegram

The Ambassador in Peru (Norweb) to the Secretary of State

Lima, July 9, 1940—2 p.m.
[Received 5:45 p.m.]

97. 1. The Peruvian Delegation at Habana, in addition to the Minister of Justice,45 will consist of Ambassador Freyre if well enough to attend; Juan Chavez; Javier Delgado Irigoyen, Secretary in the Diplomatic Service, Secretary of the Delegation. The Minister will [Page 214] be accompanied by his son. The former is said to be ill and will probably proceed to the United States for treatment after the meeting.

2. In conversation with the Minister of Justice today he said that the Committee on Foreign Relations had authorized the Peruvian Delegation to support and adhere to the United States position with respect to nonrecognition of the transfer of colonies. He added that Peru, however, did not have the same special interest as for instance Brazil and Venezuela, but that the Peruvian attitude would be based on a policy of solidarity.

3. He stated that the Peruvian Government believed that the conference should not take up the hypothetical question of the future administration of non-American colonial possessions, adding that Peru was not prepared to support any plan of mandate such as by Brazil or Venezuela.

4. The Minister said that Peru was very much interested in the economic features of the meeting and would take an active part therein as well as in the subsequent shipping and economic discussions which he understood would take place shortly afterwards in Washington.

5. On the question of neutrality he was non-committal, but he inquired particularly whether the United States had taken any special position in regard to this question. I explained our suggestion for the exclusion of all types of submarines46 and our general interest in the maintenance of the neutrality zone.

Norweb
  1. Lino Cornejo, Minister of Justice and Worship.↩
  2. See section entitled “Efforts of the United States to secure among certain other American Republics legislation providing for the exclusion of belligerent submarines from their ports and territorial waters,” vol. i, pp. 776 ff.↩