715.1715/1509: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Honduras (Cousins)
41. The Department has been informed that on September 13 the Nicaraguan Foreign Office addressed a protest to Honduras regarding the alleged entry of Honduran soldiers into Nicaraguan territory and the arrest of Nicaraguan citizens. The Honduran Minister in Washington states that his Government has replied to Nicaragua’s note of protest with a counter-protest that on September 11 a captain of the National Guard, the Jefe politico, and the Chief of Police of [Page 451] the Department of Madriz had changed the boundary markers near Las Lagunillas and a detachment of the Guard was still stationed in Honduran territory.
You are instructed to discuss this matter informally with the Foreign Minister13 and inquire regarding the present status of the incident. You should point out that the United States is especially desirous of rendering every possible assistance in avoiding serious incidents at this time when world conditions are so upset and also indicate that the success of negotiations with a view to settling the longstanding Honduran-Nicaraguan boundary dispute could readily become more difficult if such incidents were permitted by the two countries to develop into greater proportions. You should explain to the Foreign Office that our Legation in Managua has been instructed to discuss the subject along the same lines with the Nicaraguan Foreign Office.
Kindly report the result of your conversation, particularly concerning the attitude of Honduras.
- Salvador Aguirre.↩