835.24/364

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of the American Republics (Bonsal) to the Under Secretary of State (Welles)22

Mr. Welles: While I was talking with Dr. García Arias of the Argentine Embassy this afternoon, Ambassador Espil dropped in. They then both expressed in emphatic terms their great concern at the current development of relations between Argentina and the United States. They referred specifically to the current negotiations with the Argentine military and naval missions. These negotiations, according to them, will be meaningless unless, in addition to the signing [Page 383] of military accords, they culminate in the signature and implementation of a lend lease agreement between Argentina and the United States.

It appears that the Argentine officials are really concerned at the possibility of an axis attack in Patagonia as well as of developments in Uruguay which might make necessary the rendering of Argentine assistance to that country. They stated that our action in furnishing large amounts of lend lease equipment to Brazil, while Argentina gets nothing, was of real concern to them. They said that the continuance of our present attitude would weaken the hands of our friends in Argentina and would strengthen our enemies.

Ambassador Espil said that he was afraid that you had not been able to give adequate consideration to this matter because of the many other questions pressing upon you.

I will be glad to make a further opportunity to converse with the Ambassador on this subject if you think it desirable; he himself suggested that he “could talk for two hours about it”.

(It will shortly become known in Argentina that although Chile has neither broken off relations with the axis or signed a lend lease agreement, certain war matériel is being made available to Chile. I think we should consider, following the signature of the agreements with the Argentine military and naval missions, and without signing a lend lease agreement, the possibility of furnishing a very limited amount of war matériel to Argentina on a Hemisphere defense basis.23 This would at least weaken the position of the Argentines who are talking about our policy of reprisals, et cetera.)

Philip W. Bonsal
  1. Mr. Welles made the following notations on this memorandum: “Talk all you think desirable—S. W.”; “I am seeing Sueyro this week—S. W.”
  2. In the margin, in Sumner Welles’ handwriting, appears the word “No”.