837.515/584a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Cuba (Braden)
418. Treasury proposes to sign the gold purchase agreement with Cuba on July 6 at which time the following press release will be issued:
“The Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., and the Cuban Ambassador, Dr. Aurelio F. Concheso, today signed an agreement under which the Government of the United States undertakes to sell gold to the Government of the Republic of Cuba from time to time with payment to be made within 120 days after delivery of the gold provided that the unpaid-for amount of gold shall not at any time exceed $5,000,000.
“The details of the agreement were worked out between the Cuban and United States Treasuries on the occasion of a recent visit to this country by Dr. Oscar García Montes, the Minister of Finance of Cuba.
“This agreement evidencing the close cooperation that has existed between the Treasuries of the Republic of Cuba and the United States [Page 296] will enable the Cuban Treasury to carry out operations designed to stabilize the Cuban peso–United States dollar rate of exchange.”
The foregoing is sent to you for your information and not for release to the press in Cuba.