814.24/372
The American Minister in Guatemala (Des Portes) to the Guatemalan Minister for Foreign Affairs (Salazar)12
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency’s Note of November 16, 194213 referring to the conversations between the representatives of the Government of the United States of America and of the representatives of Guatemala in connection with the Agreement on the Principles Applying to Mutual Aid in the Prosecution of the War against Aggression signed this day.13a
The conversations referred to have disclosed a mutual understanding on the part of the Governments of the United States and of the Republic of Guatemala with respect to the application of the provisions of the Agreement, as follows:
1. The Government of the United States will endeavor, subject to unforeseen contingencies and within the limits imposed upon it by other military demands, to transfer to the Government of Guatemala during the present emergency armaments and munitions of war, of types to be agreed upon by the two governments, to a total scheduled cost of about $5,000,000.
2. The Government of Guatemala agrees to permit the use by armed forces of the United States of America of the zones of Guatemalan territory expressly provided in the Memorandum of Agreement attached hereto.14
3. The concessions granted by the Government of Guatemala to the Government of the United States of America pursuant to Paragraph 2 above are valued at, and shall be credited exclusively for the purpose of the present agreement to the value of $3,000,000 against the cost of armaments and munitions of war transferred to the Government of Guatemala under the provisions of Paragraph 1 above to a total scheduled cost of $5,000,000. In excess of the scheduled value of $3,000,000 up to a total scheduled value of $5,000,000, the Government of the United States of America agrees to accord to the Government [Page 444] of the Republic of Guatemala a reduction of 40% in the scheduled cost of the materials delivered in compliance with the stipulations of the present agreement; and the Government of the Republic of Guatemala promises to pay in dollars into the Treasury of the United States of America 60% of the scheduled cost of the materials delivered. The Republic of Guatemala shall not be required to pay more than a total of
- $ 200,000 before January 1, 1944, more than a total of
- $ 400,000 before January 1, 1945, more than a total of
- $ 600,000 before January 1, 1946, more than a total of
- $ 800,000 before January 1, 1947, more than a total of
- $1,000,000 before January 1, 1948, more than a total of
- $1,200,000 before January 1, 1949.
In respect of armaments and munitions of war transferred to the Government of Guatemala pursuant to Paragraph 1 above, in excess of a scheduled value of $3,000,000 and up to a scheduled value of $5,000,000 the Government of Guatemala may return to the United States of America at the end of the present emergency as determined by the President of the United States of America such defense articles which shall have been transferred under this Agreement which are of use to the United States, which shall be determined by the President of the United States of America in consultation with the President of the Republic of Guatemala, and upon the return of such defense articles to the United States the Republic of Guatemala shall be credited for any sums paid or which it is obligated to pay for such defense articles under the terms of this agreement.
4. All of the works carried out on Guatemalan territory on the initiative and at the cost of the Government of the United States of America, pursuant to the provisions of the Memorandum of Agreement attached hereto, shall, upon the termination of that agreement, become the exclusive property of the Government of Guatemala, with the exception of the organic armament and equipment of the United States forces, the clothing of the troops, the manual instruments, and everything that constitutes the equipment of such forces.
I am glad to inform Your Excellency that the foregoing statement of understanding which has been reached in the negotiations is acceptable to my Government and that it therefore considers the understanding to be in effect as of this date.
Please accept [etc.]