740.0011 European War 1939/25657
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Ambassador of Chile called to see me this afternoon at his request. The Ambassador told me that he had just learned that General Espinosa, Chilean representative on the Interamerican Defense Commission, had received direct word from General Escudero, Chief of Staff of the Chilean Army that the Government of Chile intended to break relations in the near future and that General Espinosa was, consequently, to shape his conduct in the United States with that in mind.
The Ambassador had also received word that his Government had issued directives to the Chilean newspapers to prepare the way editorially for a rupture of relations with the Axis.
The Ambassador said that he wished to state very frankly that he now felt that the action taken by this Government in bringing home publicly and clearly to public opinion in his own country and to the members of the Chilean Senate and House of Representatives the true facts in the picture had been altogether desirable and that the results in all probability would soon prove it. I told the Ambassador that the statement he had just made was, of course, deeply gratifying to me personally.
The Ambassador further discussed at some length recent developments in Chilean politics …