740.0011 European War 1939/32393
The Colombian Chargé ( Vargas Nariño ) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary: Complementing my communication dated November 27 last, with reference to the Colombian attitude toward the sinking by a German submarine of the schooner Ruby, I have the honor to transcribe below to Your Excellency the texts of the official declaration of the Government and the resolution adopted by the Senate of the Republic on the night of November 26:
Official Communiqué of the Government of Colombia
“The German Government has carried out against the Colombian nation a series of attacks which have the character of unprovoked acts of war, thus placing itself in a ‘state of belligerency’ with respect to the Republic of Colombia. We have no responsibility whatever in this situation, but we cannot fail to recognize it, just as we cannot escape its effects and consequences.
“The National Government makes a public statement of this fact and declares that it is placed under the obligation to take necessary steps to defend the Colombian nation from outside aggression and to preserve its sovereignty, its honor and its rights. The Government does not feel that these measures should interrupt either the constitutional normalcy of the Republic or the ordered and regular progress of its legal institutions.
“In fulfillment of the agreements signed at Panama City,23 Habana and Rio de Janeiro, the Government will bring these facts to the knowledge of the American nations, and it expresses its desire to seek closer bonds with the States of the Continent, in order to participate with greater vigor in continental defense and in order to strengthen its own security.”
Resolution Adopted by the Senate of the Republic
“The Senate of the Republic adopted, by a vote of 33 to 13, the following resolution:
“The Senate of the Republic, having heard the official declaration of the Government concerning the acts of aggression which force [Page 11] it to recognize that Germany is in a state of belligerency against Colombia, and, in accord with the address of the Minister of Foreign Relations, expresses its approval of such declarations as imply, in its opinion, an affirmation of the right of Colombia to assume a position corresponding to that taken by the Reich.
“The Senate states to the nation and to the peoples of America that it is ready, in defense of the country’s dignity and of the democratic system, to take every step tending to repel the attacks of which they are the object, and to support such measures as the Executive Organ of the Public Power may adopt to such end.”
At the same time, I have the honor to advise Your Excellency that the House of Representatives subsequently ratified, by unanimous vote, the stand taken by the Colombian Government.
I avail myself [etc.]
- First Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics, September 23–October 3, 1939, Department of State Bulletin, October 7, 1939, pp. 321–344.↩