837.61351/4587: Telegram
The Ambassador in Cuba ( Braden ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 12—5:21 a.m.]
138. Confirming information conveyed to Scheuer in Miami by telephone this evening the President informed me tonight of the “complete acceptance” by the Cuban Government of the proposal submitted to Zaydín last evening pursuant to his request as described in section 8 of my telegram No. 132, February 10, 7 p.m.95 Furthermore Batista went to great lengths to express his appreciation at, and satisfaction with, our terms concerning which he then made certain “observations” making clear however that these represent points on which his Government hopes we may be able to meet their views but that they are not conditions of acceptance. The points are as follows: numbered paragraphs refer to the memorandum “Proposal of the US Delegation” [Page 929] dated February 10 “copies of which are being taken to Washington by Scheuer”.96
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[The molasses-alcohol negotiations in Habana were concluded by an exchange of notes on February 12 and a supplementary memorandum dated February 16. Embassy note No. 112, February 12, not printed, formalized the understanding reached between Ambassador Braden and President Batista on February 10. By the terms of this note the United States expressed its willingness to buy a minimum of 65,000,000 physical gallons of blackstrap molasses and a maximum of 12,500,000 wine gallons of 190 proof alcohol, the former to be purchased under the terms of the 1942 molasses contract (see Foreign Relations, 1942, volume VI, page 321, footnote 88), the latter to be bought at a price of 65 centavos per gallon f.o.b. Habana. (837.61351/4664)
The Cuban Government’s reply, note No. 371, February 12, confirmed this understanding and added several recommendations which Minister of State Santovenia and President Batista expressed the hope would be taken into consideration in the following weeks during the drafting of the sales-purchase agreement in Washington. (837.61351/4664)
On the morning of February 16 Ambassador Braden left with Prime Minister Zaydín an informal memorandum of that date, not printed, assuring the Cuban Government that its recommendations of note No. 371 were receiving careful consideration and that certain changes of wording in Embassy note No. 312 recommended in note No. 371 would be acceptable to the United States Government. (327.61351/4664)]
- Not printed; in section 8 Ambassador Braden described President Batista’s request that the American delegation submit its best possible proposal for immediate consideration by the Cuban Cabinet. This request, Braden explained, followed close upon his report to Zaydín that the Department believed it to be necessary, in the light of failure to settle the molasses-alcohol controversy, to impose an embargo on the importation of Cuban beverage alcohol and liquors—the action to be announced not later than noon of February 16. (837.61351/4584) For information concerning the proposal presented to Zaydín, see bracketed note, infra.↩
- Memorandum not printed (837.61351/4664). The points referred to and here omitted concerned details of shipping procedure and contract negotiation, and were formalized in the exchange of notes described in the bracketed note, infra.↩