824.00/6–1746: Telegram

The Chargé in Bolivia ( Adam ) to the Secretary of State

secret
us urgent

545. I have just delivered personally to the Foreign Minister text of the note contained in Deptel 323 adding “the Yugoslav building” for address of Chancery.

Pinto said the police entered the building because of the general excitement of the first hours of the revolution and that they “took the measures which the circumstances required”. He said furthermore the fact that the Chancery occupied a building along with other offices was partly responsible for the confusion. I informed him that we had a whole section of the building with our own entrance, a shield over the door and the only other tenant in this entire section was a lawyer with about eight or ten square feet of space. He said we should also remember that his police were ignorant and not of the caliber of those in the United States. He said another factor was that the Embassy had recently moved but I pointed out to him that we [Page 348] moved well over a year ago. He made only the briefest statements of regret but did say that a full investigation would be ordered.

Adam