811.24532/5–946

The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in Brazil (Daniels)

secret
No. 8021

The Acting Secretary of State refers to the Department’s confidential instruction no. 7919 of March 2733 with regard to a procedure that had been proposed to the War and Navy Departments for the disposal of military facilities which are subject to prior agreements with other American republics. The Secretary of War gave his approval to the suggested procedure on March 20 and the Secretary of the Navy likewise informed the Department of his assent on March 30. Copies of their replies are attached for the Embassy’s information.34

It is the view of the Department that the air base installations constructed in Brazil with United States Government funds come within the scope of the disposal procedure in question. In a letter to the Secretary of War dated April 18, 1946, a copy of which is attached,33 written in reply to a specific inquiry from the War Department regarding the disposal procedure to be followed in the case of Maceio Land Base, the Department held that title in all of these fixed air base installations was vested in the Brazilian Government from the time of their construction, and transmitted a memorandum reviewing the background of the installations to substantiate this point. The War Department was accordingly requested to turn over the Maceio installations to the Brazilian Government in accordance with arrangements to be made by the Embassy in Rio de Janeiro under the terms of the disposal procedure that had been agreed upon.

Within the very near future the Department expects to send the Embassy specific instructions concerning the relinquishment of Maceió Land Base and of the air base installations in general.

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