814.24/5–2346
The Secretary of State to the Guatemalan Ambassador (García Granados)
Excellency: I have the honor to refer to the conversation between Dr. Enrique Lopez-Herrarte, Chargé d’Affaires of Guatemala, and Mr. William P. Cochran, Jr., Chief, Division of Caribbean and Central American Affairs, Department of State, on March 13, 1946 with regard to furnishing military equipment for the Guatemalan armed forces. A list of the equipment available for that purpose was given to Dr. Lopez-Herrarte at that time.
It is proposed that the terms and conditions of sale of this equipment shall involve no cash payment by the Government of Guatemala, but that the equipment, costing approximately $1,700,000, shall be transferred in discharge of the remaining obligation of the United States under its lend-lease agreement with Guatemala. Under that agreement, material of a value approximating $1,500,000 has been delivered to Guatemala, whereas, for the purposes of the agreement, concessions put at the disposal of the United States by Guatemala were valued at $3,000,000. If this proposal is acceptable to the Government of Guatemala an indication to that effect is requested, after which detailed arrangements for the transfer of the equipment can go forward.4
Accept [etc.]
- The Guatemalan Ambassador informed the Secretary of State in his note of June 7 that his Government had agreed to accept the equipment referred to in the Secretary’s note of May 23 in discharge of the remaining obligation of the United States and requested a slight change whereby his Government would receive only two C–47 airplanes instead of four, and five AT–11 airplanes instead of three. In his note of June 10, the Secretary of State informed the Guatemalan Ambassador that the Government of the United States acceded to the request of the Guatemalan Government in that particular (814.24/6–746).↩