818.00/7–2547: Telegram

The Ambassador in Costa Rica (Donnelly 4) to the Secretary of State

secret

345. Dr. Alberto Oreamuno, Dr. Antonio Peña Chavarría and Dr. Francisco Jiménez Rodriguez, prominent pro-Ulatistas, called on me last night at their own request. They said they wished explain the facts of the present crisis as they saw it. I observed that while I would be pleased to receive their views, I wanted to make it perfectly clear to them that this Embassy was wholly neutral and that I was confident they would understand our position. I asked them if they were representing Ulate and they replied they came of their own accord; they were not to be considered as officially representing Ulatista Party.

They said they considered our Government partially responsible for events of yesterday which according to them resulted in 10 persons killed and 20 wounded (Embstel 341, July 245) by reason of fact our Government had sent arms and ammunition to Picado administration and that our military mission here had trained the men who had “murdered these unarmed innocent by-standers”. They said they understood the justification for the military mission during war but that they could not understand reason for keeping the mission in Costa Rica since termination of war.6 I interjected with statement to the best of my knowledge my Government had not authorized shipments arms to Costa Rica since end of war with the exception of some ammunition and with respect to their statement that military mission has trained 300 or more men that this figure was considerably exaggerated.

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Donnelly
  1. The nomination of Walter J. Donnelly as Ambassador in Costa Rica was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 9, 1947.
  2. Not printed.
  3. For the United States-Costa Rican agreement relating to a military mission, signed at Washington December 10, 1945, see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 486, or 59 Stat. (pt. 2) 1682.