818.00/12–1248
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by Mr. William Tapley Bennett, Jr., of the Division of Central America and Panama Affairs
On instruction of Mr. Daniels I telephoned Ambassador Nathaniel Davis at San José to inform him that the Council of American States was scheduled to meet at three o’clock this afternoon, at the request of Costa Rican representative, to consider the problem caused by fighting in northwestern Costa Rica involving Costa Rican Government forces and a group alleged to have entered Costa Rica by way of Nicaragua.1 I also informed Ambassador Davis of the Department’s [Page 538] present thinking that the problem appears to come under Article VI of the Rio Treaty rather than under Article III.
Ambassador Davis told me that the Costa Rican Government had already heard from Ambassador Esquivel concerning the meeting scheduled for this afternoon. He said that he had discussed the matter with Costa Rican Foreign Minister and that the Costa Rican Government also considers Article VI of the Rio Treaty to be applicable in the present situation. The Ambassador indicated that this is also his view.
In response to an inquiry as to the present situation in Costa Rica, Ambassador Davis stressed the fact that San José presents a normal Sunday appearance, with people on the streets in their usual numbers and that a general atmosphere of normality prevails. The Ambassador confirmed that communication censorship has been imposed but said that our official facilities are not affected. The football game scheduled for this afternoon has been cancelled and Santa Claus will not arrive as planned.
The Ambassador stated that very few facts on the progress of the fighting are available in San José. He emphasized the extreme isolation of the area of Guanacaste province involved in the fighting from Central Costa Rica, pointing out that there is no road connecting Liberia with La Cruz and that a ten-hour slog along muddy paths is required. The normal means of communication by air is, of course, not now available due to seizure of the La Cruz airport by the Calderon forces.
The Ambassador had no definite figures as to the numbers involved but stated that the total reported in action is considerably larger than the number of Costa Rican citizens known to have been in exile in Nicaragua. He commented that the boats reported to have landed forces at Puerto Soley could have come only from the north, as any vessels proceeding from the south would have had to go along the Costa Rican coast and thus would have been observed. He also expressed the opinion that the troops could only have come from the direction of Nicaragua.
The Ambassador reported that morale is excellent in San José and that messages of support are pouring in to the Government from all over the country. He said that he had come from a meeting with the Foreign Minister only twenty minutes ago and that the latter had informed him that up to now the Government has received no reports on any support for Calderon Guardia anywhere in the country.
The Ambassador remarked that the Army barracks converted into a museum just ten days ago is no longer a museum. He estimated that [Page 539] some 600 men, principally members of the Caribbean Legion, are assembling there.
- Ambassador Mario A. Esquivel, Costa Rican Representative on the Council of the Organization of American States (COAS) sent a note on December 11 to the Chairman of the Council (Corominas) alleging that his country had been invaded on the previous night by an armed revolutionary group from Nicaragua, and requesting the Council, as the Provisional Organization of Consultation, to deal with the situation, in accordance with the Rio Treaty. For texts of the Costa Rican note of December 11, the Nicaraguan note of December 12, and other documentation on the situation, see Organization of American States, Council, Documentos relativos a La Situaçión Entre Costa Rica y Nicaragua, del 11 de diciembre de 1948 al 28 de enero de 1949 (Washington, 1949). The United Nations Security Council was informed of the situation on December 12, 1948.↩