833.24/12–748
Memorandum by Mr. R. Kenneth Oakley, of the Division of River Plate Affairs, to the Director of the Office of American Republic Affairs (Daniels)
Supplementing RPA’s memorandum of December 7, 1948 regarding Uruguayan arms purchase requests.
In addition to the arms and equipment obtained under lend lease Uruguay obtained materiel under the so-called Interim Program. This amounted to about 10% of the total military requirements of Uruguay, [Page 750] as estimated as a result of the staff conversations of 1945. All the other countries received an approximately equivalent amount.
Nothing was done about Uruguay’s request of June 1946 because at that time it was the established policy not to grant such requests which were in addition to the Interim Program.
The Uruguayan Embassy has been informed that the National Defense Department is prepared to assist Latin American governments in purchasing arms and equipment from private sources (at necessarily high prices) but it has not yet requested such facilities. It is thought that the matter has been left pending until the new Ambassador can discuss it with the Department.