Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The American Republics, Volume IV

Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Jackson records

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of Protocol in the Department of State (Simmons)

restricted

[Washington,] March 6, 1953.

Subject:

• Call on the President by Generalissimo Rafael L. Trujillo

• Participants: The President
• Generalissimo Trujillo
• The Ambassador of the Dominican Republic
• John F. Simmons, Chief of Protocol

Generalissimo Trujillo called on the President, by previous appointment, at 3:15 p.m. today. Present for the meeting were His Excellency Señor Dr. Luis Francisco Thomen, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic, and myself.

The conversation opened with an exchange of the usual amenities concerning, on Trujillo’s part, pleasure at being received and, on the President’s part, expressions of welcome. During this part of the conversation, Trujillo touched upon the need for further inter-American solidarity in the great struggle against Communism. He mentioned the high prestige of the President throughout Latin America, saying that all these countries had confidence in him as a great leader.

Trujillo then expressed his conviction that the President could do nothing finer than to convoke a meeting, in Washington, of all Latin American Foreign Ministers with a view to study, and to find practical means of combatting, the Communist danger.

The President expressed agreement with the fact that this danger exists. He pointed out, however, that the action of the United States in summoning such a conference would have to be given careful thought from the angle that we are all partners and that our arbitrarily arranging such a conference might possibly be misconstrued as an attitude of undue supervision over the actions of our friends in the Americas. He also indicated that any such action would naturally be subject to the careful study and recommendations of the Secretary of State.¹

Trujillo seemed to understand these important points, but then proceeded to make the further suggestion that a meeting might later be called of all the American Presidents, in order to place these anti-communist discussions on the highest possible level. The President, while not agreeing to this proposal, intimated that it “could be” of value. He asked Trujillo where he had in mind to suggest that such a high level meeting take place. He said at Washington or possibly at some other American capital. The President suggested the Organization of American States as a possible additional medium for such discussions.

Nothing definite was said in the way of a commitment.

The conversation ended on the basis of a friendly interchange of general observations about inter-American solidarity, although the President said that, for example, great differences of opinion on important points were always apt to crop up internally in the various countries, and even more so across international boundaries. Illustrating this, he mentioned the desire of our Western farmers to have high wheat prices, whereas the Eastern cattle raisers and flour consumers wanted them low.

Before departing, both Generalissimo Trujillo and the Ambassador expressed great satisfaction that the President had received them.

1. On Feb. 19, 1953, Generalissimo Trujillo had discussed his proposal for a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics to formulate an anti-Communist policy with Secretary Dulles; a memorandum of their conversation, dated Feb. 19, is contained in Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation, lot 64 D 199.