611.14/12–852

Memorandum of Conversation, by Milton K. Wells, Adviser to the United States Delegation to the United Nations

confidential

Subject:

  • Talk with Guatemalan Ambassador Guillermo Toriello Regarding Matters Affecting United States-Guatemalan Relations
  • Participants: The Secretary
  • Amb. Guillermo Toriello—Guatemalan Delegation
  • Amb. Rudolph E. Schoenfeld—United States Ambassador to Guatemala
  • Milton K. Wells—United States Delegation

Taking advantage of Amb. Schoenfeld’s presence in the United States, the meeting was arranged at the Secretary’s suggestion for the purpose of following up his talk of November 17, with Amb. Toriello2 in regard to the situation in Guatemala adversely affecting United States relations with that country. Amb. Toriello was received in the Secretary’s suite at the Waldorf Astoria. The conversation lasted about one and one quarter hours.

Amb. Toriello devoted most of his part of the conversation toward a general justification of Guatemala’s attitude toward Communist influences in that country. Despite frequent efforts of the Secretary and Amb. Schoenfeld to steer the conversation into more specific and more constructive channels, Toriello kept adverting to generalities. With considerable repetition, he described his Government’s basic policy as one conditioned by a sincere desire to maintain democratic [Page 1053] procedures and to avoid dictatorship. His Government believes that the best way to combat Communism is to improve the maladjusted social and economic conditions which produce unrest among the under-privileged classes. This approach, he argued, is fraught with less danger than a repressive policy which would drive Communism underground. He belittled the power and influence of the Communist leaders. He said their activities are known to the Government and that they would be placed under immediate restraint should war occur. He personally shared the belief that they can be controlled best in the open and that in any case they are discrediting themselves with the rank and file. Regarding the labor unions, he did not believe the workers shared the ideological views of their leaders and were interested only in better pay and better living standards.

During the course of the conversation, however, Amb. Toriello did make a number of interesting comments on several specific situations as recorded in the following paragraphs.

Toriello praised the personality and qualifications of the new Foreign Minister, Dr. Raul Osegueda, whose friendly attitude and sincere desire to work for the best possible relations with the United States would facilitate his own mission. This gave him much satisfaction since he could now confidently count upon the support of his Foreign Office as well as President Arbenz to this end. Osegueda had asked the Ambassador to convey his respects and greetings to the Secretary, and to Ambassador Schoenfeld whom he looked forward to seeing in Guatemala. The Foreign Minister had expressed a desire to attend the forthcoming inaugural ceremonies if invitations are to be extended to other governments to be represented by special delegations. The Secretary stated he would inquire into our policy in this regard and advise the Ambassador as to whether we plan to invite special delegations. Both the Secretary and Ambassador Schoenfeld reciprocated the Foreign Minister’s greetings.

The conversation turned to the pro-Communist slant of the official newspaper Diario de Centro America, which, as Amb. Schoenfeld commented, had an unfortunate effect upon public opinion in the United States. Toriello stated he could assure us of a future change in that journal’s policy. He explained that the Diario de Centro America includes two sections, the gazette portion which prints official decrees and announcements, and the news or informative section. The problem may be solved, he said, by eliminating the informative section, converting the Diario into a truly official gazette.

Amb. Schoenfeld inquired whether any steps were contemplated to remedy a similar situation with respect to the Government broadcasting station TGW. Toriello assured him that the policy of TGW would also be changed. One explanation of the frequent attacks on the [Page 1054] United States heard in the past over this Government station, he apologized, was that unfriendly elements abused the radio time which they had rented from TGW for unofficial programs. He described how he himself once had taken up the telephone to stop a TGW program slandering the Government of neighboring Honduras.

Another factor which influenced the United States press and public opinion was the activity of pro-Communists in the Guatemalan Congress, Amb. Schoenfeld commented, noting in this connection that several known Communists are likely to be elected on the coalition ticket supporting the Government in the forthcoming Congressional elections. Amb. Schoenfeld also remarked that some of these individuals had recently visited behind the Iron Curtain. Toriello brushed aside as not really important the visits behind the Iron Curtain of such Guatemalans as Robert Alvarado Fuentes (former President of Congress), José Manuel Fortuny,3 and Victor Manuel Gutierrez.4 He professed not to believe that these and other Guatemalans were seriously indoctrinated by such visits, and by implication seemed to argue that their Marxian ideas were geared simply to Guatemalan social and economic considerations. In any case, he did not discuss the obvious international implication of their activities or their presence art Soviet-sponsored “peace” conferences.

He predicted that Fortuny might be defeated; not because the Government opposed him, but for the same reasons that Humberto Gonzalez Suarez failed to become Mayor of Guatemala City—that is, because the relatively intelligent electorate in the city and the influence of the Church brought about his defeat at the polls.

Once or twice during the conversation, Toriello urged us not to be taken in by the denunciations of the Government by the opposition. By innuendo, he seemed to allege that our estimate of the situation had been unduly influenced by wild stories and rumors circulated by the subversive opposition, disguised and cloaked by anti-communism. The anti-communist movement in Guatemala is dangerous, he argued, since it does conveniently serve as a cloak for the irreconcilable opposition. Alluding again to the alleged “grand conspiracy against Guatemala” with which Guatemalan spokesman so frequently charge the United States press and “foreign interests” Toriello said the situation was aggravated by the fact that Guatemala does not have diplomatic relations with Franco—Spain, Peru, Venezuela and others. These countries, he said, add their bit to the campaign against Guatemala. In this connection, he commented that he hoped that Guatemala would establish normal relations with Venezuela before the Tenth Conference of Inter-American States meets in Caracas.

[Page 1055]

Amb. Toriello did not bring up the question of the proposed Inter-American Highway Agreement.5

  1. Information on the source text indicates that this memorandum was typed on Dec. 2.
  2. Secretary Acheson’s memorandum of conversation with Ambassador Toriello, dated Nov. 17, 1952, is printed supra.
  3. José Manuel Fortuny Arana.
  4. Víctor Manuel Gutiérrez Garbin.
  5. In a letter to Mr. Clark, dated Dec. 3, 1952, not printed, Mr. Wells noted a few minor omissions from this memorandum of conversation (714.00/12–352)