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

MID files, lot 57 D 95

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Holland) to the Secretary of State ¹

secret

[Washington,] May 24, 1954.

Subject:

• Arms for Guatemala from Europe

Discussion:

It was decided early in 1953 that we should take steps to prevent export of arms from Europe to Guatemala, as a necessary corollary to our policy of not licensing arms exports for Guatemala from the United States. In each individual case where information reached the Department on Guatemalan attempts to purchase arms in Europe, we requested the Government of the exporting country to prevent shipment; in all cases our efforts were successful. In April 1954 we circularized² ten European missions to request these Governments to institute general measures of control against such shipments to Guatemala, whether originating in the country or in transit. In the individual and general approaches the basis for our request was the danger to the peace of the free world from the expansion of Communist power in Guatemala. On April 28, 1954 our request was presented to the NATO Council in Paris on the basis of commitments of NATO members not to export war materials. Finally, on May 21, 1954,³ we again called attention of the same nations to the problem of large shipments such as in the Alfhem case, which would be going through as a matter of international trade from behind the Iron Curtain.

Individual Western European countries have thus far taken effective action on specific request of arms export brought to their attention. We do not yet have clear evidence of what general measures they have adopted to catch individual exports that we do not bring to their attention, although several have cordially agreed to cooperate. On our broad request to prevent large shipments moving in international trade, there is yet no answer, but the Dutch have already indicated their disagreements.

Recommendation:

We should now bring home directly to each maritime nation that we request their effective cooperation on both small and large shipments. We should seriously consider whether, in the absence of effective cooperation, we will notify them of our intention to take measures of our own.⁴

1. Drafted by Mr. Leddy.
2. Reference is to Department’s telegram 323, dated Apr. 14, 1954, p. 1098.
3. Reference is to Department’s telegram 360 to Lisbon, dated May 21, repeated to Madrid, Paris, Rome, Bern, Brussels, The Hague, Stockholm, London, HICOG in Bonn, and USPOLAD in Trieste, which reads in part as follows: “Strict enforcement control measures to prevent additional shipments of arms, ammunition and war matériel to Guatemala from Europe now imperative. Reiterate to appropriate Government officials our-previous requests to tighten arms export and transit controls in order eliminate possibility clandestine or concealed shipments.” (414.608/5–2154)
4. The source text contains no indication of the Secretary’s action on this recommendation.