The enclosed draft includes, also for consideration by the Council at its
meeting on September 20, a draft revision of paragraphs 22 and 34–a of
NSC 5613, prepared and recommended
by the NSC Planning Board.
[Enclosure]
LATIN AMERICA
Draft Revision of Paragraphs 14, 22, 32, 34 and 35 of NSC 56132
14. In addition to being a source of vital strategic resources, Latin
America provides bases important to our security. Accordingly, we
should be prepared to provide military equipment and training to the
Latin American states to assist them to maintain internal security
and to defend coastal waters, ports, bases and strategic areas and
installations within their own borders and communication routes
associated therewith, when this will contribute to the defense of
the hemisphere. In exceptional cases, political or hemispheric
defense considerations may make it in the interests of national
security for the United States to provide military equipment and
training to
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certain Latin
American states over and above that needed to assist them to
discharge the normal military missions described above.
22. Be prepared to encourage, through the Export-Import Bank, the
financing of all sound economic governmental development projects or
private commercial projects, for which private capital is not
readily available, provided each loan is (a) in the best interests
of both the United States and the borrowing country; (b) within the
borrower’s capacity to repay; (c) within the Bank’s lending capacity
and charter powers; and (d) sought to finance U.S. goods and
services.
32. a. Encourage acceptance of the concept that each of the Latin
American states is responsible for its own internal security and for
providing, through effective military and mobilization measures, a
contribution to the defense of the hemisphere by the defense of its
coastal waters, ports and approaches thereto, bases, strategic areas
and installations located within its own territory, and routes of
communication associated therewith.
b. In exceptional cases, be prepared to accept participation by a
Latin American state in combined operations in support of U.S.
military responsibility under paragraph 31 above, where its location
and resources make such participation feasible, and where political
or hemisphere defense considerations make such a course of action in
the interests of the security of the United States.
34. a. Recognizing that Latin American requests for military
equipment are requirements against limited MDAP funds and supplies of U.S. military equipment;
that their purchases of military equipment, especially on credit,
have an adverse effect on their borrowing capacity and our ability
to make loans to them for economic development purposes; that the
denial of their requests has disadvantages for the United States;
and that in certain instances the military elements in Latin America
exercise a disproportionate influence on the governments; discourage
Latin American governments from purchasing military equipment not
essential to the missions in paragraph 32. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if a Latin American government cannot be dissuaded from
purchasing unneeded military equipment, and if it is essential for
U.S. political interests, make additional equipment available on a
cash, credit, or, under extraordinary circumstances, grant basis, if
appropriate.
b. In order to be in a position effectively to supply military
equipment on a reimbursable basis in accordance with this and the
foregoing paragraph:
- (1)
- Offer to Latin American governments military equipment at
competitive prices and under competitive delivery
dates.
- (2)
- Make sales of military equipment to Latin American
governments on credit, which should normally be limited to
three years.
35. Except when it will create undue demand on the United States for
modernization, replacement, spare parts, and ammunition; seek, in
the interests of standardization as well as for other reasons, to
discourage purchases by Latin American governments of military
equipment from other Free World countries, primarily by assuring the
Latin American countries that we will endeavor to fill their
essential requirements on reasonable terms. Wherever feasible
consistent with the above, seek to prevent other Free World
countries from selling military equipment to Latin American
states.
