47. Letter From the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom) to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Radford)1

Dear Admiral Radford: I appreciate receiving the itinerary for your proposed trip to South America contained in your letter of April 2.2 I do have a few comments to add to those made in my letter of November 16, 1956.3

Argentina continues to experience serious economic and political problems which again reached the crisis stage during the preceding three weeks, resulting in the resignation of the Ministers of Finance and Air. While the change in the Air Ministry reflects a division in the military support of the present government which could conceivably lead to the resignation of President Aramburu, we believe that he will remain in office for the time being. Despite its unsatisfactory economic and financial situation, Argentina is seeking to purchase an aircraft carrier from the United States or Great Britain and is considering the purchase of a salvaged World War II German submarine from the West German Republic. If the opportunity should arise, it would be helpful if you could discourage these efforts as an unwise expenditure of funds and detrimental to the effectiveness of the Argentine Navy and our efforts to assist the Argentine Navy in approving its naval establishment.

We have concluded an agreement with Brazil which will permit the United States Air Force to establish a guided missile station on Brazilian territory. We expect to commence soon negotiations for other facilities which the Army and the Coast Guard desire in Brazil. I believe you are aware of Brazil’s strong feelings on the level of our military assistance to that country through consideration of the problem by the Joint Chiefs. You may expect that the Brazilians will seek your support in their demands for greatly increased quantities of military equipment, especially naval vessels. Specifically, Brazil may seek your support for United States grant assistance for rehabilitation of the aircraft carrier purchased from Britain, including the provision of aircraft for the carrier. You will recall that the Joint Chiefs recommended against the United States giving Brazil an aircraft carrier for military reasons, but interposed no objections if [Page 285] the United States wanted to sell such a carrier for political reasons. In the light of this background, it has been agreed between the Departments of State and Defense that we would give no support to Brazil for its aircraft carrier, except on a reimbursable basis.

During the last week there have been riots in Santiago, Chile, set off by alleged student dissatisfaction with transportation rate increases. A state of siege has been declared and the Army has been used to restore order. If this situation continues, it may be inadvisable for you to visit Chile. I shall advise you in sufficient time to modify your itinerary if that should prove necessary.

Peru has sought a third Fletcher class destroyer in addition to the two destroyers of this class which the Joint Chiefs have approved as a loan to Peru. The Peruvian Minister of Marine has also sought additional naval assistance, including a cruiser, through direct correspondence with Admiral Burke and through conversations between this Department and the Peruvian Embassy. I understand that it is the view of the Department of the Navy that no military requirement exists for Peru to obtain a cruiser and we would not, for political reasons, favor the acquisition of a cruiser by Peru. We also have reports that Peru is considering the acquisition of three destroyers from Britain which would be in excess of force goals established by the Joint Chiefs. I believe it would be most helpful if you could encourage the Peruvian Navy to devote its energy to the development of its anti-submarine warfare capability and desist from efforts to acquire a cruiser.

We concluded a secret military assistance agreement with Venezuela on February 5 and $10 million has been made available in fiscal year 1957 to initiate the program on a credit basis.

Sincerely yours,

R.R. Rubottom, Jr.4
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 102.201/4–257. Secret.
  2. This letter informed Rubottom that Radford was again planning a visit to Latin America, from April 25 to May 20, and asked if Rubottom wanted to make any revisions or additional comments to his letter of the previous November. (Ibid.)
  3. Document 43.
  4. Printed from a copy which bears this typed signature.