1. Editorial Note
Vice President Richard M. Nixon visited Costa Rica February 21–23, 1955, as part of a tour of Central America and the Caribbean. On February 21, in a speech at a luncheon attended by Nixon, President José Figueres Ferrer expressed appreciation for the activities of the United Fruit Company in Costa Rica. A copy of Figueres’ speech was forwarded to the Department of State under cover of a letter from Ambassador Woodward, dated March 8, in which he explained the background of the speech. Describing a discussion between Figueres and himself, Woodward wrote the following:
“President Figueres said that he had been wanting to make some statement in favor of the Company in the present [United States Department of Justice] anti-trust suit and he went on to mention his view that the large size of the Company was a great asset in stabilizing prices for bananas. When the Chairman of the Businessmen’s Committee and I invited President Figueres to make some remarks at the luncheon, I reminded him of this comment he had made several weeks before and commented that the very representative group of 200 leading Costa Rican and American businessmen might afford ideal audience for any reassuring statements that he felt he could make of interest to businessmen or potential foreign investors.” (Department of State, Costa Rica Desk Files: Lot 57 D 15, United Fruit Co., 1955) Additional documentation concerning Nixon’s visit to Costa Rica is ibid., Central File 033.1100–NI.