484. Letter From the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom) to the Ambassador in Ecuador (Ravndal)1

Dear Chris: I have read with interest your letter of December 142 on jet aircraft and wish to assure you that we have had very much in mind the political implications of not providing Ecuador with jet aircraft under the Military Assistance Agreement of February 20, 19523 if such aircraft are provided to Chile and Peru. It is true that the jets are not presently included in the fiscal year 1957 program for Ecuador. (In fact, the Bureau of the Budget is holding up fiscal year 1957 funds for the jet squadrons for the eight Latin American countries concerned because it is not satisfied that the provision of jets is consistent with NSC 5613/1, especially paragraph 32.4 The Department of Defense has prepared a further justification to the Bureau of the Budget on this point.) The F80C jets have been omitted from the Ecuadoran program until such time as Defense can satisfy itself that Ecuador is militarily capable of receiving and utilizing the aircraft and that it has the economic and financial resources to maintain and operate them.

While not forgetting the political problems discussed in your letter, Defense’s concern, which is also shared in part by other agencies including the Department, arises out of reports made by its Attachés and the Embassy on the military and financial capability of Ecuador. The Air Attaché to Ecuador,5 resident in Bogota, in commenting on the proposed fiscal year 1957 program (see IR–122–55)6 stated “It is hard to visualize how an air force the size of the Ecuadoran Air Force can maintain their present British jet equipment and still accept a squadron of jet aircraft from the U.S. as they have neither the manpower nor the money to operate this quantity of equipment.” The recommendations of the MAAG Chief submitted a year later indicated an improvement to the extent that he believes “Ecuador can absorb, utilize and maintain the equipment (jet aircraft) if it is phased-in in equal increments of five in each of the years 57, 58 and 59.” He notes that sufficient personnel are available [Page 977] to man five jets and to provide POL for them but clearly implies that Ecuador could not support any more. He adds that “because of both political and economic instability, the country is not able to assume any financial responsibility for spares in the foreseeable future”. As you note in your letter, Ecuador has now received four T–33 jets for fiscal year 1957 (which is only one less jet than the MAAG Chief recommended for fiscal year 1957) and Defense would like to see how Ecuador utilizes and maintains these aircraft before providing more.

The Embassy’s comments on the Ecuadoran financial capabilities, which were submitted on July 18, 1956 as a part of the MAAG recommendations on the fiscal year 1957 program were highly pessimistic of Ecuador’s ability to utilize military equipment provided. The Embassy stated that “Ecuador’s capability …7 is severely limited by the critical economic and fiscal condition of the country. For the last several years, Ecuador’s Central Government has had insufficient revenue to finance its obligations and has been unable, through any means, to meet some of its most pressing and important commitments … The national Treasury is practically empty and it is likely that whatever Government is in power will, within the next few months, have to obtain a bail-out loan from abroad or else resort to the printing press for funds … It is obvious that Ecuador is in no position to expand its expenditures for military purposes, and that it should actually cut those expenditures down as much as possible … Ecuador will have to retrench in all expenditures if the country is to avoid fiscal and economic chaos.”

At the time the fiscal year 1957 program was being considered, Ecuador’s fiscal situation was therefore believed to be serious, much more serious than that of either Chile or Colombia, although certainly not as serious as that of Bolivia with which we have no military assistance agreement and to which we are giving no military equipment. Your letter would indicate that Ecuador’s situation is much improved and that it can now take on the high operational and maintenance cost of a squadron of U.S. jets in addition to the British jets it already has, though recent Embassy reports and your letter to me of November 30 have continued to reflect concern over the fiscal situation which will confront the Government in 1957.

(We assume, of course, that Ecuador would discontinue use of the F–47s.) The report of the Air Force Mission also gives a brighter picture of Ecuador’s military capability for utilizing jets.

Defense has made no final decision on providing jets to Ecuador, but if the Bureau of the Budget releases the funds it is inclined to include them in the program partly on our urging for political [Page 978] reasons. It would be most helpful if the Embassy and the Air Mission could give us by despatch an up-to-date report on Ecuador’s military, economic and financial capabilities to use in support of the political justification.8

With warmest personal regards,

R. R. Rubottom, Jr.9
  1. Source: Department of State, ARA Deputy Assistant Secretary’s Files: Lot 58 D 691, Ecuador. Secret; Official–Informal. Drafted by Sayre.
  2. Not found in Department of State files.
  3. For text, see 3 UST 4162.
  4. NSC 5613/1, “U.S. Policy toward Latin America, August 20, 1956”, was approved by the President on September 25, 1956. For text, see vol. VI, Document 16.
  5. Colonel James C. Robinson, Jr.
  6. Not printed.
  7. These and the following ellipses are in the source text.
  8. Under cover of a letter dated January 4, 1957, Ravndal forwarded to Rubottom two reports, prepared in the Embassy, which outlined the military and economic aspects of the request for the aircraft. Ravndal stated that Economic Counselor Fishburne and Colonel Robinson, “firmly believe that Ecuador can support economically and militarily the additional aircraft in spite of the current fiscal problem.” (Department of State, Rubottom Files: Lot 59 D 573, Ecuador) Under cover of a letter of January 29, Ravndal sent to Rubottom a copy of a memorandum prepared by the Air Attaché in Bogotá, Colonel G. W. Crabbe. In this memorandum, Crabbe stated in part, “It is strongly recommended that if other South American countries are given an F–80 squadron under grant aid that Ecuador also be included.” (Ibid.) In a letter dated February 7, Rubottom informed Ravndal that the Department of State had sent a letter to the Department of Defense recommending that the jet aircraft be furnished to Ecuador. In a letter to Ravndal of February 14, 1957, Rubottom stated in part, “We have been informed by the Department of Defense that it will include a squadron of thirteen F–80C jets in the grant Military Assistance Program for Ecuador.” (Ibid.)
  9. Printed from a copy which bears this typed signature.