Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, American Republics, Volume V

170. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Director of the Office of East Coast Affairs (Bernbaum) and the Argentine Ambassador (Barros Hurtado), Department of State, Washington, February 17, 1959¹

Washington, February 17, 1959

SUBJECT

• President Frondizi’s Request for Military Items on Credit

Ambassador Barros raised the subject while we were waiting for a meeting with Mr. Rubottom.² He stated that he had been asked by President Frondizi immediately prior to the latter’s departure from Miami to follow up on the President’s request of President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles for U.S. assistance in the acquisition of arms for the Argentine armed services. The Ambassador had expected to receive a letter from the President on this subject prior to this meeting but that it had not appeared. Pending the receipt of this letter he wanted us to know that he and the President looked upon this as a problem of the highest priority and were hopeful of a decision by the U.S. Government in the very near future.

I told the Ambassador that the Department had been working intensively on this matter. Everybody concerned was very well aware of President Frondizi’s interest and accordingly desirous of expediting matters to the extent possible. Our great problem was the very serious budgetary stringency for military equipment. As it looked today, there was no money available for credit sales during the current fiscal year ending in June. It might be possible to squeeze out a limited amount of money for the following fiscal year commencing July 1, but it was not at all certain that this could be done. We were working on the matter and would inform him as soon as some kind of decision could be reached.

I referred to a conversation with Admiral Robbio regarding the rehabilitation of the two submarines and one destroyer allocated to Argentina under the ship loan bill.³ I stated that I wanted to rectify some of the information I had given to Admiral Robbio regarding the remote possibility of grant aid for the rehabilitation of the vessels. Although it had been found possible to include Argentina in the ship loan bill despite the absence of a bilateral military pact, it would not be possible to include Argentina in grant aid for rehabilitation because of the absence of such a pact. It was therefore all the more desirable for us to seek ways and means of minimizing the cost of rehabilitation to the Argentine Government. The most promising method already discussed with Admiral Robbio involved minimum rehabilitation sufficient for the vessels to get to Argentina under their own power where rehabilitation could be completed. This, in the case of the two submarines, would cost about $1,200,000 as compared with complete rehabilitation at a cost of $4,600,000. I stated that Admiral Briggs was in the process of consulting with members of the Congressional committees which had passed on the bill to make certain that such minimum rehabilitation would not be in violation of the enabling legislation.

Ambassador Barros had already been informed by Admiral Robbio of this matter and expressed the hope that it would be possible to work out minimum rehabilitation. He also expressed the hope that credit facilities could be made available for this as well as air force and army equipment. He expressed understanding of the possible necessity for waiting until fiscal year 1960 but emphasized the great importance of informing him at the earliest possible moment of our decision in principle that the arms could be furnished on credit at a later date. He hoped that this could be done prior to March 2 when he is to depart on visits to Brazil and Argentina. He emphasized that he was under constant pressure from the President who was in turn under constant pressure from the leaders of the armed services. He remarked that the President had very deliberately minimized the request made of the United States for two reasons: (1) to make it easier for us to extend the assistance and (2) to avoid charges in Argentina that the Government was wasting money for military equipment at a time when it needed the money for economic purposes. I told him that restriction of the aid level requested by President Frondizi had been most helpful to us since a greater request for credit would have far less chance of success than the one already presented.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 735.56/2–1759. Confidential. Drafted by Bernbaum.
2. No memorandum of this meeting has been found in Department of State files.
3. Apparent reference to the Ship Loan Act (P.L. 85–532), approved July 18, 1958, authorizing the transfer of naval vessels to friendly foreign countries; for text, see 72 Stat. 376.