CO–9. Editorial Note
Vice President Richard M. Nixon visited Bogotá, May 11–12 1958, as part of a larger goodwill tour of South America during the period April 27–May 15. He met with the Colombian Foreign Minister and the Military Junta of Government on May 11, but no memoranda of those conversations were found in Department of State files. Documentation [Typeset Page 323] concerning Nixon’s visit to Bogotá is in files 033.1100–NI and 721.00. For documentation on the Vice President’s South American tour, see Document CH–5, footnote 5.
During his stay in Bogotá, anti-Nixon and anti-United States demonstrations occurred. The Embassy reported on these activities in despatch 919 from Bogotá, May 23, 1958. That despatch concluded in part as follows:
“The Embassy feels that the anti-Nixon and anti-U.S. demonstrations which occurred during Vice President Nixon’s visit were certainly not spontaneous but were obviously contrived affairs led by Communists and other malcontents. Despite efforts to rally mass support, the demonstrations were small-scale affairs and attracted no appreciable support beyond the initially organized groups. Advance efforts to rally general student support for the demonstrations largely failed, as did on-the-scene efforts to arouse the general public. Thus, we believe that these demonstrations did not represent the views of the Colombian man-in-the street of any social or economic stratum. The public was either favorably disposed toward the Vice President or apathetic.” (Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100 NI/5 2358.)