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

DR–17. Memorandum of a Conference with President Eisenhower¹

March 1960

OTHERS PRESENT

• Secretary Herter
• Mr. Allen Dulles
• General Goodpaster

The President then discussed with Mr. Herter and Mr. Dulles questions raised by a recent memorandum of him from Ed Clark.² [text not declassified]³ There have apparently been serious atrocities by the Trujillo regime in recent days. The people around Trujillo are turning against him. Trujillo’s family has taken large sums of money out of the country in recent days. [text not declassified] that regime may last as little as three weeks. [text not declassified] fearful that Castro or someone committed to Castro will come into power soon thereafter. We have no moderate substitute for Trujillo available. [text not declassified] considerable merit in getting Trujillo out of the country and trying to make a transition to some other government.

Mr. Herter also thought that on the whole course of events favored by Mr. Clark seemed worth trying. He said we should not offer Trujillo asylum in the U.S.

The President said that if Clark takes a part in this, he should not say that he has any authority from the President, or has even seen the President lately. [text not declassified]

[text not declassified] The President said the project might go ahead. It should be kept secret, and that Clark would be acting on his own. [text not declassified]

1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Staff Secretary’s Records, “State [illegible in the original].” Drafted by Goodpaster [illegible in the original].
2. See Document DR–16.
3. [illegible in the original], Ambassador to Peru, [illegible in the original], and to Brazil [illegible in the original]. In a memorandum to Secretary Herter, dated March [illegible in the original], 1960, Merchant [text not declassified] [illegible in the original]. According to the memorandum, [illegible in the original] stated that he now gave Trujillo only one to three weeks to [illegible in the original]. He added that he thought Castro would be in the Dominican Republic a week after Trujillo’s fall. ([illegible in the original])