The purpose of this memorandum is to recommend that you make the
requisite determinations under Sections 105(b)(4) and 451(a) of the
Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended (hereinafter referred to as “the
Act”), to permit the furnishing of military assistance to Haiti.
The proposed military assistance is needed principally to increase the
capability of Haiti for defense against foreign-based attack such as was
launched from Cuba against Haiti in August 1959. The aggressive attitude
of the Cuban Government and increasing political unrest in the Dominican
Republic make it urgently desirable to strengthen Haiti’s capability for
defense against new attacks and also to enable it to resist political
pressures from these aggressive neighbors. Haiti is especially
vulnerable to attack and political pressure because of its geographic
position, its military weakness, and the persistent economic and
budgetary problems which prevent Haiti from remedying military
deficiencies from its own resources. In these circumstances, it is
considered to be important to the security of the United States to
promote stability in the Caribbean area by furnishing military
assistance to Haiti primarily for its legitimate self-defense without
regard to the requirement of section 105(b)(4) of the Act that such
assistance be furnished only in furtherance of Western Hemisphere
defense missions, and secondarily for its internal security upon a
determination under Section 105(b)(4) of the Act that internal security
requirements may be the basis, in part, of this program.
Enclosed is a detailed discussion of the background and justification of
this program, the implementation of which is estimated to require the
expenditure of up to $300,000 of funds available under the Act for
military assistance; a small amount of excess equipment may be
included.
It is considered that the furnishing of the proposed assistance and the
use of funds available there for under the Act are in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act and are important to the security of the United
States.
IT IS, ACCORDINGLY, RECOMMENDED that you sign the enclosed memorandum
which contains the determinations required by the Act in order to carry
out the proposed military assistance program to Haiti.4
The Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget
concur in this recommendation.
[Enclosure]
Military Assistance Program for Haiti Requiring Determinations, Under
the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended.
The assistance proposed for Haiti includes initial equipment and
related services for one under-strength infantry battalion at an
estimated cost of $300,000; a small amount of excess equipment may
be included. This equipment would include infantry weapons,
ammunition, light vehicles and communications equipment, as well as
a limited amount of air transport equipment. There will be a
continuing modest annual requirement for training materials,
maintenance, and spares. This continuing requirement is expected to
be financed as grant military assistance and would be dependent upon
Presidential determination to provide such assistance in future
fiscal years.
In August 1959 a small invasion force (31 men) landed in Haiti from
Cuba. Although this attack was defeated, the material deficiencies
of the Haitian army became apparent during this action. All of the
invaders except two (an Algerian Frenchman and an Argentine newsman)
were Cubans and some were Cuban army personnel. Earlier in 1959
armed expeditions had departed from Cuba against Panama, the
Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Prior to the August attack, the
Haitian Government had requested the recall of the five Cuban
military attachés in Port-au-Prince on grounds that they were
implicated in terrorist bombings and other subversive activities.
The attachés were also charged with suspicious travel to the
Haitian-Dominican frontier regions. Subsequent to the August
invasion, the Cuban Ambassador
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in Haiti returned to Cuba
following semi-official Haitian charges of his complicity in the
invasion. The Haitian Ambassador in Cuba also returned to Haiti and
neither government has since maintained diplomatic personnel in the
other’s capital (although both governments officially maintained the
fiction that relations are normal).
The provocative and irresponsible actions of the Castro Government in Cuba continue
to be a source of concern and a serious threat to the security of
neighboring countries. Haiti is in an especially vulnerable position
because of its physical nearness to Cuba, its military and economic
weakness, and its geographical attractiveness as a stepping-stone
for a Cuba-based expedition against the Dominican Republic.
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The Dominican Republic also poses a continuing threat to Haitian
territorial and political integrity. Since 1937, when Dominican
forces perpetrated a border massacre in which more than 10,000
Haitians were killed, Trujillo agents have persistently tried to
intervene in Haitian affairs. Since the advent of Castro to power in Cuba (January
1959), Trujillo has sought to assure the benevolent neutrality of
Haiti in his struggle with Castro and, if possible, to obtain positive support
from Haiti against Castro.
With United States encouragement the Government of Haiti has thus
far resisted heavy pressures from both the Dominican Republic and
Cuba. However, the marked increase in domestic unrest in the
Dominican Republic in recent months may foreshadow violent political
upheavals in that country in the near future. It is believed
probable that the Cuban Government would try to take advantage of a
revolutionary situation in the Dominican Republic to install a
Castro-type régime there. In such circumstances pressures on Haiti
from both Cuba and the Dominican Republic would rapidly increase.
The dangers to the United States security in the Caribbean are
especially serious in view of the Communist influences now evident
within the Cuban Government.
It is considered to be in the United States interest to provide Haiti
with the military equipment, materials, and services described above
using up to $300,000 of funds available for military assistance in
fiscal year 1960. The furnishing of military assistance on a grant
basis to any Latin American nation is subject to several conditions.
First, under Sections 105(a) and 141 of the Act, the President must
determine that the increased ability of the nation to defend itself
is important to the security of the United States, and that the
furnishing of such assistance will strengthen the security of the
United States and promote world peace. Second, Section 105(b)(4) of
the Act provides that military equipment and materials may be
furnished to a Latin American nation only in furtherance of missions
directly relating to the common defense of the Western Hemisphere
and that, unless the President determines otherwise, internal
security requirements shall not be the basis for such a
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military
assistance program. Third, pursuant to Sections 141 and 142(a) of
the Act, the recipient nation must agree to the undertakings which
are specified by Section 142(a) of the Act and normally included in
the conventional military assistance agreement. Fourth, under
Section 511(c) of the Act, any nation receiving military
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equipment or materials on a grant basis must make arrangements for
the return to the United States of any such equipment and materials
when no longer required for the purposes for which furnished.
The first condition has been satisfied. In the President’s message on
the Mutual Security Program of February 19, 1958,5 the
necessary findings were confirmed as to countries for which military
assistance was then proposed, Haiti being among such countries.
The second condition requires a Presidential determination under
Sections 105(b) (4) and 451(a) of the Act to permit the proposed
program. While the military assistance proposed to be furnished is
designed to bolster Haiti’s capacity to resist external aggression,
the types of equipment, materials, and services to be furnished
would consequentially strengthen the internal security capability of
the Haitian armed forces and could be used for internal security
purposes. Therefore, it is considered desirable to waive the first
of the two above-mentioned requirements of Section 105(b)(4) of the
Act and make the determination required by the third sentence of
Section 105(b)(4).
The third and fourth conditions have been satisfied also by a
military assistance agreement signed with Haiti on January 28, 1955.
However, this military assistance agreement does not apply to the
assistance here in proposed, namely, the furnishing of military
equipment, materials and services to assist Haiti to maintain its
legitimate self-defense, without reference to Western Hemisphere
defense missions. Therefore, a further agreement will be sought with
Haiti to satisfy the conditions required by Sections 141, 142(a) and
511(c) of the Act with respect to the assistance here in
proposed.
