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

NI–12. Memorandum of Conversation, by the Officer in Charge of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan Affairs (Taylor)¹

Washington, March 30, 1959

SUBJECT

• NICARAGUA: Visit of General Somoza

PARTICIPANTS

• General Anastosio Somoza – Director of the Nicaraguan Nacional Guard His Excellency Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa, Ambassador of Nicaragua
• ARA—Mr. Rubottom
• ARA: REA—Mr. Turkel
• ARA: OAP—Mr. Taylor

Nicaraguan-Honduran Relations

General Somoza said he was very pleased to see Mr. Rubottom again and that he wanted to express his appreciation for the Department’s part in the signing of the recent Nicaraguan-Honduran refugee agreement.² The General stated that his country desired no trouble with Honduras and expressed the hope that the new agreement³ would put an end to the recent difficulties his country had experienced with Honduras over the activities of the Honduran refugees. He said that such friction gave the wrong impression of Nicaragua’s desire to maintain friendly relations with Honduras and indicated that Nicaragua did not want anything to occur which would affect the adjudication of the Nicaraguan-Honduran border dispute now before the International Court of Justice. He remarked, however, that it was almost a traditional feeling on the part of the Hondurans to be against Nicaragua. He said that Honduran President Villeda Morales had misrepresented the facts concerning the difficulties between the two countries and had not kept good faith with his premises to the GON. General Somoza then mentioned he had received reports that Villeda had been sounded out on the possibility of 60 Nicaraguan revolutionaries coming to Honduras from Cuba. He said that reportedly Villeda’s reaction was that if they come to Honduras he didn’t want to know about it.

Mr. Rubottom expressed the hope that the recent refugee agreement between the two countries would materially help in easing the tension. He pointed out that there were undoubtedly two sides to the Honduran-Nicaraguan situation. He said that often times the U.S. policy is misunderstood in that some critics fail to realize that our policy in Latin America is not supporting one country against another. In this respect he said that we deal with all countries on an equal basis. In return, he said, we do not look for any of these countries to act against us when our back is turned.

President’s Health

Mr. Rubottom then asked about President Somoza’s health. The General said that recent electrocardiogram tests showed that the President was coming along alright. He said that the President was carrying on his duties in a normal manner, but that he had been placed on a rigorous diet.

Observations Central America

Mr. Rubottom then asked if the General had any comments to make about conditions in Central America. The General said he was concerned over the activities and attitude of Castro, which were keeping things stirred up in the area. He remarked on Castro’s declaration that Cuba would assume a neutral position in the cold war between the U.S. and Russia. He said this was contrary to the Rio Pact. He then said he had been asking himself what was the reason for the downfall of Batista. He observed that a small group headed by Castro had landed in Cuba and had been able to build up their forces to a point where they had become powerful enough to cause the fall of Batista. Mr. Rubottom said that he would give him his opinion as to how this had occurred. He said that the Batista Government had been in reality a house of cards; that venality had existed from the top officials to the lowest; that the army had no motivation which would inspire a will to fight, it was ill-trained and poorly led and had no deep-seated loyalty to the Government; and that the Government did not truly represent the will of the majority of the people. The General remarked that Batista had no real political party structure and that he had not been the head of a political party such as President Somoza is. He observed that the Government of Nicaragua did not parallel that of former President Batista. He remarked that he thought Betancourt had changed for the better since 1948.

Internal Affairs

The General then turned to Nicaraguan affairs. He said there were 3,500 members of the Guardia Nacional, who were well trained and loyal to the GON. He said they had been training in guerilla warfare tactics and were well prepared to handle any invasion attempt made against the country. He observed there was no place for an invasion force to go, once it had landed, except back to sea again. He did not appear to be worried about any such attempt taking place in the near future, and indicated his Government was well prepared to take care of itself. He said the majority of people were with the Government.

The General then said presidential elections would take place as scheduled in 1963. He remarked that the members of the opposition party (Conservatives) did not turn out to vote in the last elections, because they knew they would not win. He stressed that his Government was interested in the welfare of the Nicaraguan people, and said he had learned from his civic courses, while studying in the U.S., that a successful Government must cooperate with its people and be constructively interested in their welfare. He pointed out that in Nicaragua there was freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly. He remarked that the reporters of opposition newspapers were not permitted by the owners to report the news in an unbiased manner. He said owners of the opposition papers did not want to give the Government credit for any good acts. He added that on the other hand the pro-government newspapers swing too far over in the other direction. He said there was really no newspaper reporting in an unbiased manner.

Military Equipment

The conversation then turned to armaments. The General said his country had enough armaments for its needs for the next four or five years. However, he said that he would like to receive the 200 Browning automatic rifles (BARs) which had been ordered from the U.S. some time ago. Mr. Rubottom said that we were reviewing our policy with regard to the sale of armaments and indicated there would be a greater tightening up of such sales to the Central American countries.⁴ The General indicated this was most understandable and recognized it as a good move. He said that, with the exception of the 200 BARs, and occasional purchases of training ammunition, Nicaragua would not need anything further in this line.

Housing Project

The General then commented on the ICA aided self-help housing Servicio. He said this project had been well received by the Nicaraguans and had dealt the Nicaraguan Communists a blow, as they had been agitating for a socialized housing project to be carried out by the Government.

Figueres’ Activities

Ambassador Sevilla-Sacasa then turned the conversation to the activities of Figueres, former Costa Rican President. He said that Figueres was participating in a plot to overthrow the Somoza’s. The General remarked that Figueres had long been interested in overthrowing the Somoza’s. Sevilla-Sacasa pointed out that, as Figueres no longer had official status, he could participate more freely in such activities. He said that President Echandi was following through with his policy of doing away with the military, while Figueres with his personal resources was purchasing arms. He added that Echandi was concerned over Figueres’ activities, and that, whereas Figueres had the funds to purchase armaments, the Government of Costa Rica was low on funds. Mr. Rubottom then mentioned the Figueres-Castro rift arising from the recent speech Figueres gave in Cuba.

Economic

The General then said he wanted to discuss for a moment Nicaragua’s economic problems. He said that the low prices of cotton and coffee were contributing to economic difficulties within the country. Mr. Rubottom informed the General that he was aware of this, as well as some of the projects for which the GON had submitted loan applications to the EXIM and IBRD for economic improvements within the country. The General said his Government had plans to reduce the area planted in cotton by 30,000 to 40,000 manzanas. When asked if this area would be planted in corn and beans, he replied that it would probably be used for raising cattle. He said that owing to the drop in the water table it was difficult to get products other than cotton to grow on much of this land. Mr. Rubottom said he understood that the GON had been circumspect in its financial policies. He said that, although he could not speak for the various loan entities, he could assure the General that careful and sympathetic consideration would be given the loan applications.

Future Political Plans

The General than said that he wanted to mention that he and President Somoza felt that at the end of the President’s term somebody other than a Somoza should be the next President. He said that during this month the proposed amendment to change the Constitution to prohibit a President from succeeding himself or any member of his family succeeding to the Presidency would be passed through the Congress a second time and then become law. He said that he had no idea who the next President would be, but thought he would come from the Liberal Party. He based this on the observation that the majority of Nicaraguans were traditionally Liberals and for this reason he doubted if the Conservatives would poll enough votes to win the election. He stressed that the 1963 elections would be absolutely free. He said there should be a new name in the Presidency, which would give the people a chance to compare his effectiveness with that of the Somozas. He said that, speaking as a politician, this would be a sacrifice, but as a student of civics in the U.S., he felt a change would be in the best interest of the country.

Interest in Engineering Battalion

The General then expressed interest in the possibility of setting up, under M&P, an engineering battalion similar to that in Honduras. Mr. Rubottom said that we have set up only two such battalions on a trial basis, and that we would look into the matter. The General said an engineering battalion would be helpful in the construction of roads and would provide opportunities for some of the unemployed.

Mr. Rubottom thanked the General for his visit and expressed appreciation for his frank and interesting remarks. He asked the General to give President Somoza his regards.

1. Source: Department of State, Rubottom Files, Lot 61 D 279, “Nicaragua 1959.” Official Use Only. The source text is an unsigned carbon copy.
2. General Somoza was in New York City visiting his wife who had been in the United States since February.
3. On February 26, the Governments of Nicaragua and Honduras signed an agreement in Washington on territorial asylum covering the treatment of asylees and the prevention of subversive activities. Additional documentation on the agreement is in the compilation on Honduras.
4. In January 1959, the Department of State received a request from the Nicaraguan Government for permission to purchase two Navy aircraft for the exclusive use of the Nicaraguan Air Force. As of March, the request was still under consideration. (Memorandum from Taylor to Rubottom, March 30, 1959, not printed; ARA/REA Files, Lot 61 D 248, “Nicaragua”)