PM–14. Memorandum from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Snow) to the Acting Secretary of State1
SUBJECT
- Resume of Panamanian Situation.
A group of some 80 armed revolutionaries, mostly Cubans, landed on the north coast of Panama in the Mandinga Bay area on April 25. The invaders thereafter moved west and captured the village of Nombre de Dios.
Prior to the invasion, the Panamanian Ambassador in Washington had been receiving reports of invasion threats through his and our sources and had been keeping the Organization of American States informed of developments on an informal basis. On April 27 he appeared before the OAS, apprised the member states of the situation, pointed out that this action posed a threat to hemispheric peace and asked for invocation of the Rio Treaty.2 On April 28 the OAS passed a resolution in which it recognized the immediate threat to Panama and to the peace of the hemisphere and authorized appointment of a [Typeset Page 904] committee to investigate “on the ground” and report. The investigating committee, composed of representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Paraguay and the United States, departed for Panama on April 28.
On April 16 our Embassy in Panama had received an urgent request from the Panamanian Government for a quantity of arms, ammunition, and other military equipment and supplies valued at approximately $100,000. The Department approved the transaction on April 23 and on April 27 CINCARIB transferred arms and equipment valued at approximately $75,000 to the Panamanian National Guard.
Two Cuban Army officers sent by the Cuban Government arrived in Panama on April 27 to negotiate with the invading group and persuaded them to accept a temporary truce.
The truce arrangement, the arrival of the OAS investigating committee and the transfer of arms, had a calming effect on the Panamanian populace but it has been noted that the Government was slow to assume the initiative and seemed loathe to use the resources immediately available to it to repel the invaders. The stability of the regime has been due entirely to the energetic action of the OAS committee.
Under the authority granted it by the OAS Council, the committee requested member states to furnish surface vessels and aircraft for patrol and surveillance operations along the coasts of Panama. Our Government responded by furnishing aircraft and two patrol boats while it is understood that Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia are offering aircraft. We are endeavoring to persuade the Colombians to provide two destroyers to assist with the patrolling. The committee hopes by this means to discourage any further landing attempts. Intelligence reports indicate that at least one more vessel with armed revolutionaries aboard may have left Cuba on April 28 headed toward Panama.
Information received from our Ambassador in Panama this afternoon indicates all but five of the invading group have surrendered to the National Guard. Further details of the surrender are awaited.
[Facsimile Page 2]The Department is in constant communication with our Embassy in Panama and our representative on the OAS committee there3 as well as with the OAS Council here.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 719.00/5–159. Confidential. Drafted by Price.↩
- The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance was signed at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 2, 1947, by the representatives of the United States and eighteen countries of Latin America. It was ratified on December 12, 1947, and entered into force on December 3, 1948. For the text of the Rio Treaty, see 62 State 1681.↩
- Ambassador John C. Dreier.↩