Preface

The publication Foreign Relations of the United States constitutes the official record of the foreign policy of the United States. The printed volumes in the series and the accompanying microfiche supplements include, subject to necessary security considerations, all documents needed to give a comprehensive record of the major foreign policy decisions of the United States together with appropriate materials concerning the facts that contributed to the formulation of policies. Records in the files of the Department of State are augmented by documentation from other government agencies involved in the formulation of foreign policy.

The basic documentary diplomatic record presented in the printed volumes of the series and the microfiche supplements is edited by the Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State. The editing is guided by the principles of historical objectivity and in accordance with the following official guidance first promulgated by Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg on March 26, 1925:

Principles of Selection for Foreign Relations, 1958–1960, Volume V

The initial research, compilation, and editing of the printed volume and microfiche supplement took place in 1980 and 1981. Before selecting [Typeset Page VI] documents, the editors developed a research plan based on the topics to be included and on official records and other documentation in the Department of State and at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library at Abilene, Kansas.

The documents included in the printed volume and in the microfiche supplement present the record of basic U.S. policies toward South America, Central America, and the Caribbean area, and of the major incidents in U.S. relations with the nations in the region. The documentation on multilateral issues and regional U.S. policies contained in the printed volume focuses on U.S. concern in the years 1958–1960 over economic development problems, political instability, the Castro regime in Cuba, Communist activity, the U.S. role in hemisphere defense, and the role of the Organization of American States in promoting stability and peace in the region. The goodwill trips by President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, and Dr. Milton Eisenhower, which reflect this concern, are documented in some detail. U.S. bilateral relations with Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico are also covered. A summary of the print volume is printed on pages 47–53. U.S. relations with Cuba and the U.S. attitude toward the regime of Fidel Castro are extensively documented in volume VI.

This microfiche supplement presents documents on U.S. economic policies toward the region, including technical assistance, and bilateral relations with the nations of Central and South America and the Caribbean area, except Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba. Summaries of the compilations included in the microfiche supplement, with references to specific documents, are printed on pages XLIX–LXXXVIII.

This guide to the microfiche supplement contains lists of sources, persons, and abbreviations and a comprehensive index of all the documents, as well as the summaries noted above. The [Facsimile Page V] print volume and the microfiche supplement have separate indexes.

Compilations on bilateral relations in this volume and in the microfiche supplement include the texts of telegrams from the Department of State to posts in the region containing instructions and policy guidance, telegrams from posts to the Department of State containing reports, analyses, and recommendations; the texts of policy memoranda and reports, and memoranda of conversation between U.S. and foreign officials.

In selecting documents for the print volume and microfiche supplement, the editors concentrated on National Security Council and Cabinet meetings, NSC and Department of State policy papers and memoranda that set forth policy options. The editors also selected finished intelligence reports (such as National Intelligence Estimates and intelligence briefings to the NSC) on which policy decisions were made, communications with foreign governments and international [Typeset Page VII] organizations, and policy recommendations and analyses sent by U.S. missions abroad to the Department of State.

Because the focus of the print volume and the microfiche supplement is on major diplomatic aspects of U.S. policies toward the region, the editors did not document the U.S. military assistance program, intelligence activities, or detailed aspects of economic and cultural relations. They did not, therefore, seek expanded access to foreign affairs records of agencies outside of the Department of State, the White House, and the National Security Council.

The editors had complete access to the records of the Department of State including all the central indexed decimal files and the various special decentralized files (lot files) relevant to the volume. At the Eisenhower Library, the editors gave particular attention to the Ann Whitman file, with its master collection of National Security Council records, Cabinet papers, and other important Presidential records. The editors reviewed other pertinent records at the Eisenhower Library, including papers of Secretaries of State John Foster Dulles and Christian A. Herter, and records of the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs. The editors believe that no documentation at the Eisenhower Library relevant to the subject matter was overlooked or withheld. A complete list of the files consulted in preparing both the print volume and the microfiche supplement is on pages XIII–XIX.

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The editors of the volume are confident that the documents included in the print volume and in the microfiche supplement taken together provide a comprehensive and accurate record of U.S. diplomatic policies toward the Caribbean, Central America, and South America region. The declassification review process for the documents originally selected for this volume, outlined in more detail below, resulted in withholding from publication approximately 3 percent of the manuscript of the print volume and 4 percent of the microfiche supplement.

Editorial Methodology

The documents in the microfiche supplement are reproduced directly from copies of the original documents. Headings, footnotes, and editorial notes have been added by the editors in a format similar to that of the printed volume. Documents with excisions due to continued classification appear in the supplement with the excised portions shaded in black. Documents that were denied in the declassification review process have been noted by inserting a page containing the document number, its date, and the repository in which it was found.

The documents are presented chronologically according to Washington time. Incoming telegrams from U.S. missions are placed according to time of receipt in the Department of State or other receiving [Typeset Page VIII] agency, rather than the time of transmission; memoranda of conversation are placed according to the time and date of the conversation, rather than the date the memorandum was drafted.

The document’s source and original classification are contained in the editorial headings at the beginning of each document. Distribution and drafting information, information on the background of important documents and policies, and indications if the President and/or his major policy advisers read the document are in the first footnote.

Editorial notes and additional annotation summarize pertinent material not included, indicate the location of additional documentary sources, provide references to important related documents printed in other volumes, describe key events, and summarize and provide citations to public statements that supplement and elucidate the documents. Information derived from memoirs and other first-hand accounts has been used when applicable to supplement the official record.

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Declassification Review Procedures

Declassification review of the documents selected for publication was conducted by the Division of Historical Documents Review, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Department of State. The review was made in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and the criteria established in Executive Order 12356 regarding:

1)

military plans, weapons, or operations;

2)

the vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, projects, or plans relating to the national security;

3)

foreign government information;

4)

intelligence activities (including special activities) or intelligence sources or methods,

5)

foreign relations or foreign activities of the United States;

6)

scientific, technological, or economic matters relating to national security;

7)

U.S. Government programs for safeguarding nuclear materials or facilities;

8)

cryptology; and

9)

a confidential source.

Declassification decisions entailed concurrence of the appropriate geographic and functional bureaus in the Department of State, other concerned agencies of the U.S. Government, and appropriate foreign governments regarding documents of those governments. The principle guiding declassification review is to release as much information as is consistent with contemporary requirements of national security and sound foreign relations.

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N. Stephen Kane supervised the planning and compilation of the chapters that comprise the printed volume and the microfiche supplement, under the direction of Paul Claussen. Editor in Chief John P. Glennon supervised the final preparation of the microfiche supplement for publication. Mr. Kane compiled the sections on regional economic policies and relations with Colombia. Carl N. Raether compiled the sections on U.S. relations with Honduras and Panama. Evans Gerakas prepared compilations on Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru. Other compilations were prepared by Edith James (Bolivia, Chile. Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela); Aaron D. Miller (Nicaragua); and [Facsimile Page VIII] Nina J. Noring (Dominican Republic, Haiti). W. Taylor Fain III prepared the summary of the printed volume. Summaries of individual compilations in the microfiche supplement were prepared by Mr. Glennon, Edward C. Keefer, David W. Mabon, Charles S. Sampson, Harriet D. Schwar, and Louis H. Smith. Bret D. Bellamy prepared the lists of sources, abbreviations, and names. Rita M. Baker performed the technical editing. Barbara A. Bacon of the Publishing Services Division (Paul M. Washington, Chief (retired)) oversaw production of the volume. Do Mi Stauber prepared the index.

July 1991