135. Memorandum of conversation, March 20, between President Kennedy and President Ydigoras 1
SUBJECT
- Relations with Cuba; Elections; Belize; Domestic Reforms
PARTICIPANTS
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UNITED STATES
- The President
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GUATEMALA
- President Ydígoras
The President expressed his pleasure in meeting President YDIGORAS, whom he admired for his courageous stand during the Cuban affair in 1961. President Ydígoras stated that Guatemala was ready to follow whatever policy the United States Government might adopt with respect to Cuba, and that he fully understood Cuba’s place within the context of the over-all world situation. He stated that Guatemala would, if required, offer its territory for the training of another contingent of anti-Castro Cubans. He expressed the opinion that the United States should not directly participate in the invasion, but rather serve as a banker for the participants.
The President reiterated the situation of Cuba within the framework of the world situation and said that perhaps the elimination of Castro himself might lead to an improvement of the Cuban situation since Castro individually was of such great psychological importance.
The President inquired as to what the situation was for the forthcoming elections and as to what measures might be taken to make it more difficult for Arévalo to win. He expressed the belief that Arévalo would undoubtedly campaign as an anti-Communist moderate but that he would be dangerous if he won the elections.
[Typeset Page 337]President Ydígoras said that Arévalo’s projected return to Guatemala in March would undoubtedly cause a big stir, but that in the forthcoming months he expected Arévalo’s popularity to drop. He said that he would attempt to create a split among Arévalo’s supporters by indirectly proclaiming the need of Arévaloism without [Facsimile Page 2] Arévalo and for having a new man as a candidate to carry out Arévalo’s program. He agreed that Arévalo was dangerous because were he to win the elections he would not be able to contain the extreme leftists in his movement. Should Arévalo win, a preventive coup might be called for such as the ones that took place in Argentina and Peru.
The President said that he would look into this and pointed out that President Betancourt had expressed his opposition to Arévalo, to which President Ydígoras replied that a reconciliation was always feasible.
President Ydígoras explained a problem with Great Britain related to the outstanding payment due of $1½ million on some bonds which were issued in 1830. The case was now in the lower courts in Guatemala and would undoubtedly take years before it is settled. Meanwhile, the World Bank has been holding up credits to Guatemala because of this. He stated that it was not appropriate for the World Bank to serve as a debt collector for any country.
President Ydígoras gave the President some reports on Guatemala’s claim to Belize explaining that this area closes a potential outlet to the Caribbean from the richest area of the country. Guatemala wants Belize to eventually become an associated state in the Central American Federation with a status similar to that of Puerto Rico.
President Ydígoras said that Guatemala is working on its internal reform and that a proposed income tax law was pigeonholed in Congress for three years. He had pressured Congress into approving the law, and the day after he signed it, a group of right-wingers hired two Air Force pilots to strike his Palace in an assassination attempt that was almost successful. He said that for political reasons he had blamed Castroites and Communists for this attempt.
President Ydígoras said that his Administration needed to give tangible evidence during the months of April, May and June of its intentions to benefit them and that United States assistance would be very useful in this program.
- Relations with Cuba; elections; Belize; domestic reforms. Secret. 2 pp. DOS, CF, POL 15–1 US/KENNEDY.↩