64. Editorial Note
On Sunday, October 6, 1963, the New York Herald Tribune published an article by Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Edwin Martin that outlined U.S. policy toward military governments in Latin America. In the piece, Martin emphasized U.S. support for constitutional civilian governments in the region. He stated that the military in Latin America must play an active and constructive role in support of these governments. Martin noted further that the militaries of some Latin American nations had played critical roles in dislodging dictators from power, instituting progressive reforms, and returning their countries to more democratic civilian control. Still, Martin continued, military governments established by coups d’etat must be condemned as anti-democratic. Martin cautioned that the United States could not be expected to intervene militarily or economically against any military government in the region established by coup d’etat. Rather, it was the responsibility of the Latin Americans to create conditions in which such regimes could not survive and in which democracy could prosper. The text of the article is in Department of State Bulletin, November 4, 1963, pages 698-700. It was repeated to all Latin American diplomatic posts in Department of State Circular 637, which described it as having been cleared “at highest levels” of the U.S. Government. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Regional Security Series, Latin America, July-November 1963)
A July 14 article in The New York Times quoted Department of State officials as lauding the “sense of mission” displayed by the Ecuadorean military on July 11 when it overthrew the Arosemena government, which had opposed many Alliance for Progress reforms. The article caused consternation in Latin America and prompted a concerned letter from Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt to President Kennedy, which was delivered personally by the Venezuelan Ambassador on August 2. (Department of State, Central Files, POL 26 LAT AM) President Kennedy, in his reply of August 16 assured the Venezuelan President that the Department of State officials had been misquoted and that it was the “unalterable position of the Government of the United States to support representative, constitutional processes” in Latin America. (Ibid.)
The New York Times incident prompted administration thinking about the proper posture of the United States in relation to military governments in Latin America and led directly to the drafting of the Martin article.