82. Memorandum From Attorney General Kennedy to President Kennedy1
In furtherance of our conversation on the plane last week, I believe it might be advisable for a team made up of representatives from the FBI plus the military to make a survey of the security situation in the countries of Central and South America.
Shortly after Cuba we made arrangements for an FBI man to accompany a group which was making a tour of Central America. When he returned he wrote a confidential report for me which indicated that security arrangements in a number of the countries were extremely deficient.
I think that if a group of this type went down into these countries they could determine whether all necessary steps are being taken by the internal police to deal with communist infiltration and whether the military or police are prepared to deal with mob riot, or guerrilla bands that may become active. Also, as we learned in the Dominican Republic crisis, that the communications system with the State Department and the CIA was inadequate. Steps should be taken to determine what is needed in this field and this problem remedied. I am sure that reports are coming in from various embassies that touch on this situation but I think it should receive top priority.2
- Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Meetings and Memoranda Series, NSAM 88. No classification marking. The source text bears the notation in Kennedy’s handwriting, “OK JFK”.↩
- A September 12 note from White House staff member Mildred Zayac to Goodwin, filed with the source text, states that Bundy had asked her to send it to Goodwin with the message that “the President would like to get it going right away.”↩