127. Letter from Secretary Rogers to Secretary of Transportation Volpe1 2
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I have your letter of October 21 on the subject of the recent Cuban hijacking decree, and I appreciate your offer of assistance in the resolution of the hijacking problem.
I share your view that the issuance of the Cuban decree should be viewed as a significant move on the part of the Government of Cuba that may provide an opportunity to work towards the return of hijackers to the United States for prosecution. As you point out, however, there are a number of potentially serious problems in the Cuban decree. After careful study, we have decided upon an approach to the Government of Cuba that we believe is the most feasible course of action in this situation, and we have asked the President for his approval. You may wish to convey to the President the views you expressed to me in your letter of October 21.
For your personal information, I am enclosing a copy of my memorandum to the President and a copy of the note I would propose to send to the Government of Cuba. In view of the delicacy of the matter, we must give these documents an extremely limited distribution.
Sincerely,
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967-69, AV 12. Confidential. Drafted by Mark B. Feldman (L/ARA) on November 6 and 12, and cleared by Feehan and Loy. The memorandum is Document 125. Attached but not published was the proposed note.↩
- Rogers informed Volpe that he shared his concerns about Cuba’s proposed anti-hijacking law and reported that the Department of State had decided on an approach to Cuba after seeking the approval of President Nixon.↩