Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–10, Documents on American Republics, 1969–1972

40. National Security Decision Memorandum 109¹ ²

Washington, May 25, 1971

TO:

• The Secretary of State
• The Secretary of Defense
• The Secretary of Transportation

SUBJECT:

• Pan American Highway and the Darien Gap

The President has reviewed the memorandum of May 5, 1971 from the Chairman of the NSC Under Secretaries Committee concerning the Darien Gap Highway project and has directed that priority attention be given to accelerating construction of the highway. He has approved the recommendations contained in the Chairman’s memorandum that:

• —The Department of State undertake consultations with the Governments of Colombia and Panama to obtain their approval of and cooperation in the accelerated schedule;
• —The Departments of State and Transportation undertake consultations with the Appropriations Committees of the Congress to obtain their cooperation in expediting action on pending and future appropriations requests to finance the project.

The President has directed that the NSC Under Secretaries Committee report to him within sixty days on the outcome of these consultations and on steps taken towards accelerating construction of the Darien Gap Highway.

Henry A. Kissinger

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–223, NSDM files, NSDM 109. Secret. Copies were sent to the Secretary of the Treasury; the Director, Office of Management and Budget; the Administrator, Agency for International Development; the Director of Central Intelligence; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Chairman, NSC Under Secretaries Committee. The May 5 report of the NSC Under Secretaries Committee was not found. The NSC Under Secretaries Committee produced a revised version of the May 5 report on July 16. (Ibid., Department of State, S/S files: Lot 81 D 309, NSC–U/SM 100C)
2. President Nixon directed that the Department of State consult with the Governments of Colombia and Panama, and that the Departments of State and Transportation consult with the Appropriations Committees of the Congress to accelerate construction of the Darien Gap Highway.