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

570. Memorandum From Viron P. Vaky of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹ ²

Washington, August 15, 1970

SUBJECT:

• Your Meeting with Paraguayan Ambassador Monday, August 17—4:30 PM

Paraguayan Ambassador Roque AVILA (AH-vi-lah) has a letter from President Stroessner to President Nixon. He has instructions to deliver it personally. He has refused to see Secretary Rogers. Being a generally prickly character, he has threatened to return the letter to General Stroessner saying he cannot deliver it.

I told him that because the President will leave next week his schedule is terribly crowded, but that the President was so anxious that there be no delay in receiving Stroessner’s letter he asked you to see the Ambassador on his behalf. The Ambassador has agreed.

PURPOSE OF VISIT: Stroessner’s letter asks that we reconsider measures to terminate MAP grant materiel aid in FY 1971 and to reduce training aid.

MAP aid to Paraguay in recent years has been in the neighborhood of $600,000 of which about half has been for materiel and half for training. In July 1970 we informed the GOP that we would not continue with the materiel aid after 1970 (we had scheduled about $260,000 for this) and we would have to reduce training aid. This decision was the result of the world-wide MAP adjustments necessitated by other high-priority requirements (Cambodia and Korea) and generally reduced budget availabilities.

We have reduced the size of our Military Mission (20 to 10) pursuant to OPRED and the President’s directives regarding reduced budgets and are reducing the activities of the Inter-American Geodetic Survey (IAGS) for the same reasons.

It would be hard to argue any priority for Paraguay—or any substantive need—to reverse these measures. Paraguay is, however, psychologically unprepared to accept this apparent decline in USG support. The GOP will also have to increase its own expenditures proportionately.

A briefing memo on the MAP situation in Paraguay is at Tab A.

TALKING POINTS—I recommend that you:

• —say the President asked you to receive the Ambassador personally and that he regrets he was unable to do so because of crowded schedules as he gets ready to leave this week for Mexico and San Clemente;
• —tell the Ambassador you will see that Stroessner’s letter is delivered to the President and that it will receive careful consideration;
• —respond to any oral argument by the Ambassador for continuation of present MAP levels, by saying only that these are difficult matters because of major demands in other crisis areas and reduced budgets, but that Paraguay’s request will certainly be studied; I see no need to string out any substantive discussion of individual items and levels; how much you want to explain the facts of life to the Ambassador re world-wide requirements can be keyed to the way the conversation goes, but I do not think it worth too much effort.

THE AMBASSADOR. Avila is taciturn, humorless, and un-latin. He has few contacts with either US officials or his diplomatic colleagues. He is a medical doctor, with some training in the U.S. and has specialized in venereal and tropical diseases. A bio sketch is attached at Tab B.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 792, Country Files, Latin America, Paraguay, Vol 1. Confidential. Sent for information. Attached but not published at Tab A is “U.S. Military Assistance to Paraguay.” Tab B is not published. Kissinger wrote on the first page of the memorandum: “I bet we have laid into Paraguay with particular relish.” No substantive record of the meeting between Kissinger and Avila has been found. On August 20, the Department informed the Embassy in Asunción that Paraguay should not expect the MAP cuts to be restored. (Telegram 135418 to Asunción, ibid.)
2. In a briefing memorandum for Kissinger’s meeting with Ambassador Avila, Vaky stated that Avila wanted to reverse a decision to cut the Military Assistance Program (MAP) for Paraguay. However, President Nixon had already decided to reduce the MAP and that Paraguay was not a high priority for U.S. policymakers.