6. Editorial Note
The first National Security Council meeting on Latin America was held in the Cabinet Room on July 9, 1969, from 10:04 a.m. to noon. Before the meeting, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Henry A. Kissinger recommended to President Richard M. Nixon that no decisions be made at the meeting, but that the meeting should provide background for future decisions.
At the meeting, Nixon maintained that presentation of policy in Latin America was half the battle, and the administration needed to control presentation. Nixon was particularly concerned about the influence of the Catholic Church in the region. He asked the Central Intelligence Agency to study the church, since he thought it was no longer promoting stability. Nixon also stated that military assistance in the region should promote stability or be cut. However, the President pointed to Indonesia as a possible cautionary historical precedent—the military prevented the country from falling to the communists.
Nixon instructed the Department of State to do a study on future leaders in the region. In addition, the President maintained that the U.S. Government should avoid doing too much in Latin America, and must recognize it could not control the region, but could influence it. The President concluded that the administration should stress that the United States has a special relationship with Latin America.
Kissinger introduced four broad policy options, which were outlined in a paper by the National Security Council Intergovernmental Group for Latin America (see Document 5). First, the U.S. Government could stress representative government and social reform in the region. Second, Washington policymakers could focus on long-term economic development. Third, the administration could cultivate anti-communist friends. Fourth, the U.S. Government could foster a Latin American system of independent, self-reliant states. Kissinger noted that the Review Group had concluded that the second and fourth options were the best choices. He maintained that Washington must concentrate on the larger countries and those that posed a threat to the United States.
Secretary of State William Rogers thought that Nixon should give a major speech on U.S. policy on Latin America to highlight the President’s desire to cultivate a special relationship with the region. Kissinger suggested that Nixon give the speech early in October. Nixon concluded that his speech would stress realism, not generalities or platitudes, while not admonishing the region to implement United States-style democracy. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H-121, NSC Meeting, July 9, 1969)