111. Telegram 1499 From the Embassy in Costa Rica to the Department of State1
1499. Subject: Vesco Case: SEC Letter on Mediation Offer. Ref: San Jose 1248.
[Page 352]1. President Figueres told me today (Apr 30) that he had shown SEC letter of April 2, responding to his offer to mediate SEC dispute with Vesco, to Vesco. He said Vesco and his lawyers were preparing a rebuttal of the charges in the SEC letter, and he would pass this rebuttal to me so that I could see Vesco’s side of the case. The President said that many of the charges in the SEC letter seemed to him unsubstantiated, or at least were affirmations that would have to be proved in court.
2. I again stressed the basic concept of the issue implicit in the SEC case, that the monies Vesco controls are not his but are trust fund and fiduciary requirements. Figueres still does not admit that view. My impression is that he is now completely committed to Vesco’s version and side, and that Vesco’s renunciation of U.S. citizenship referred to in septel, his apparent continuing effort to locate here and obvious coordination and communication between Vesco and Figueres are further evidence of that.
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Summary: Vaky reported that Figueres seemed committed to Vesco’s side in the dispute with the SEC.
Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Country Files, Box 779, Latin America, Costa Rica. Confidential; Nodis. In a May 14 letter to Pezzullo, Vaky observed that “There is no doubt that Figueres is committed to Vesco’s side, and the tighter the battle the more his stubborn nature will lead him to rationalize his position. The upshot is that a situation is developing in which Figueres—psychologically—is in an adversary relationship with the USG, or at least a good part of it. And that is bound to have an effect on the degree to which he and his government are prepared to cooperate with us generally.” (Ibid., RG 59, ARA/CEN Files: Lot 75D469, Costa Rica—Political, 1973) Telegram 1248 from San José was not found.
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