342. Telegram 3723 From the Embassy in the Dominican Republic to the Department of State1

3723. Subject: PRD Moves To Improve Relations with the Embassy. Ref: Santo Domingo 3624.

1. On August 30, the Ambassador met with secretary general of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD), Dr. Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, at Pena’s request (reftel). On September 4, the PRD leaked word of the meeting to the press and on September 5 Pena gave a press conference in which he publicly confirmed the meeting, gave an objective account of it, and noted that it was useful to establish a dialogue with the USG. The PRD followed up with a September 7 reunion of its Santo Domingo zone level committees, which publicly supported the meeting between Pena and the Ambassador.

2. Comment: Pena’s decision to acknowledge publicly that he had met with the Ambassador and the PRD’s complete support for such a meeting represents a significant break in the party’s recent policy of publicly keeping the Embassy at arms’ length (contact between party leaders and Embassy officers existed, but was seldom, if ever, publicly acknowledged by the PRD). It probably indicates that Pena has now become more sure of himself vis-à-vis his ex-mentor, Juan Bosch, who since leaving the PRD has violently attacked Pena as a “CIA agent,” and a “U.S. lackey.” It is also probably a sign of how far Bosch’s star has fallen. This apparent new PRD willingness to deal openly with the Em[Page 907]bassy marks a signficant advance in the Embassy’s program to normalize relations with the opposition.

Hurwitch
  1. Summary: The Embassy reported on Dominican opposition leader José Francisco Peña Gómez’s public acknowledgment of a meeting with Hurwitch. The telegram suggested that Peña Gómez’s announcement reflected the success of the Embassy’s efforts to improve its relations with opposition figures.

    Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D740252–0497. Confidential. In telegram 3624 from Santo Domingo, September 3, the Embassy provided more details on the August 30 meeting between Peña Gómez and Hurwitch. (Ibid., D740244–0211)