Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–11, Part 2, Documents on South America, 1973–1976

373. Telegram 106610 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Venezuela¹

Washington, June 4, 1973, 1556Z.

106610. Subject: Secvisit LA: Secretary Rogers Meeting with President Caldera of Venezuela

1. Secretary Rogers and President Caldera met on May 15 at Lasona (official residence of President Caldera) at 4:30 p.m. Other participants were:

US: Assistant Secretary Kubisch

Ambassador McClintock

Venezuela: Foreign Minister Calvani

Venezuelan Ambassador to Washington Aguilar

2. Caldera said he had been concerned at a recent representation by Ambassador McClintock suggesting that USG thought that at least in recent months Caldera had adopted an anti-American attitude. He said this certainly was not the case and affirmed his warm friendship for the United States.

President said that he had been surprised several years ago when his minister of education had made a speech in an interior village charging “foreign oil companies” with fomenting student disorders, that Ambassador McClintock had replied in another speech coming to the defense of “foreign oil companies” even without identifying them as American.

3. President Caldera went on with some emotion to state that over a period of half a century Venezuela had been pillaged by the foreign oil companies. He said, “they took out immense profits, many times over their investment, and left us with a pittance.” President Caldera then spoke of the nationalization of US-owned copper mines in Chile. He said this was clearly justified because companies had made huge and unreasonable profits. He seemed to be developing a thesis that expropriation without compensation is warranted simply on the grounds that foreign companies have been successful enough to amass considerable profits.

The Secretary challenged this thesis and said that if the only criterion for expropriation without compensation was the success of the foreign company in acquiring profits, there would be no foreign investment anywhere in the underdeveloped countries.

Secretary repeated official US position on expropriation subject to the rule of international law that full and due compensation should be paid by the nationalizing government.

4. President Caldera repeated almost identically refrain of his foreign minister in Calvani’s May 14 luncheon speech that LDC’s are condemned to produce raw materials at low world market prices and are then forced by the highly industrialized countries to buy their manufactured products at exaggeratedly high prices.

5. After having delivered himself of these charges, the President readily agreed with the Secretary that a frank exchange of views was the best way in which to let off steam and to come to better understanding. He again reaffirmed his friendly feeling for the United States and said that when he went on his honeymoon 32 years ago, the nation he had chosen first to visit was the U.S., including a traditional honeymoon stop at Niagara Falls. Reaffirming once more his desire to maintain and strengthen friendly relations with the United States, President made additional point that in long history of US-Venezuelan relations, including those in the petroleum industry, Venezuela had never gone back on its word and had evenhandedly applied its laws.

6. Secretary briefly recapitulated statements made in his luncheon speech re conversations initiated last autumn which might eventually lead to an energy agreement with Venezuela, but stressed that we were not pressing for negotiations and that what Venezuela did with its famous tar belt was a Venezuelan responsibility. Secretary then handed President the letter dated May 11 from President Nixon. Caldera read it with great attention and said that the third paragraph was of paramount importance.

7. During the interview Secretary took opportunity to praise Dr. Calvani for his skillful diplomacy in presiding over the last OASGA. Calvani said that first meeting of study committee would take place in July and that two governments had offered their capitals as venue—Venezuela and Peru. He said, however, that if Peru insisted on being the host, Venezuela would gracefully withdraw.

8. During conversation Cuba was briefly mentioned, and President Caldera ticked off names of Latin American governments who had or were intending to recognize the Castro regime of which the latest government was that of Argentina. He strongly implied that this process of recognizing Castro’s Cuba would continue at an accelerated rate and said repeatedly, “we must find a formula—we must find a formula.” Secretary replied that since Castro himself had many times stressed that he did not, repeat not, want to re-enter OAS, the question seemed really not to be a realistic one.

9. The meeting ended on a cordial note and President Caldera was visibly pleased that Secretary made an official presentation to the government of Venezuela of a dress uniform of the Venezuelan independence hero, General Paez, the centenary of whose death had been celebrated the previous week. This uniform had been contributed by the Smithsonian Institution, and President Caldera gladly autographed a book of portraits of President Paez dedicated to Secretary Dillon Ripley. The President ended the interview in high good humor and the entire meeting was perhaps best summed up in the words of FonMin Calvani in saying it had a “cathartic effect.”

1. Summary: Caldera and Rogers discussed anti-Americanism, economic relations, an energy agreement, the OASGA, and Cuba.

   Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files, 1970–1973, ORG 7 S. Secret; Priority. Drafted by McClintock on May 27; cleared by Pedersen and Kubisch. Rogers’s May 15 luncheon speech in Caracas is published in the Department of State Bulletin, June 25, 1973, pp. 907–910.