261. Editorial Note
In telegram 6143 from Caracas, July 9, 1979, U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela William Luers reported that Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez had “spent much of Sunday [July 8] talking to Torrijos and to the Junta in San Jose by phone.” Perez informed Luers that Junta members were gathered “in San Jose convincing themselves they should not accept conditions dictated from Washington,” although they had “agreed in principle to expanding the Junta by two to including a ‛clean’ GN officer as one of the two and to a restructuring of the GN.” Perez also noted that Junta member Sergio Ramírez “said the group wanted to explain its objective and its concerns directly to President Carter.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840140–1634)
In a July 9 letter from Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) to President Jimmy Carter, Kennedy noted that Foreign Minister of the Nicaraguan Government of National Reconstruction Father Miguel d’Escoto had called him during the evening of July 8 to relay an “urgent message” to Carter cosigned by D’Escoto and members of the Nicaraguan Government of National Reconstruction, including Violeta de Chamorro, Sergio Ramírez, Moises Hassan, Alfonso Robello, and [Page 653] Daniel Ortega. The opening of the message read: “We have asked our friend Senator Edward Kennedy to convey to you this message expressing our desire to have some members of our Government of National Reconstruction meet with you as soon as possible in Washington.” (Department of State, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Nicaragua/El Salvador Working Files, Lot 81D64, Nicaragua—Misc. Memoranda, July 1979) Kennedy copied Secretary of State Cyrus Vance on the letter. Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher sent a version of the letter to Vance under a handwritten note, written at 4:30 p.m. on July 9, recommending against the proposed meeting, noting: “Better to have Torrijos et. al. dealing with them.” (National Archives, RG 59, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Records of the Office of the Deputy Secretary, Warren Christopher, Lot 81D113, Box 9, Memoranda to the Secretary—1979)