717.2114/37
The Secretary of
State to the Chargé in Nicaragua (Thurston)
Washington, March 21,
1925.
No. 212Sir: With reference to the Legation’s
despatch No. 3 of January 6, 1925,87 transmitting a note from the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Nicaragua88 to the Secretary of State, in which the Minister
of Foreign Affairs requested the good offices of the Secretary of
State to persuade Colombia to submit to arbitration the question of
the ownership of the San Andrés Archipelago, there is transmitted
herewith a reply from the Secretary of State to be delivered by you
to
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the Nicaraguan Minister
of Foreign Affairs.89 An extra copy of the reply is transmitted for
the files of the Legation. A translation of the note from the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua to the Secretary of State
is also transmitted for the files of the Legation.
You will observe that the Department has not considered it advisable
to accede to Nicaragua’s request to recommend to Colombia an
arbitration dealing solely with the ownership of the San Andrés
Archipelago. The Department considers that the proposal already made
by Colombia in accordance with which Nicaragua would keep the
Mosquito coast and the Corn Islands, and Colombia would keep the San
Andrés Archipelago, would offer an equitable solution of the
controversy. The Department will, therefore, be glad to have you
discuss informally with the Nicaraguan Government the desirability
of terminating this long-standing diplomatic controversy in this
manner. Please report the outcome of this discussion to the
Department.
I am [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The Secretary of
State to the Nicaraguan Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Castrillo)
Washington, March 21, 1925.
Excellency: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of your predecessor’s note of December
29, 1924,90 in
which he informed me of the present situation of the controversy
between the Governments of Nicaragua and Colombia relating to
the ownership of the Mosquito coast and the adjacent islands,
including especially the Corn Islands and the San Andrés
Archipelago. I note that after failing to settle the controversy
by diplomatic negotiations your Government accredited a legation
to the Government of Colombia with instructions to lay before
the Colombian Government the draft of a convention, a copy of
which accompanies your predecessor’s note;91 that this draft was not
accepted by Colombia; that Colombia has now proposed a
settlement, leaving to Colombia the San Andrés Archipelago and
to Nicaragua the Mosquito coast and the Corn Islands;92 that the Nicaraguan Government has
rejected this latter proposal; and that the Nicaraguan
Government now finds itself constrained to request the good
offices of the United States Government in order that the
Government
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of Colombia
may consent to refer to arbitration the question of the
ownership of the San Andrés Archipelago.93
In reply I have the honor to inform you that the request of the
Government of Nicaragua has received the most careful and
friendly consideration. It would of course be inappropriate for
this Government to express an opinion as to the force and
validity of the arguments advanced by the Governments of
Nicaragua and Colombia in the course of the diplomatic
negotiations between them, especially as it does not have at
hand all of the information necessary for a full consideration
of the question. From such information as is now in the
possession of this Government, however, it would appear that the
Spanish colonial legislative and administrative dispositions,
the interpretation and validity of which are in question,
referred equally to the San Andrés Archipelago and to the
Mosquito coast and the Corn Islands. It would thus appear that a
decision in favor of either party based solely upon the uti possidetis juris of 1810 might be
expected to apply with equal force to all of the territory in
dispute. Under these conditions this Government does not feel
that it could consistently urge upon the Government of Colombia
the submission to arbitration of the question of the ownership
of a portion only of this territory with the consequent
relinquishment of whatever claim Colombia may have to the
remainder.
This Government understands that the Archipelago of San Andrés
has been occupied by Colombia since 1822, whereas Nicaragua has
exercised jurisdiction on the Mosquito coast since the
declaration of independence from Spain and has occupied the Corn
Islands since about 1890. The proposal of the Colombian
Government, which would recognize the sovereignty of Nicaragua
over the Mosquito coast and the Corn Islands and the sovereignty
of Colombia over the San Andrés Archipelago, would therefore
make permanent a situation which has existed in fact, so far as
the more important portions of the territory in dispute are
concerned, practically since the achievement of the independence
of the two Republics. Such an arrangement, furthermore, would
set at rest any question as to the sovereignty of Nicaragua over
the east coast of that Republic and the Corn Islands, territory
which is obviously infinitely more valuable to Nicaragua than
the San Andrés Archipelago. Without committing itself at this
time to the expression of any opinion as to the intrinsic merits
of the controversy, the Government of the United States is
inclined to feel that a settlement on the basis indicated would
afford an equitable
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solution of the matter. I need not say that this observation is
made in the most friendly spirit and solely in the hope of
promoting an amicable settlement on terms advantageous to both
parties.
Accept [etc.]
