835.01/6–2644: Telegram
The Chargé in Paraguay (Reed) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 27—1:56 a.m.]
357. The Minister of Foreign Relations summoned me at 4 p.m. today to give me the reply of his Government to the memorandum prepared in accordance with the Department’s circular telegraphic instruction of June 22, 11 p.m. for the Ambassador from the Secretary which I presented to the President and the Minister on June 24.
The Minister who was accompanied by the Under Secretary47 informed me that the matter had been presented to the Cabinet at a meeting today. He declared emphatically that the Paraguyan Government desired to show its complete adherence to influences [sic] United Nations and its disposition to comply fully with the measures agreed upon for hemisphere defense. He stated that the Paraguayan Government considered that the position adopted by the Government of the United States with respect to Argentina was the logical and appropriate one in view of the circumstances reviewed in the third communication and with regard to the suggestion that the non-recognizing governments should recall their Chiefs of Mission from Buenos Aires during the next 2 weeks he declared that Paraguay was disposed to take this action. He then stated that the Paraguayan Government wished to learn at the earliest possible moment what steps the United States Government, probably in consultation with the Brazilian Government, proposed to take in order to protect Paraguay from the economic, political and military consequences of her adherence. He pointed out that the Argentine Government had only to state that there was no shipping space available for Paraguay in order to cut off the supplies of many essential commodities of which he mentioned particularly wheat and petroleum products. He said that the danger was not only economic however but political and declared that the Argentine Government had from the first looked with disfavor upon the Morínigo government and that there is real danger that the [Page 329] Argentine Government would promote a subversive movement similar to that in Bolivia in order to reinstate the Liberal Party which he alleged had been completely subservient to Argentina. He enlarged considerably on this theme condemning leaders Liberal Party for this present helpless condition of Paraguay vis-à-vis Argentina.
He said that there was also actual military danger as within about a month the Argentine Government had stationed three additional divisions of troops on the Paraguayan frontier and an unusual number of small boats and rafts have recently been seen on the Argentine side of the Paraguay River. He referred again to Perón’s June 10 speech and states that evidences of aggressive militarism on the part of the Argentine Government were multiplying. He referred to Argentine charges that Paraguay now has air fields capable of accommodating a thousand planes which had been prepared at the United States request for possible aggression by American forces [apparent omission]. Paraguay is planning an invasion of the Argentine [garbled group]. He says that Perón has ambitions to revive the ancient viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata and compared him with Hitler in his ideas of conquest. He also declared that it is apparent that Argentina is endeavoring to form a bloc including Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador in opposition to the non-recognizing nations.
In concluding the interview, the Minister repeated that it was very important that Paraguay should know immediately what steps the United States and Brazil will take to protect it, not only economically but against military aggression from subversive movements within or from open invasion. He said that carrying out the Lend-Lease plan would deal with Paraguay’s need for arms. He requested particularly that a highway to Brazil be immediately completed to Guaíra rather than to Iguazú, and alleged that the Paraguayan Government had desired for a long time this route to the Atlantic but that its completion had always been blocked by Argentine influence.
He stated that he was consulting the Brazilian Ambassador tomorrow morning regarding the attitude of Brazil in this crisis.
Finally he requested that when Ambassador Armour returns to the United States he visit Asunción in order to inform the Paraguayan Government of its plans concerning Paraguay and to report to the Department more fully the attitude and situation of Paraguay.48
- Mario Ferrario.↩
- In a memorandum of August 8, 1944, Ambassador Armour, in Washington for consultation, observed that Paraguay was unable to withdraw its Ambassador from Buenos Aires without the assurance of economic support from the United States. The procurement agencies in the United States considered the transportation problem to Paraguay very difficult. (835.01/8–444)↩