810.733/6–2244
The Ambassador in Colombia (Lane) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 4.]
Sir: Supplementing the Embassy’s confidential despatch No. 3955 of June 19, 1944,26 I have the honor to inform the Department of a [Page 854] conversation which I had with President López today concerning the new telecommunication rates agreement recently made the subject of an exchange of notes between this Embassy and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Counselor of Embassy for Economic Affairs accompanied me on this occasion.
Upon raising the question of the rates agreement, President López at once stated that he was still holding up the decree making the new rates effective, as he was not convinced that the proposed rates unification was advisable or in the best interests of the Colombian official radiocommunications company. He said that he wished to study the problem further before reaching any decision.
The President was informed that Commissioner Wakefield, of the Federal Communications Commission, had telegraphed from Santiago, Chile, inquiring into the causes for the delay in making the new rates effective, stating that he could return to Bogotá on his way back to the United States if his presence here seemed imperative. President López was given to understand that the Embassy would advise Commissioner Wakefield to return to Bogotá in order to discuss the matter with him.
During the course of the conversation it was revealed that President López was apparently resentful of the failure of the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs to apprise him of the presence of the Federal Communications Commission mission in Bogotá or of the proposed agreement on rates. The President indicated that certain ministerial changes were pending, and that the present Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, Dr. Alirio Gómez Picón, would retire very soon. He said that Dr. Gómez Picón was at present in Manizales, but would return by next Monday, June 26, thus giving the impression that the change in that particular cabinet post would not be long delayed after that date.
The Embassy has sent a telegram to Commissioner Wakefield in Lima, Peru, responsive to the telegram he sent from Santiago, Chile, advising him of the foregoing facts and that his presence in Bogotá is desirable if President López’s objections to the agreement are to be overcome.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩