No. 314
Subject: Transmitting Text of Embassy’s Note of June
22 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Renewing Previous Requests for
an Investigation of Reports with Regard to the Presence of Certain
Aircraft and American Citizens at the San Jose Airbase in Connection
with Caribbean Legion Activities.
[Enclosure]
The American Ambassador (Patterson) to the Guatemalan Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Muñoz
Meany)
Guatemala, June 22,
1949.
No. 81
Excellency: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of the Ministry’s note No. 9330 of June
17,1 in reply
to the Embassy’s note No. 69 of May 28,1 transcribing a
communication from the Ministry of Defense with regard to the
investigation conducted by that Ministry concerning the presence
at the San Jose airbase of two airplanes, which, there is strong
reason to believe, may have been flown out of the United States
in violation of its laws. It is noted that the investigation
disclosed that the airplanes in question landed at San Jose due
to defective engines, that no irregularities were found, and
that the planes are of Mexican registration, numbers C47–XA–HOS
and C46–XB–HUB.
With respect to the identity of these aircraft, an inquiry is
being made through official channels of the Mexican Government
to obtain the desired information concerning their former United
States registry and manufacturer’s serial numbers in an effort
to ascertain if they were exported illegally from the United
States, and, if so, the responsibility therefor.
[Page 449]
In this connection, reference is made to the recent conversations
between the Sub-Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the First
Secretary of this Embassy, in which the latter requested a
further investigation into subsequent reports to the effect that
(a) two or more American citizens
were among the crew members, and (b)
other aircraft whose movements appear difficult to account for,
including one amphibian, also had landed at the San Jose
airbase.
Under instructions from my Government, I have the honor to renew
the request for the specific identification data on the aircraft
mentioned in the Embassy’s note No. 69 of May 28,2 in the event such
information has since become available to Your Excellency’s
Government, and to confirm the oral requests for the further
investigations made by the First Secretary of Embassy. My
Government particularly desires to obtain all available
information with regard to the unsubstantiated reports of the
presence of American citizens among the plane crews.
My Government has instructed me to inform Your Excellency that it
views seriously numerous and repeated reports from several
countries concerned with the possibility of disturbances of the
peace of certain of the American Republics and the possibility
that several aircraft, the movements of which appear difficult
to explain, may be engaged in prejudicial missions. My
Government assumes that the Government of Guatemala shares this
concern and that it will therefore wish to cooperate to the
fullest extent to forestall activities which may be contrary to
inter-American obligations to maintain the peace and security of
the American Republics.3
I avail [etc.]
