No. 110
The Department will observe that while I agreed with the Foreign
Minister that Colombia’s army did not constitute a threat to
Colombia’s democracy, I said I considered that the Government’s
economic policy, which has resulted in increasing the already
dangerously high living costs in Colombia, does constitute a threat
to Colombia’s democracy.
[Enclosure]
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Ambassador
in Colombia (Beaulac)
confidential
Bogotá, February 15,
1949.
Subject: Armaments to Latin American
Republics
| Participants: |
The Foreign Minister, Dr. Eduardo Zuleta Angel |
|
The Ambassador |
Dr. Zuleta told me of a report from the Colombian Ambassador in
Washington2 of an alleged conversation among
the Ambassador, Dr. Lleras Camargo,3 certain other Latin
American diplomats, and Mr. Paul Daniels,4 during which Mr. Daniels asked for opinions
concerning
[Page 604]
the effect
of arms transfers from the United States to the other American
Republics. Mr. Daniels was interested in the effect of such
transfers on 1) domestic peace and 2) international peace.
All Latin Americans present agreed that the arms transfers did
not have a disturbing effect on domestic peace. Revolutions and
coup d’etats took place before the United States ever sent arms
to Latin America and would continue to take place. In certain
Latin American countries the people would fight with tanks and
cannon, or with pistols and machetes, or with sticks and
stones.
With reference to the international aspect of the matter, Dr.
Lleras Camargo made what Dr. Zuleta thought was a very important
statement. He said that international peace among the American
Republics depended almost entirely on whether or not the United
States really intended to support the Rio Pact.5 If it did, then the question of arms transfers
had no importance. If it did not, arms transfers might encourage
aggression by one country against another.
Mr. Daniels is reported to have replied that the United States
intended to support the Rio Pact 100%.
This conversation, plus the Colombian Ambassador’s understanding
that the United States was no longer giving military aid to
China, led the Ambassador to suggest to Dr. Zuleta that the time
might be ripe to again request that the Government of the United
States furnish arms which Colombia needs to equip its expanded
army.
Dr. Zuleta said that he was authorizing the Colombian Ambassador
to raise the question of armaments once more with the Department
of State. He spoke to me of Colombia’s democratic tradition and
said that there was no possibility that increased armaments
would lead to political disturbances in Colombia. On the
contrary the lack of proper armaments might encourage such
disturbances.
I told Dr. Zuleta that I had some time ago presented the matter
of armaments for Colombia to the Department with considerable
urgency. I asked him whether any arms at all had been received.
He said that none had been received. I said that I would
communicate once more with the Department in the matter.
I told Dr. Zuleta that I did not foresee any danger that the
Colombian army would become a menace to Colombia’s democracy.
What I was afraid of was that the Government’s economic policy,
which was resulting in still higher living costs, was helping to
create another situation of social tension which might explode
at any moment. I thought
[Page 605]
that from the point of view of internal peace, the Government
was following a dangerous course.
Dr. Zuleta said that the only solution to that problem was
increased production. I said that I had noticed that the 25%
increase in the price of domestically manufactured cigarettes
following the prohibition against the importation of American
cigarettes had aroused general indignation even among people who
were well off. The Minister said that he did not understand all
the details of that matter but that he understood that the
Government was trying to ensure that the tobacco producers would
be paid more for their product (the price of leaf tobacco has
been increased by 15%).
