Office of the Historian

87. Memorandum From the President’s Military Representative (Taylor) to President Kennedy1

Washington, October 7, 1961.

The Secretary of Defense has responded (Tab 2)2 to your memorandum of early September (Tab 1)3 requesting information on the steps being taken to train the armed forces of Latin America in controlling mobs, guerrillas, etc., as well as your suggestion that a camp be set up in the United States similar to the FBI Academy.

We have also received memoranda from the Secretary of State (Tab 3)4 and the Director of Central Intelligence (Tab 4)5 who have submitted information on their programs for attacking this overall problem.

A brief summary follows:

a.
Mr. Gilpatric informs you that the military schools in the United States and in the Canal Zone are giving considerable emphasis to courses in internal security for Latin American officers. For example, 600 officers attended such courses in FY-61. In addition, the U.S. military school system is training just about as many Latin Americans in these and general military courses as the countries concerned are able or willing to make available for this purpose. As you know, many Latin American countries utilize their armed forces for performing the basic internal security mission as well as to officer their police forces. Thus our military schools afford a direct way of reaching this influential element of the governments in Latin America. The officers concerned gain an appreciation and understanding of the U.S. more or less by absorption while attending these courses. The extent of direct political indoctrination in these courses is probably very small, if not non-existent. Mr. Gilpatric is favorably disposed to the idea of setting up an FBI-type academy.
b.
The memorandum from the Central Intelligence Agency indicates that they have a modest program for training selected, high-level security officers from Latin America in the U.S. They have resident advisory [Page 193] officers in a few Latin American countries, [5 lines of source text not declassified].
c.
The State Department memorandum describes the AID/ICA program for police training. This program is rather comprehensive, and involves in-country assistance and advice as well as training programs in the U.S. itself. It will be noted that the budgetary support for this worldwide program has been reduced from $10 million in 1961 to about $9 million in 1962, with a corresponding amount of counterpart funds being used in the host countries. About 20% of this is used for Latin America. AID is currently considering a proposal to establish a U.S. police academy, preferably in a Caribbean location such as the Canal Zone. This would allow them to train greater numbers of Latin American police officials at a reduced cost.

It is not apparent in the memoranda, which are quite straightforward, but there is a certain amount of friction between the various Departments in the implementation of these programs. This is particularly true in areas where civil disturbance is such a major problem that normal police measures are not adequate to cope with it. It is also found in areas where the Army or some para-military agency discharges or controls the basic police function. I would suggest the advisability of sending all of these memoranda to the Secretary of State and ask that he have the relationship of these programs studied and redefine the responsibilities for such programs in countries where it may be a matter of contention.

If this suggestion meets with your approval, I will inform the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Director of CIA that you have noted their memoranda and are asking the Secretary of State to study this overall problem and clarify responsibilities for such programs in countries where it is in dispute.

Maxwell D. Taylor6
  1. Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 17, T636-71. Secret.↩
  2. The tabs were not attached to the source text. Reference is to a September 11 memorandum from Acting Secretary Gilpatric to Kennedy. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Meetings and Memoranda Series, NSAM 88)↩
  3. Document 80.↩
  4. Reference is to a memorandum of September 30 from Acting Secretary Bowles to Kennedy. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Meetings and Memoranda Series, NSAM 88) A second memorandum of that date from Bowles to Kennedy urged that more should be done in U.S. training programs for foreign military personnel to foster an appreciation of democratic values and that U.S. aid programs should place more emphasis on rural reform. (Ibid.)↩
  5. Reference is to a memorandum of September 12 from Acting Director General Charles P. Cabell to Kennedy. (Ibid.)↩
  6. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩