Office of the Historian

481. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson1

Washington, May 27, 1966, 20 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Loan to Peru for COOPOP2

Last February you authorized resumption of significant concessional lending to Peru, provided President Belaunde agreed to solve, or maintain the status quo on, the International Petroleum Company (IPC) case and take effective self-help measures. You told Bill Bowdler that you did not want the loans to be authorized without your prior approval.

The first loan is now ready. It is a good loan—$2.1 million for community development programs in Indian villages. Belaunde has kept his word on IPC and is working out in a highly satisfactory manner with us and the World Bank a development program based on sound self-help measures. All interested agencies, including Treasury, have approved the loan.

I recommend that you authorize us to go ahead.

Walt

Approve3

Disapprove

See me

  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Peru, Vol. II, 1/66–10/67. Confidential. Earlier in the day Rostow received a memorandum from Read which, “in view of the President’s interest in this particular problem,” requested White House concurrence for the loan. (Ibid.)↩
  2. Cooperación Popular.↩
  3. This option is checked. A notation by Bromley Smith indicates that S/S and Bowdler were informed on May 28.↩