Office of the Historian

66. Memorandum for the Record1

Washington, May 12-13, 1965, 11:47 p.m.–1:15 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • Meeting in the Executive Mansion at Mid-night, 12–13 May 1965

PRESENT WERE

  • The President
  • For State: Messrs. Ball, Mann, and Vaughn
  • For Defense: Secretary McNamara
  • For the White House: Mr. Bundy
  • For CIA: Messrs. Raborn and Helms
1.
The President opened this meeting, which was held in his private quarters, by reconstructing from hand-written notes a telephone conversation he had had earlier with an emissary whom he identified as Mr. C.J. Davidson2 and whom he had sent to San Juan for conversation with Juan Bosch.3
2.
According to the President, the emissary had had a most difficult day with Bosch, achieving a break-through toward the end only when he succeeded in convincing Bosch that Caamano was “unconstitutional” as head of a government in the Dominican Republic. Having [Page 154] conceded this, Bosch then nominated two followers whom he would find acceptable to become President of the Dominican Republic:
A)
Emilio Almonte Jimenez, Minister of Public Works under Caamano and a hydraulic engineer by profession.
B)
Silvestre Antonio Guzman, former Minister of Agriculture under Bosch.
3.
Further, Bosch proposed that Julio Postigo Arias have a position in the Cabinet and that Colonel Bosch went on to state that he personally would not return to the Dominican Republic and that he would not want either Caamano or Imbert connected with the proposed government. He indicated that he would like to see Balaguer in the Cabinet and that he felt Balaguer would support the nominees he had identified. Bosch was agreeable to having United States Marines remain for a period of time, provided that a substantial number were withdrawn from the present complement. (No distinction was made between Marines and United States Army personnel.) Bosch also indicated that the Dominican Republic would need $100,000,000 during the next seventeen months, at which time an election would be held according to the provisions of the Constitution.
4.
Immediately following the Presidentʼs exposition, the undersigned excused himself for the purpose of starting traces on the individuals whom Bosch had nominated. Therefore, the undersigned was not present for a period of time during which Admiral Raborn can identify the matters discussed.

(Traces and biographical material as requested were available to the White House, Department of State, and the Pentagon in time for the daily 1000 meeting in the White House on 13 May.)4

5.
After considerable discussion of the problems confronting the United States Government in working with Bosch on his proposal, the President put in a telephone call to Mr. Davidson in San Juan, permitting Messrs. McNamara, Mann, and Bundy to listen in on various extensions.5 The President asked Mr. Davidson to remain in San Juan and to have further conversation with Bosch on 13 May with respect to a more balanced Cabinet, and particularly to try to work out a more precise statement as to how the proposed government would deal with Communists and Trujilloistas. (On 13 May, the White House received a dictated statement from Mr. Davidson on this last point.)6
6.
The meeting adjourned with the understanding that further moves would be made on the morning of 13 May when traces on the men proposed by Betancourt would be available.
Richard Helms 7
Deputy Director
  1. Source: Central Intelligence Agency, DCI (Helms) Files, Job 80–B01285A, Chron as DDCI and DCI, Folder 13, January 1–December 31, 1965. Secret. Drafted by Helms on May 13. The meeting was held on the second floor of the Executive Mansion. The time and place of the meeting are from the Presidentʼs Daily Diary. (Johnson Library)↩
  2. A pseudonym Abe Fortas used on a secret mission to Puerto Rico to meet with former Dominican Republic President Juan Bosch. Fortas departed Washington the morning of May 12 and returned the afternoon of May 16.↩
  3. From Puerto Rico Fortas placed a telephone call to President Johnson at 10:50 p.m., May 12. (Johnson Library, Recordings and Transcripts, Recording of telephone conversation between President Johnson and Abe Fortas, Tape F65.23, Side B, PNO 1)↩
  4. Not further identified.↩
  5. No record of this conversation has been found.↩
  6. See attachment 3 to Document 67.↩
  7. Printed from a copy that indicates Helms signed the original.↩