Office of the Historian

188. Letter From President Carter to Former Chilean President Frei1

Washington, March 2, 1977
Dear Mr. President:

I want to express to you my personal regret for any embarrassment that the press reports, alleging that you have received payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, may have caused you or the people of Chile.2 As you know, I have no control over the news media in our country, and I cannot prevent groundless assertions. I do want you to know, however, of my high personal esteem for you and for the people of Chile, and I trust that these malicious stories will not cast a shadow over our traditional friendship.

With best wishes,

Sincerely,

Jimmy Carter
  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South, Pastor, Country Files, Box 9, Chile, 2-8/77. No classification marking.↩
  2. David Binder, “More Heads of State Are Reported To Have Received C.I.A. Payments,” New York Times, February 19, 1977, p. 9. In a March 1 covering memorandum to Carter, attached but not printed, Brzezinski noted that the letter to Frei “is deliberately a little vaguer” than two other letters regarding similar allegations, because “there was some cooperation with Frei in the past.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South, Pastor, Country Files, Box 9, Chile, 2-8/77)↩