[Enclosure]
Memorandum Report of a Conference Held
Monday, June 17, 1940, at the Presidential Office,
Ciudad Trujillo
|
Present: |
|
President Troncoso of the
Dominican Republic. |
|
Brigadier-General Hector
Trujillo, M. M., representing the Dominican
Army; |
|
Mr. Eugene M. Hinkle, Chargé
d’Affaires, of the United States of America; |
[Page 102]
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Colonel P. A. del Valle, U.
S. Marine Corps, representing the United States
Navy; and, |
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Lieutenant-Colonel Norman
Randolph, U. S. Army, representing the United States
Army. |
The conference began about 5:00 p.m.
The American Chargé d’Affaires made an introduction of the
subject and of the members of the Mission. Colonel del Valle
as spokesman for the Mission set forth each of the points
which the Mission had instructions to discuss beginning with
the three main points, namely:
First
Preparation of the Dominican Republic for defense against
attack.
Second
Assistance to the United States in case that government was
obliged to undertake military operations in connection with
hemisphere defense.
Third
Assistance required by the Dominican Republic for its defense
against foreign aggression.
President Troncoso then was allowed time in which to
formulate his reply in general to these questions.
President Troncoso replied that the state of their defense
was known to us and that their military capacity was just
sufficient for maintaining order; that they were willing to
do anything in general to assist our operations as publicly
stated by former President Trujillo, and that the details of
these questions and of the question of the assistance
required by the Republic from the United States for its
defense would have to be worked out at a military conference
later.
Colonel del Valle then continued with the remainder of the
questions and they were all agreed to without demur by both
the President and the Chief of Staff. It was fully agreed
that at a later date staff conferences would be authorized
between representatives of the United States Army and Navy
and the military and naval representatives of the Dominican
Republic for the purpose of formulating plans of mutual
defense in case of foreign aggression.
The questions of the construction by our government of an air
field at the expense of the United States with the proviso
that we were to have the use of it in proceeding to and from
our Puerto Rico bases, and in proceeding to the assistance
of another Latin American Republic [Page 103] which was in danger were
brought out and were accepted in principle including the
proviso that defense and security measures would be jointly
taken by both governments. Sovereignty would remain with the
Dominican Government. Details of these measures were also to
be discussed in the staff conferences.
President Troncoso assured us that the Generalissimo was in
full accord with their acceptance of our proposals and that
he had expressed a desire to have a conference with the
members of the Mission as soon as the state of his health
permitted.
The American Chargé d’Affaires assured the President that the
officers of the Mission would remain here at his disposal
awaiting the call to make the visit to the
Generalissimo.
During the conference the President showed Mr. Hinkle a copy
of a telegram his government had just received from the
Dominican Minister in Haiti reporting that the Haitan
government had been approached by us for the establishment
of air bases in that country. The President seemed put out
by the fact that this information should have been passed on
presumably by the Haitians to his Minister.
The conference was terminated at about 7:00 p.m.
Eugene M. Hinkle
Chargé d’Affaires, of the United States of
America
P. A. del
valle
Colonel,
U. S. Marine Corps
Norman Randolph
Lieutenant-Colonel, U. S. Army
