810.74/592
The Chilean Minister for Foreign Affairs (Barros Jarpa) to the American Ambassador in Chile (Bowers)97
Mr. Ambassador: Upon reviewing the correspondence exchanged with Your Excellency regarding the matter of telecommunications in cipher between Axis countries and their diplomatic missions in Santiago, I notice that your Note No. 1353 dated September 5th and your personal letter of the 25th of the same month98 have not been answered. Although Your Excellency was informed verbally of the developments in the matter, and was in accord that my answer to said communications could be deferred, I believe that the moment has arrived to inform you about the present state of the problem.
The decision of the 9th instant of the Board of Directors of the Chilean Transradio Company, Ltd. not to transmit more code messages to non-American countries, evoked immediate protests of the German and Italian Embassies, and the Japanese Legation, to which I answered stating that, in order to adopt the appropriate solutions, reports had been requested from the Directorates General of Electrical Services and Mail and Telegraphs, and the consultative legal bodies. As such reports will have to be the object of careful consideration by the competent authorities, and in the meantime the Axis Missions are deprived of communicating in code with their Governments, we have instructed our diplomatic agents in those countries to also refrain from sending their messages in code to this Ministry.
Due to the existing situation, they have renewed their protests to which I have replied that my Government must await the reports requested from the competent authorities. Such is the present state of the affair.
I avail myself [etc.]