740.0011 European War 1939/21031
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Ecuador ( Long )
Sir: You are informed that on April 8, 1942 the Ambassador of Ecuador left at the Department a memorandum, a copy of which, in translation, is enclosed25 for your information, containing the text of a telegram which he received from the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, relative to certain military information received by the Ecuadoran authorities, on the basis of which it was urged that most serious consideration should be given to instituting effective measures for the protection of the Galápagos Archipelago and the coast of Ecuador.
The contents of the memorandum were at once brought to the attention of the War Department and the Navy Department, which were requested to state whether they had received any information of the character indicated by the Ecuadoran authorities26 and, if so, whether any measures of a defensive nature were being taken to protect the areas alleged to be menaced.
Replies, copies of which are also enclosed for your information, have now been received from both Departments,25 from which it will be observed that neither the War Department nor the Navy Department has received any specific information which would confirm the plan or reports cited in the President’s telegram and which indicate that, should an enemy attack materialize in the areas concerned, defensive measures, believed to be adequate to meet the threat, have been formulated.
You are authorized, in your discretion, to convey to the President of Ecuador, in response to the questions raised in his telegram under reference, the substance of the enclosed replies from the War Department and the Navy Department.
Very truly yours,