Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, The American Republics, Volume VI

816.24/710

Memorandum by the Acting Liaison Officer With the War and Navy Departments (Key) to Rear Admiral W. O. Spears, Director, Pan American Division, Office of Naval Intelligence, Navy Department

[Washington,] August 16, 1943.

In compliance with the request contained in your memorandum of July 14, 1943¹⁰ there are returned herewith the original letters from the Navy Department’s files pertaining to a request of the Government of El Salvador for sub-machine guns.

The Department has given careful consideration to the factors underlying this request and has come to the conclusion that it would be undesirable to furnish any of these sub-machine guns to the Government of El Salvador.

The Department’s position is in part based on an emphatic recommendation by General Brett against compliance with the Salvadoran request.

In these circumstances, it [is] the earnest hope of this Department that the Navy Department will not accede to the request made by Major Baroń in his letter of June 8, 1943 addressed to Vice Admiral Waesche.¹¹

David McK. Key

10. Not printed.
11. Letter to Vice Adm. Russel R. Waesche, Coast Guard, not found in Department files.