816.00/1236: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in El Salvador (Thurston)
94. The question raised by you in your no. 106 of April 4, 3 p.m.16 is obviously an internal matter in which the Department would not ordinarily authorize you to intercede. However, the fact that you turned three of the revolutionary leaders over to the Government in accordance with this Government’s established policy of not granting asylum, will inevitably be borne in mind by public opinion in the United States and in other American Republics in connection with the eventual fate of these men. Furthermore, the manner in which the captured revolutionists are treated in general will undoubtedly have an effect on public opinion in the United States. Severe or inhuman reprisals would seriously injure the standing of the Salvadoran Government with our press and public opinion.
You are authorized to bring these considerations discreetly to the attention of the Salvadoran Government without, of course, making any official representations or acting in any other way except in your capacity as a friend of the authorities.
- Not printed; this telegram touched on the Calvo incident and raised the question of how the Embassy should act if it were asked to interpose on humanitarian grounds to reduce retaliatory and punitive action by the Martínez regime (816.00/1236).↩