Office of the Historian

710 Conference W and PW/1–3145: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Colombia (Wiley)

Washington, February 3, 1945—3 p.m.

132. Reference your 157, January 31, 9 p.m.48 You may inform President López at a suitable opportunity that your Government welcomes his remarks about the desirability of adequate machinery in the inter-American system to forestall any aggression in this hemisphere.

You may say that this Government is giving the most earnest consideration to the matter of strengthening the inter-American system with this in mind and that it plans to introduce a resolution at the [Page 25] forthcoming Conference setting forth steps by which the machinery of the inter-American system might be improved. You may add that the United States will be most interested in learning more precisely what President López has in mind. While the Department cannot of course say that it will support President López’ initiative until it receives the precise text of the proposed resolution, it was favorably impressed with the thoughts outlined by Dr. Santos to President Roosevelt49 and would give a resolution embodying these thoughts most sympathetic consideration.

Grew
  1. Not printed.↩
  2. In a memorandum of January 9, 1945 (710.11/1–945), ex-President Santos expressed the fear that lend-lease armaments would lead to internal aggression and that the only remedy was mutual guarantee of borders. President Roosevelt agreed and indicated support for the proposal.↩