Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The United Nations; The Western Hemisphere, Volume II

714.00/4–150

The Chargé in Guatemala ( Wells ) to Mr. Edward W. Clark of the Office of Middle American Affairs

personal   confidential

Guatemala [City], April 1, 1950.

Dear Ed: There follow a number of items of interest, omitted or not covered in full by my official communications, that may help you fill out the complete story:

1. When I called upon the Subsecretary¹ Monday² morning he still alleged complete ignorance; said all he had been able to ascertain since our visit of Saturday evening was that only the Foreign Minister knew the whole story, had handled personally the instructions to Goubaud.³ The latter, he added, must have given the whole story to the Department. It was so unfortunate the Foreign Minister was in the States!

2. With this failure to obtain any satisfaction from the Foreign Office, the Ambassador asked me to request an urgent interview with President Arevalo for him. The request was made at 2:30 p. m. Monday. We heard nothing until a few minutes after the Ambassador’s departure Tuesday at 11 a. m., when Protocol telephoned the information the President was “out of town”.

3. Charlie Salino visited the Ambassador excitedly Sunday evening” to tell him he had heard rumors that the Ambassador’s life had been threatened. The Ambassador denied knowledge, saying his confinement to the residence was due solely to dysentery. Only two other stalwarts of the colony have mentioned the matter to me; but the Colombian Minister called yesterday and gave me a rough time denying there was anything to the Habana AP story that the Ambassador’s departure was due to a threat.

4. Arbenz took a reasonable attitude in my conversation with him Wednesday night (See despatch 395 of March 31)⁴ but said, in so many words, that “where there is smoke, there may be fire”, and that some of the remarks attributed to the Ambassador made him think there were pardonable grounds for the PAR-CAP tirade.⁵

5. A controlled American source comes in with a last minute flash. He heard a report that the labor boys are beginning to worry about the real depth of Arbenz’ affections, and are watching him like a hawk!

6. The students’ parade went off yesterday without incident. They were well prepared for trouble; each and everyone carrying a club or iron pipe, and more students employed as guards than in the allegoric floats. Rumors were that families and friends of the students lined the parade route well armed for possible trouble. The Government and Arbenz took a severe beating; and a float depicting the assassination of Arana,⁶ which labeled “Arbejas, Martinez, Morazan and Bracamonte” as the constructors of the crime got a big applause from the crowds. May hurt Arbenz’ candidacy. Will follow up with a despatch on this subject.

7. Time magazine correspondent Forbis told Salino, who ran to me, that in an interview with Pinto Usaga,⁷ the latter said they were fed-up with P. and wouldn’t stand for him any longer.

8. El Imparcial reporter Ribas Montes told me Pinto Usaga had promised to give the press “seven pages” of evidence to back up his charges against the Ambassador; that if the alleged evidence amounts to more than the generalities of the CAP published bulletin, he would bring me a copy.

9. I enclose clippings of the editorials and articles summarized in my telegram no. 125⁸ of today’s date.

With cordial regards,

Sincerely,

Milton K. Wells

1. Alfredo Chocano Becerra.
2. March 27.
3. In telegram 111 from Guatemala City, March 27, Ambassador Patterson in part had reported that Minister Ismael Gonzalez Arévalo had left for the United States “unannounced” on March 25. (714.00/3–2550) The Department stated in telegram 78 to Guatemala City, March 28, that it had been informed by the Guatemalan Embassy on the 27th that the Minister had arrived in Washington on an “‘extra official’” visit of a few days. “Purpose his presence here not yet known.” (714.13/3–2850)
4. Supra.
5. Discussion of the unfavorable publicity given Ambassador Patterson in Guatemala is included in the excerpts from the Department’s press conference of April 6, p. 877.
6. For information concerning the assassination (on July 18, 1949) of Col. Francisco Javier Arana, see Foreign Relations, 1949, vol. ii, pp. 655 and 664.
7. A leading figure in Guatemalan trade unionism.
8. None printed.