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

611.14/7–1450

Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Middle American Affairs (Mann) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Barber)

confidential

[Washington,] July 14, 1950.

Subject: Evaluation of our policy toward Guatemala

It has now been three and a half months since the Guatemalan government informally requested the recall of Ambassador Patterson from Guatemala. The Department at that time categorically rejected the Guatemalan charges that Ambassador Patterson had intervened in Guatemala’s internal affairs and stated that Ambassador Patterson had returned to the United States for reasons of health. In the meantime, the Department said, the Embassy would remain under the direction of a Chargé d’Affaires.

In a memorandum dated May 29, 1950, ARA outlined to Mr. Webb in some detail the state of our relations with Guatemala and set forth the policy which had been adopted to meet the situation there. In essence the objective of this policy was to reduce and destroy the influence of communists and extremists by bringing about their isolation from other political forces and by making moderate groups aware of the real harm being done to United States-Guatemalan relationships by present trends in that country.

MID has recently re-appraised our policy with respect to Guatemala and has concluded that thus far substantial progress has been made. The following specific developments have led to this conclusion:

1. On May 17 José Manuel Fortuny, leading communist in Guatemala, Manuel Pinto Usaga, communist labor leader, and nine others resigned from the farthest-left administration party, the Partido Accion Revolucionario. This group announced that it was resigning because of ideological differences with the party Directorate and that it would form a communist “Vanguardia” party. Reliable reports indicate that the disaffection resulted from the insistence of presidential candidate Col. Arbenz that the violently anti-US, pro-communist tone of campaign speeches be moderated.

2. Since that time pro-Arbenz campaign speeches have been moderate in tone and have avoided anti-US demagoguery.

3. At about the same time Victor Manuel Gutiérrez, communist leader of one of the two communist controlled labor federations, announced the formation of a new labor party which would be openly pro-marxist.

4. On June 21 there appeared the first issue of an openly communist newspaper called Octubre. The paper’s name was printed in red ink and included the red star with hammer and sickle and the slogan “For a great Communist Party, vanguard of the workers, peasants and people”. The director of the paper was José Manuel Fortuny.

5. Upon appearance of the paper, President Arévalo dismissed immediately from their positions of, respectively, Editor in Chief of the official government organ Diario de Centro America, and Chief of Propaganda of the government radio station, Alfrédo Guerra Borges and Mario Silva Jonana, both editors of the new paper Octubre. In protesting these dismissals, leaders of one of the leading labor federations further identified themselves with the communist movement.

6. One of the members of the new paper was a deputy in the National Assembly. The Assembly decided to take up the question of whether he should be removed.

7. Guatemalan position on Korean situation:
While equivocal at first,¹ Guatemala has since given evidence of support for the United Nations and the United States in the Korean situation. Ambassador Goubaud’s press statement, copy of which is attached,² denounced communism and promised Guatemala’s support for United States and United Nations measures. The Guatemalan Foreign Office announced later that it was in full agreement with Ambassador Goubaud’s statement.³ President Arévalo assured Assistant Secretary Miller in Guatemala that his government was emphatically on the side of the United States in the international situation.⁴

8. The Guatemalan Foreign Minister announced on July 3 that the Guatemalan Government viewed with favor the Rio Treaty and that it was being sent to the National Assembly with the recommendation that it be ratified. In attacking this action, labor leaders and others have again further identified themselves with the communist movement.

9. On July 5 the Supreme Court in a 3–2 decision ousted Communist José Manuel Fortuny from his position as one of three judges of the National Electoral Board. This action was attacked by communists and other leftists and had the effect of focusing public attention on this group.

These developments have been encouraging and lead to the belief that the policy the Department has been following is the correct one and should be continued. It is realized that these developments have not in any sense disposed of the problem of communist influence in Guatemala. There are still influential communists or pro-communists close to the government and in the labor movement who must be exposed and isolated from the non-communists. Progress has been made, however, and there is good reason to believe that still further progress toward this objective will be made under the present policy.

T[homas] C. M[ann]

1. In telegram 6 from Guatemala City, July 6, Mr. Wells had stated in part: “I interpret this lack publicity and failure Guatemalan Government to issue unequivocal statement on Korean situation as reluctance on part Arévalo (now confronted with critical domestic political situation) take responsibility and embarrassment of publicly adhering to opposition stand warmly supporting US in view fact extremists still supporting his government have taken consistent anti-US line on international issues.” (795.00/6–2950)
2. Ambassador Goubaud’s statement of June 28 is not printed.
3. Documents in file 795.00 for July 1950 indicate that the Foreign Office on July 8 released Ambassador Goubaud’s press statement of June 28 for distribution in Guatemala and issued the mentioned endorsement. The Embassy attributed these actions to representations it had made the previous day at the request of the Department.
4. In a memorandum of a conversation held August 14 between Ambassador Goubaud, Mr. Mann, and himself, Mr. Clark reported in part the Ambassador’s statement that President Arévalo had authorized him to offer, in the form of a note to the Department, Guatemalan bases to the United States and personnel to the UN forces. Mr. Clark stated that Mr. Mann, after expressing deep appreciation of the offer, had in part stated a written offer was unnecessary at that time and that the whole problem of assistance from Latin American countries was still under serious consideration. (714.00/8–1450)