MID files, lot 57 D 15
The Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs ( Holland ) to the United States Representative at the United Nations ( Lodge )1
Dear Henry : I am greatly interested in your letter of March 15, 1954,2 which I have now read on my return from Caracas. The views of Pedro Estrada, Chief of the National Security of the Venezuelan Government, on the dangers of Communist activities in the Caribbean area, merit careful consideration, as was indicated by the favorable impression he made on you and the Secretary.
The question of whether the Venezuelan Accion Democratica leader, Romulo Betancourt,3 and other members of that party, are Communists is one which has been carefully studied in this Department, and although our conclusions do not agree with Estrada’s, there are undoubtedly reasons which support his case. As for the situation in Costa Rica, we do not regard Figueres as a Communist himself or that his well-known friendship with Betancourt is ground for the charge of Communist sympathies.
There is a long history of charges and defenses on both sides of this question; the available evidence has been reviewed from time to time by the Department and intelligence agencies of our Government, and in balance simply does not support the conclusion that Figueres is a Communist, or even ideologically favorable to Marxism. His program is basically nationalistic and partially socialist, but he and his party have consistently fought the Communists. The Costa Rican legislature, under leadership of the Figueres forces, outlawed the Communist Party in 1953, before Figueres was inaugurated as President. Figueres has also sought to persuade President Arbenz of Guatemala to alter his course of encouragement to the Communists in that country.
Many exiled members of the Venezuelan Accion Democratica Party are living in Costa Rica, and it is known that some of them return to Venezuela from time to time as underground agents, since their party has been outlawed since 1948; but any real alliance between the Accion Democratica and the Communist Parties as such has not been established, although there are cases of direct collaboration between individual party members.
It is my belief that, while distinctions between extreme leftist parties and the Communists are often fluid, we should exercise caution against [Page 841] judging leftist leaders such as Betancourt or Figueres as Communists. This identification is made by some Venezuelan officials, but we must recognize that from their viewpoint the Communist Party and the Accion Democratica Party are both enemies. Accion Democratica is not considered here to be an enemy of the United States.
We are studying every means of solution to the Guatemalan problem, which you saw has considerable potential dangers. The support of the rest of the hemisphere is essential to our purposes, and we believe that Costa Rica may go along with further inter-American decisions. Although Costa Rica did not attend the Caracas Conference, Figueres sent his Ambassador in Washington to call on the Secretary after the conference to assure him of Costa Rica’s support of the anti-Communist resolution. It is under this resolution that any specific steps affecting Guatemala would most probably be taken.
Your support at Caracas was invaluable. We need and count on it in facing our problems in Latin America.
Sincerely yours,