336. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom) to the Ambassador in the Dominican Republic (Farland)1

Dear Joe: Thank you for your letter of November 15, 19572 concerning Generalissimo Trujillo’s assurances that the Dominican Republic would cooperate fully with us in our missile program. We are pleased to have these assurances.

Early in November when Fran Spalding visited the Department briefly, we received the impression from conversations with him that there is little activity at the Guided Missile Tracking Station in the Dominican Republic and that this lack of activity could give rise to the impression that that facility is virtually in mothballs. We have checked on this with the Pentagon which has informed us that the Air Force is very interested in the tracking station in the Dominican Republic and that it is a major link in the series of some 10 such stations. This is for your background information.

Sincerely yours,

R.R. Rubottom, Jr.3
  1. Source: Department of State, Rubottom Files: Lot 59 D 573, Dominican Republic. Secret; Official–Informal. Joseph S. Farland was appointed Ambassador to the Dominican Republic on May 20 and presented his credentials August 7.
  2. Not printed. (Ibid.)
  3. Printed from a copy which bears this typed signature.