465. Memorandum From the Secretary of State to the President1
SUBJECT
- Recognition of the new Government of Colombia
Colombia has undergone a revolutionary change of government. On May 10 General Rojas Pinilla resigned as President and designated a five-man military junta to govern. The change resulted from general dissatisfaction with the dictatorial nature of the Rojas government. The new regime, welcomed by the people, has given evidence of being firmly in control and has expressed its intention of complying with all its international obligations. Furthermore, it has announced that it will form a government of national unity permitting free elections for President for the four-year term which, according to the Constitution, begins August 7, 1958.
I recommend that you authorize me to take the necessary steps to extend prompt recognition to the Military Junta as the provisional Government of Colombia.2
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 721.02/5–1757. Confidential.↩
- A handwritten note by Eisenhower on the source text reads: “17 May ’57 approved DE.” In a letter dated May 17, Robert Murphy, writing for the Secretary of State, informed Ambassador Urrutia that the U.S. Government recognized the junta as the provisional government of Colombia. (Ibid., 721.02/5–1157)↩