<--PREV Doc #1278  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #1280 Document #1279; February 1, 1955 To Carlos Enrique Castillo Armas Series: EM, AWF, International Series The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVI - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part VII: "Nothing could be worse than global war"; January 1955 to May 1955 Chapter 14: "We must show no lack of firmness"   Dear Mr. President: I am grateful for your letter of January twelfth, and for the greetings conveyed by your Ambassador, Lieutenant Colonel Jose Luis Cruz Salazar.1 Your Excellency's campaign of liberation and reconstruction has drawn the respectful attention of the people and Government of the United States. I count myself among those who deeply admire your achievements on behalf of the Guatemalan people and your determination to lead them steadily forward in freedom toward more secure peace and greater prosperity.2 I am gratified that the measures which the United States Government has taken toward assisting Guatemala to overcome the exceptional economic emergency resulting from the long duration of communist influence have met with Your Excellency's approval, and I am confident that these cooperative efforts will grow increasingly more effective.3 With my cordial wishes for the welfare and happiness of Your Excellency, your family and your people, Sincerely 1 President Castillo had sent New Year's greetings and said that Ambassador Salazar had "been entrusted to convey a special message . . . which is of utmost importance to my country" (Castillo Armas to Eisenhower, Jan. 12, 1954, AWF/I: Guatemala). Eisenhower had met with Salazar on January 31, and the ambassador thanked the President personally for the economic assistance given to Guatemala. He stressed, however, his country's continuing need for aid and advice and asked Eisenhower to send representatives to Guatemala to survey the situation (State, Foreign Relations, 1955-1957, vol. VII, American Republics: Central and South America [1987], p. 61). At the bottom of President Castillo's letter Eisenhower had written to Ann Whitman: "Mrs. W, I spoke verbally to Ambassador. Ask State whether or not I should make a written ack[nowledgment]?" 2 For background on political affairs in Guatemala see no. 965. Castillo, who was inexperienced in government, had thus far proposed a reorganization of the labor unions to weaken Communist influence and had moved toward negotiations with American companies to revise their contracts and give greater benefits to the Guatemalan government (State, Foreign Relations, 1952-1954, vol. IV, The American Republics, pp. 1225-26). 3 On September 1 the United States and Guatemala had signed a General Agreement for Technical Cooperation, and the Foreign Operations Administration had subsequently increased the amount allocated for technical assistance to Guatemala from $190,000 to $1,300,000. An additional grant of $5,000,000 under the Mutual Security Act of 1954 had been allocated in October (ibid., pp. 1225, 1228-34). On December 13 the two countries had signed a Development Assistance Agreement to provide further U.S. economic aid (U.S. Department of State Bulletin 31, no. 809 [December 27, 1954], 985). Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Carlos Enrique Castillo Armas, 1 February 1955. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 1279. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/1279.cfm <--PREV Doc #1278  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #1280

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