HARRY TRUMAN LIBRARY Papers of NATHANIEL DAVIS Enl EXTRACT FROM MY DIARY April 13, 1948 The members of the committee of the Diplomatic Corps designated by it to treat with Figueres (the Nuncio, the Ambassadors of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and the together with the Chilean Chargé acting as Secretary, met at my house at this a. for breakfast. During the meal, Bonilla Lara joined us to ask that whatever we arrange we try to include guarantees for the President and his family. Shortly before Colonel Lopez and another arrived to escort us. At we set out. The escort took us through the government last road block on the further side of Tres Rios to the last advance post.
From there we proceeded unaccompanied until we reached the Figures road block just the other side of the continental divide. The block consists of a huge road machine from the PRA warehouse stenciled as sold to a firm in Venezuela. delegation of Figueres officers met us and after some difficulty in opening the block they escorted us to Cartago. We had to wind around on side streets to avoid the field of fire from the cuartel. We could hear steady firing. Headquarters is in a large school building. We were escorted to a small room where we were received by Figueres and some or 10 members of his staff. ff We opened the proceedings by stating that our mission was to inquire whether some means could not be found for peace in order to spare San José the blood and destruction of an assault.
Figueres broke in with a statement that he is not interested in any political transaction; that he did not take much stock in our comment on the desirability of a constitutional transition because it is his thesis that constitutional order in Costa Rica has not existed since the elections of 1944 which hés party considers to have been fraudulent. Ne commented that whatever might be his political philosophy on that point, the fact is that the present government is recognized by all countries as the constitutional one and that any forceful overthrow would raise a question of recognition. Therefore, whatever he may think of the previous elections or the government which resulted from them, it is important for him to remember that in the eyes of the world his overthrowing it would be considered as a revolution against the constitutional government. They got the point. After considerable discussion of the situation and our assurances that we had full