91LOLITTLE HARRY TRUMAN LIBRARY Papers of NATHANIEL DAVIS knoo90. December 13, 1948.
Read incoming pouch mail, mostly printed matter, all morning. No news of the present situation. Sent off a on cable to that effect. Went to the airport to say goodbye to Colonel Messinger and family. Picked up no news except the first report of a little shooting affray at Guấpiles. From that and later information, concluded it was a purely local affair. Had a look at the Costa Rican air force being tuned up by the Taca mechanics.
During the afternoon the Foreign Offic called to the President wanted to receive the corps in his office at six thirty. made a date to see the Minister at five. He showed me Ambassador Esquivel cabled report on yesterday session of the Organization of American States. asked what was meant by the statement that Esquivel had told the press that Costa Rica would denounce the Rio Treaty if the Foreign Ministers Council was not summoned. He said that was the first he had heard of it. Esquivel probably said that on his own initiative. On the other hand, he might have consulted Figueres by phone, but Figueres is not a lawyer and does not always see the signif Lcanced rage ology. said thought such a step would be premature. precipitous, and damaging to Costa Rica position. She now enjoys the sympathy of most of the American States. If she flies off the handle and denounces the Treaty just because the COAS does not follow the particular line she proposes, she will risk losing that sympathy. The important thing is to get a settlement of the present difficulties, and the particular means adopted are unimportant. He said he would speak to the President.
At 6:30 went to the Presidencia. Some of the colleagues were late and we did not go into session until The Chief of Protocol was there and had. arranged the chairs in strict order of precedence, each with a name card on it. That put me right up front where could hear clearly. After the President had welcomed us, Odio got up and, in a well phrased and well delivered address, reviewed Costa Rican Nicaraguan relations since the formation of the Junta. He admitted that hss government had been at fault in the machine gunning of the Nicaraguan Legátion last spring and in the beating of Rios, and said as already knew, that his government had expressed regrets and deported several of the supposedly implicated. As to the Caribbean Legion he said that, as in all civil wars, a number of foreigners had come to Costa Rica to fight for the rebels. When the war was over the government had sequestered their arms and had been trying, with partial success, to find homes for them in other countries.