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The Myth of a Central American Dictators' League

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Kenneth J. Grieb
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Extract

A series of military dictators came to power in the four nothern republics of Central America during the Great Depression of the 1930s and perpetuated themselves in office through continuismo tactics until roughly the conclusion of the Second World War: General Jorge Ubico, the first and strongest of these caudillos, ruled Guatemala from 1931 to 1944; General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez governed El Salvador from December 1931 to 1944; General Tiburcio Carías Andino dominated Honduras from 1933 to 1946; and General Anastasio Somoza García controlled Nicaragua from 1936 to 1956.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , November 1978 , pp. 329 - 345
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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References

1 It should be noted, however, that reports of the Dictators' League exhibited considerable variance, and while some included Somoza, others described it as a triumvirate encompassing only Ubico, Martínez, and Carías. This study considers relations among all four dictators. For an examination of the continuismo campaign in Guatemala, see Grieb, Kenneth J., ‘The United States and General Jorge Ubico's Retention of Power’, Revista de Historia de América, 71 (01 to 06 1971), pp. 119–35.Google Scholar

2 The basic factors in Ubico's pro-Americanism are also discussed in Grieb, Kenneth J., ‘American Involvement in the Rise of Jorge Ubico’, Caribbean Studies, 10, No. I (04 1970), pp. 5, 1720.Google Scholar

3 Gerald Drew (United States Chargé in Guatemala) to Cordell Hull (Secretary of State), 9 Nov. 1936, United States State Department Papers, National Archives, Washington, D.C., RG 59, 701.5214/10, and for the press account, Washington Post, II Nov. 1936. Hereinafter State Department Documents are cited by number only.

4 Division of Inter—American Affairs Memo., Sidney E. O'Donoghue to R. Walton Moore (Assistant Secretary of State) 16 Nov. 1936, 16.00/1000 regarding the Salvadoran action and, for the Nicaraguan step, Boaz Long (United States Minister in Managua) to Hull, 9 Jan. 1937, 702.1752/10. On 2 March 1939 the New York Times published a tabulation of nations that had recognized the Franco Government and those that had not, but this is the only press reference found that indicated the Honduran action, and articles dealing with the so-called Dictators' League consistently failed to note this policy difference among its supposed members.

5 El Imparcial, 17 07 1937. A Guatemalan envoy to the Franco Government was dispatched later the same year, New York Times, II Dec. 1937.

6 For the official notice of Guatemalan withdrawal, Lic. José González Campo (Acting Minister of Foreign Relations) to the Secretary General of the League of Nations, 14 May 1936, Papers of the Ministry of Ralaciones Exteriores, Archivo General de Centroamérica, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 1938, Cl. 340-L. For the Costa Rican action, Diario Latino (San Salvador), 27 July 1937. Hereinafter records from the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry are cited as AGCA/RE and the number.

7 All newspapers in the Guatemalan capital followed the Spanish civil war intensely, invariably headlining its action daily. This focus on Spain was reflected in El Imparcial, El Liberal Progresista, and Nuestro Diario throughout the period. The Salvadoran uprising, which was unquestionably communist—inspired and very serious, served to alarm all of Central America, and made the communist threat much more real to these governments than to other regimes in Latin America. The revolt is examined in Anderson, Thomas P., Matanza: El Salvador's Communist Revolt of 1932 (Lincoln, Nebraska, 1971).Google Scholar

8 Lic. Guillermo Sáenz de Tejada, Minister of Gobernación in the Ubico Government, to author in a personal interview, Guatemala City, 15 July 1969, and Lic. José González Campo, Minister of Hacienda in the Ubico Government, in a personal interview with the author, Guatemala City, 17 July 1969. The quote, which comes directly from Ubico, was used by Lic. Sáenz de Tejada, but both ministers presented similar accounts of Ubico's view of the European leaders, indicating his friendship for Franco, a benevolent attitude toward Benito Mussolini, and contempt for Hitler. Both ministers stressed Ubico's preference for military officers and the role this played in his attitude toward Franco. Lic. Ernesto Rivas, Private Secretary to President Ubico, also presented a similar account of Ubico's views in an interview with the author, Guatemala City, 23 August 1969.

9 The official government press release explaining the financial factors appeared in El Imparcial, 15 May 1936, and the New York Times, 17 May 1936. The Guatemalan Minister to Spain and the League of Nations, Virgilio Rodríguez Beteta, had previously issued a similar statement, 16 May 1938, AGCA/RE, Cl. 342-L, which was printed in the Panama American, 18 May 1936. The New York Times placed the article on page 36, where its location and small size ensured that it would not attract sufficient attention to counter the Times' previous charges that the Guatemalan action reflected friendship with the Fascist states, and particularly Italy. The Times printed several articles speculating on these factors on 16 May 1936.

10 The Washington Post quoted ‘official League sources’ as fearing that the Guatemalan action presaged a ‘stampede’ of withdrawals, and charging that it was based on Italian commerical pressure (16 May 1936) while the New York Times cited Italian propaganda statements, which were quick to seize upon the Guatemalan withdrawal and hail it as indicating solidarity with the Italian action, on 16 May 1936.

11 The New York Times of 16 May 1936 even contended that the Guatemalan action could be coupled with the recent Salvadoran recognition of the Japanese conquest of Manchukuo, to indicate that the entire isthmus was going Fascist, overlooking the fact that Guatemala had withheld recognition of Manchukuo.

12 Articles alleging support for Cedillo appeared in La Tribuna (San José), II April 1937, El Universal Gráfica (Mexico City), 22 April 1937, and La Prensa (Mexico City), 16, 17, 19, 20 May 1937.

13 There were numerous such reports in several of the papers in San José and Mexico City during both periods. For examples, see La Tribuna (San José), II April 1937, and El Universal Gráfica (Mexico City), 22 April 1937. The La Prensa series appeared on 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21 May 1938. The article of 21 May cites the Guatemalan exiles. Articles also appeared in such publications as El Machete (Mexico City), 5 February 1938, and Mediodia (a weekly published in Mexico City), 9 May 1938. Mexican Minister of Foreign Relations, Eduardo Hay issued a formal statement denying the accusations, noting that the Mexican Government had investigated charges of Guatemalan assistance to Mexican revolutionaries, which constituted part of the reports, and found them baseless. His statement appeared in Novedades (Mexico City), 28 May 1938.

14 Fay Allen Des Portes (United States Minister in Guatemala City) to Hull, 29 July 1937, 712.14/112.

15 New York Times, 20 July 1937. Kluckhohn claimed that his story was based on an interview with President Carías of Honduras, but Carías denied the declarations Kluckhohn quoted, El Cronista (Tegucigalpa), 17 Aug. 1937.

16 Regarding the 1934 article, which again originated in Mexico and Costa Rica via exile sources, see El Universal Gráfica (Mexico City), and Diario de Costa Rica (San José), both 26 Sept. 1934. The Kluckhohn articles are New York Times, 26 Sept. 1934, and 25 Sept. 1936.

17 New York Times, 14 Nov. 1937.

18 New York Times, 7 January 1938. The exchanges are Carlos Salazar (Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Relations) to Walter S. McKinney (United States Chargé in Guatemala City), and Salazar to Adrian Recinos (Guatemalan Minister in Washington), 12 Jan. 1938, AGCA/RE, Cl. 795; McKinney to Hull, 12 Jan. 1938, 814.00 Revolutions/94 Unsigned Latin American Division Memoranda dated 14 and 24 Jan. 1938, Sumner Welles (Undersecretary of State) to Arthur Hays Sulzberger (Publisher, New York Times), 25 Jan. 1938, all 814.00 Revolutions/95, and Sulzberger to Welles, 8 Feb. 1938 814.00 Revolutions/97. For the retraction see New York Times, II Feb. 1938.

19 Newsweek, 7 Aug. 1937.

20 Ken, 21 April 1938, pp. 15–16.

21 Salazar to Octavio Barrios Solís (Guatemalan Consul General in Chicago), 27 April 1938. Solís retained McCullough, McCullough and McLaren, but the attorneys found no grounds for a suit under United States law, Solís to Salazar, 3 May 1938, and Frank McCullough to Solís, 5 May 1938, AGCA/RE, Cl. 794. Further action became unnecessary when the magazine was barred from the United States mails by Postmaster General James A. Farley, in a totally unrelated matter, for printing an allegedly ‘obscene’ story, Chicago Daily News, 4 May 1938.

22 Panama American, 8, 9, 10 April 1939, Liberty, 21 Sept. 1940, an article entitled ‘Swastika over Guatemala’, and New York Times, 4 July 1940.

23 Guy Ray (United States Chargé in Managua) to Hull, 26 and 28 Nov. 1936, 810.00B/112 and /107.

24 Francisco E. Toledo (Guatemalan Minister in San Salvador) to Salazar, 28 April 1937, AGCA/RE, Cl. 549.

25 The non-recognition controversy is examined in Grieb, Kenneth J., ‘The United States and the Rise of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez’, Journal of Latin American Studies, 3, No. 2 (11 1971), 151–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

26 See Grieb, ‘American Involvement in the Rise of Jorge Ubico’, Caribbean Studies (April 1970), pp. 8–10, and 1415.

27 Sheldon Whitehouse (United States Minister in Guatemala City) to Henry L. Stimson (Secretary of State), reporting Ubico's statement, 3 March 1932, 816.11 Martinez, Max/5.

28 Editorials in Nuestro Diario, and 10 Feb. and 29 April 1932.

29 Whitehouse to Stimson, reporting the remarks of Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Relations, Alfredo Skinner Klée, 27 April 1932, 816.01/169. The quote is from Skinner Klée. The Guatemalan Foreign Minister later told United States Chargé George K. Donald that ‘Martínez has put something over on the United States’, unless stronger action were taken, Donald to Stimson, 18 June 1932, 816.01/202. For further discussion of Ubico's desire to intervene, see Grieb, ‘The United States and the Rise of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez’, Journal of Latin American Studies, loc. cit., p. 167.

30 Julius G. Lay (United States Minister in Tegucigalpa) to Stimson and Whitehouse, 5 May 1932, United States State Department Papers, National Archives, Washington, D.C., RG 84, Post Records, Legation in Guatemala City, 1932, Cl. 800, and William J. McCafferty (United States Chargé in San Salvador) to Stimson, 20 June 1932, 816.00 General Conditions /32. Hereinafter items from the Post Records are cited as PR Guatemala.

31 The articles appeared in El Cronista (Tegucigalpa) throughout June 1932 and were also the subject to a report by Lawrence Higgins (United States Chargé in Tegucigalpa) to Stimson, 28 June 1932, 854.001 Ubico, Jorge/26.

32 Whitehouse to Stimson, reporting a conversation with Ubico, 7 Oct. 1932, 815.00/4539; Stimson to Whitehouse, 27 Oct. 1932, 815.00/4539, and Whitehouse to Stimson, 31 Oct. 1932, 814.00 General Conditions/59.

33 Matthew Elting Hanna (United States Minister in Managua) to Stimson, 30 Nov. 1932, 815.00/4563. An editorial in Nuestro Diario, 15 Nov. 1932, condemning the rebels in Honduras, publicly indicated the Guatemalan stand.

34 Lay to Stimson, 16, 17 and 19 Nov. 1932, 815.00 Revolutions/345, /346, and /352, and McCafferty to Stimson, 23 Nov. 1932, 815.00 Revolutions/362.

35 Rafael Ordoñez Solís (Guatemalan Minister in Tegucigalpa) to Skinner Klée, II June 1932, AGCA/RE, 1932, Memorandum of Conversation between George K. Donald (United States Chargé in Guatemala) and Juan Pinillos (Guatemalan Confidential Agent in San Salvador home to consult his government), 5 July 1932, PR Guatemala, Cl. 800; Donald to Stimson, 31 July 1932, 814.00 General Conditions/56, and Conversation Memorandum, Edward P. Lawton (Third Secretary of the United States Legation in Guatemala) with Lic. Eduardo. Giró(Guatemalan Undersecretary of Foreign Relations), 6 Sept. 1932, PR Guatemala, Cl. 800.

36 The full report of the mission is in Antonio Nájera Cabrera (Private Secretary to President Ubico) to Skinner Klée, Feb. 1933, AGCA/RE, B 99/28/II.

37 See, for example, New York Times, 28 June 1932; McCafferty to Stimson, 5 Sept. 1932, 714.16/50 and Donald to Stimson, 8 Sept. 1932, 714.16/51.

38 For the announcement of the Costa Rican denunciation of the treaty, Charles C. Eberhardt (United States Minister in San José) to Stimson, 14 Dec. 1932, 713.1311/142. According to the treaty stipulations, one year's notice was required for denunciation, and consequently the Costa Rican action took effect in January 1934, at which time CostaRica extended recognition to the Martínez regime. El Salvador followed Costa Rica's lead and also denounced the treaty, McCafferty to Stimson, 27 Dec. 1932, 713.II/144.

39 William Phillips (Under Secretary of State) to Arthur Bliss Lane (United States Minister in Managua), 8 January 1934, 816.01/349, and Lane to Hull, 10 Jan. 1934, 816.01/356, II Jan., 713.1311/195, 13 Jan., 816.01/355, and 13 Jan., 816.01/356. See also Grieb, ‘The United States and the Rise of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez’, loc. cit., pp. 369–70.

40 It proved necessary to reveal the Department's role to Ubico in order to persuade him to consider the proposal for a new Conference: Phillips to Whitehouse, 12 Jan. 1934, 816.01/355, 15 Jan., 816.01/355, and Whitehouse to Hull, 15 Jan. 1934, 816.01/360.

41 Skinner Kléeo Lic. Alfonso Carrillo (Guatemalan Minister in San José), 15 Aug. 1935, AGCA/RE, B 99/23/I.

42 Such statements appear recurrently throughout the Guatemalan Foreign Office correspondence, and the public statements of its officials, and of President Ubico. See, for example, a compilation of ‘Information About Guatemala’, designed for release to the press during 1935 to explain Guatemalan progress and objectives, AGCA/RE, 1939, Cl. 751.

43 Lic. Eduardo Girón (Guatemalan Minister in San Salvador) to Skinner Klée, 9 Feb. 1935, and Skinner Klée to Girón, 12 Feb. 1935, AGCA/RE, B 99/28/II.

44 Frank P. Corrígan (United States Minister in San Salvador) to Hull, 30 Sept. 1935, 814.00/1264, and Sidney E. O'Donoghue (United States Chargé in Guatemala) to Hull, I Oct. 1935, 814.00/1264, both commenting on the cordiality of Martínez's letter, and for the incidents with the Guatemalan exiles and the glowing statements regarding friendship between the regimes, Girón to Skinner Klée, 5 June 1935, AGCA/RE, 99/30/4, and 13 June 1935, AGCA/RE, B 99/3/9; Skinner Klée to Miguel Angel Araujo (Minister of Foreign Relations of El Salvador), 18 June 1935, AGCA/RE, B 99/34/9, and Araujo Co Girón, 8 Aug. 1935, AGCA/RE, B 99/30/4.

45 Corrigan to Hull, 15 Jan. 1936, 816.00/997.

46 Reports of Carías appeals to Ubico for support and Ubico's reservations about Carías' strength came from Julius G. Lay (United States Minister in Tegucigalpa) to Hull, 7 March 1935, 815.00/4612, Raleigh A. Gibson (United States Chargé in Tegucigalpa) to Hull, 2 May 1935, 815.00/6414, and Leo J. Keena (United States Minister in Tegucigalpa) to Hull, 15 Nov. 1935, 815.00/4640. The Guatemalan Chargé in Tegucigalpa also expressed doubt about Carías' strength, Mauricio Rosal to Skinner Klée, 2 Sept. 1935, AGCA/RE, B 99/23/I.

47 The United States Minister in Tegucigalpa noted that Salvadoran-Honduran relations were strained ‘because of the close relationship between Honduras and Guatemala, and President Martinez’ rather unfriendly attitude toward General Ubico’, Keena to Hull, 15 Nov. 1935, 815.00/4640. The Minister in San Salvador reported that members of the Salvadoran Foreign Office indicated that their stance in relation to Honduras was governed by their fear of Guatemala; Corrigan to Hull, 5 Sept. 1936, 815.00 Revolutions/537. A Legation report from Tegucigalpa noted that the Salvadoran Government ‘would change its attitude’ of friendship for Carías ‘the moment that it feels the opposition is strong enough to offer effective armed resistance’; Keena to Hull, 7 Feb. 1936, 815.00/4671. Zúñiga Hueste was in Salvador during much of the manocuvering, Keena to Hull, 17 Aug. 1936, 815.00/4713.

48 Keena to Hull, 24 April 1937, 815.00/4730.

49 Corrigan to Hull, 5 Sept. 1936, 815.00 Revolutions/537.

50 Fay Allen Des Portes (United States Minister in Guatemala) to Hull, 5 Aug. 1937, 815.00/4736, and 19 Aug. 1937, 815.00/4741, reporting the incident and noting that rumors indicated that General Umaña was shot on Ubico's orders. For press accounts, see Panama American, 10 Aug. 1937.

51 Reports of Nicaraguan factions seeking aid came from Guatemala. Hanna to Hull, 22 Jan. 1935, 817.00/8180, Memorandum by O'Donoghue, Oct. 1935, PR Guatemala, 1935, Cl. 800, O'Donoghue to Hull 16 Oct. 1935, PR Guatemala, 1935, Cl. 800, and Hanna to Hull, 9 Dec. 1935, 817.00/8345; Tegucigalpa, Gibson to Hull, 2 June 1936, 817.00/8489, and Conversation Memorandum, Willard L. Beaulac (Latin American Division) and Julio Lozano (Honduran Minister in Washington), I June 1936, 817.00/8506; and San Salvador, Corrigan to Hull, 4 June 1936, 817.00/8490.

52 Ubico's preference for military men was emphasized by two of his cabinet ministesrs in interviews with the author, Lie. Guillermo Sáenz de Tejada, Minister of Gobernación, 15 July 1969, and Lic. José González Campo, Minister of Hacienda, 17 July 1969.

53 Reports of Salvadoran opposition to Somoza and to ‘mediation’ proposals, came from Boaz Long (United States Minister in Guatemala) reporting a conversation with the Salvadoran Minister in Guatemala, 8 May 1936, 817.00/8405, Corrigan to Hull, 14 May 1936, 817.00 /8416, and Corrigan to Hull, reporting a conversation with Martínez, and quoting the Salvadoran President as stating that Somoza would never come to the Presidency by proper methods and hinting at the prospect of a revolt, 19 Aug. 1935, 815.00/4621.

54 Nuestro Diario, 25 Nov. 1935.

55 For the trade treaty, El Imparcial, 15 Dec. 1937, and 25 May 1938; forthe Tourist Cards, El Diario de Occidente (Santa Ana, El Salvador), 6 and 12 Jan. and 6 June 1938;and regarding the bridge, El Imparcial, 77 Sept. 1937.

56 The Nicaraguan President's visits in all of the Central American capitals engendered considerable press coverage in each nation, and can be followed in all the papers of each country.

57 For details see Grieb, Kenneth J., ‘Jorge Ubico and the Belice Boundary Dispute’, The Americas 30, No. 4 (04 1974), pp. 448–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

58 Stettinius, Edward R. Jr, (Secretary of State) to John S. Erwin (United States Ambassador in Tegucigalpa), 17 Nov. 1944, 813.00/111744, Erwin to Stettinius, 17 Nov. 813.00/II–1744.Google Scholar

59 Stettinius to Erwin, 15 Dec. 1944, 816.00/121544, and Erwin to Stettinius, 15 Dec. 1944, 816.00/121544.