$7,200 at Guardia's order for maintenance of 200 auxiliaries from Leon and Chinandega to operate under Guardia command. Martial law has been declared in Leon and Chinandega. BEAULAC 817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/301: Telegram The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Honduras (Higgins) WASHINGTON, November 27, 1931-4 p. m. 83. The bandit situation in Nicaragua has recently become aggravated. On November 22 a group of bandits looted the town of Chichigalpa, on the railway near Chinandega, and other groups have been reported in the departments of León and Chinandega. President Moncada has advised the Department that he is convinced that the bandits are being furnished men, ammunition and supplies from the Honduran border. The Legation at Managua states that it is insistently reported there that arms used in the recent Ferrera revolt in Honduras have reached Gregorio Colindres, who apparently led the bandit group that took Chichigalpa, and that Toribio Tijerino, Nicaraguan deportee now resident in Honduras, is responsible for furnishing them. You will please see the President of Honduras and point out to him the seriousness of a situation like this, in which it is charged that the responsibility of Honduras is involved. Please refer to the report of Major Fassett 28 transmitted with your despatch No. 334 of November 6,29 and point out that the Honduran Government is in possession of information on which it can and should take action to prevent these marauding expeditions from outfitting themselves on Honduran territory. Has Major Fassett visited the frontier where these acts are alleged to have taken place? After discussing the matter with him please telegraph your recommendations as to the advisability of his making a trip at this time to the region in question for purposes of information and to stimulate Honduran interest in properly policing this area. STIMSON 817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/294: Telegram The Chargé in Nicaragua (Beaulac) to the Secretary of State MANAGUA, November 28, 1931-noon. [Received November 29-1: 35 p. m.] 209. Guardia reports that yesterday a patrol of 50 Guardia was attacked by a bandit group conservatively estimated at 300 at Cicera 2 Major H. S. Fassett, U.S.M.C., Naval Attaché at Tegucigalpa. "Neither printed. near Villa Nueva, Department of Chinandega. Fight lasted one and a half hours. Bandits had machine guns and were aggressive. Five bandits were killed and one Guardia was wounded. Guardia commander at Esteli interprets above to mean that fighting in his area will be serious and has recommended that strength of his patrols be doubled. Another Guardia patrol engaged a group of bandits yesterday near Puentereal, Department of Chinandega, killing five. There were no Guardia casualties. BEAULAC 817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/305: Telegram The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Nicaragua (Beaulac) WASHINGTON, November 28, 1931-2 p. m. 207. Your 206, November 27, 4 p. m. Department shares your view that it would be unfortunate for President Moncada to declare martial law in the departments where peaceful conditions exist. We are gratified to note that the President has placed additional funds to the order of the Guardia for the maintenance of 200 auxiliaries to operate under Guardia command. STIMSON 817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/311: Telegram The Chargé in Honduras (Higgins) to the Secretary of State TEGUCIGALPA, December 1, 1931—8 a. m. [Received 4:07 p. m.] 182. Department's No. 83 of November 27, 4 p. m. As the President is in constant attendance at the hospital bedside of his son who accidentally shot himself through the stomach on the evening of November 28, it has been impracticable to discuss the Nicaraguan bandit situation with him, so I took it up with the Minister for Foreign Affairs last evening. In pointing out to the Minister the responsibility of his Government in the matter I gave him a memorandum regarding the activities of bandit agents in Honduras which is a revision in the light of the latest information of Major Fassett's report enclosed with my despatch No. 334 of November 6. The Minister manifested a sympathetic interest in the matter and promised to bring it to the attention of the President at the first opportunity and take it up immediately with the Minister of War urging him to take remedial measures. He agreed that his Government should do all in its power to prevent aid being furnished the bandits from Honduras but intimated that it could do little in its present state of impecuniousness and political uncer tainty. He concluded with the statement "We must not neglect this matter of Nicaragua". While the Minister of Foreign Affairs is certainly well disposed to act in this matter it is doubtful that he can secure effective cooperation from his colleagues particularly the Minister of War and Minister of Gobernacion and still less cooperation is to be expected from the Blue judiciary in the prosecution of bandit agents. In the course of the conversation Minister of Foreign Affairs told me confidentially that his Government had kept Toribio Tijerino under close surveillance for some time but had discovered that he had been engaged in the arms traffic. Major Fassett's information confirms this. Fassett has not visited the frontier but although we do not expect he will be able to secure important information from going, as bandit activities are well concealed, we agree that it might be helpful for him to visit the Danli region. He is planning therefore to proceed there taking Sergeant Kessler with him on December 3 unless the Department wires disapproval in the interim. HIGGINS 817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/310: Telegram The Chargé in Nicaragua (Beaulac) to the Secretary of State MANAGUA, December 1, 1931-2 p. m. [Received 4:21 p. m.] 211. Patrol of 10 Guardia and 53 auxiliaries encountered 80 bandits at El Cuadro near Las Zapatas some 25 kilometres north of León on November 29. One auxiliary and one civilian guide wounded. Later information indicated that bandits had several killed and several wounded. Bandits counterattacked before retiring and recovered bodies of 3 men. On November 30 bandits estimated at 180, captured and looted town of Rota on the railroad between León and El Sauce and tore up part of railroad. BEAULAO 817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/320: Telegram The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Honduras (Higgins) WASHINGTON, December 2, 1931—3 p. m. 85. Your 182, December 1, 8 a. m., last paragraph. Department will be glad to have Major Fassett visit the Danli region and feels that his visit may be helpful. STIMSON [On December 10 the Chargé in Nicaragua reported that General Matthews and President Moncada had returned to Managua, and that the bandits were believed to have "definitely withdrawn into their accustomed areas in northern Nicaragua." (817.00 Bandit Activities, 1931/339)] ASSISTANCE OF THE UNITED STATES IN STRENGTHENING THE GUARDIA NACIONAL PREPARATORY TO THE WITHDRAWAL OF MARINES FROM NICARAGUA " 817.00/6921: Telegram 30 The Minister in Nicaragua (Hanna) to the Secretary of State MANAGUA, January 5, 1931-4 p. m. [Received 7:45 p. m.] 5. Recent intensified bandit activities in northern Nicaragua, one incident of which was the almost complete extermination of a Marine patrol of 10 men which was ambushed when engaged in the repair of a telephone line of communication, have aroused public indignation and alarm and a greatly increased popular demand that energetic measures be adopted to exterminate banditry and reestablish and restore peace in the Segovias. President Moncada discussed this matter with me this morning and requested me to consult you concerning the following measures which he proposes for meeting the situation. The President suggests that a temporary military force of approximately 500 men be raised to cooperate with the Guardia in the bandit regions. This force would be enlisted, equipped and trained by the Guardia and its military operation would be directed and controlled from Guardia headquarters and by the Guardia officers serving with such forces in the field. The President has assured me that it is not his intention that this force should be independent of the Guardia in any respect but, on the contrary, that it should constitute a temporary auxiliary to the Guardia under such conditions that it will not violate the provision of the Guardia Agreement which establishes the Guardia as the sole police force of the Republic. The President believes that this proposed force can be created and maintained at a cost scale such that a greater increment of military strength can be acquired in this manner than could be attained with an equal expenditure by increasing the strength of the Guardia. President Moncada proposes to combine the proposed intensification of such military campaign with a road construction program 30 For previous correspondence, see Foreign Relations, 1930, vol. ш, pp. 656 ff.: see also "Information Regarding Nicaragua sent to the Senate", Department of State, Press Releases, February 21, 1931 (Publication No. 164), p. 99. "Foreign Relations, 1927, vol. 1, p. 434. within the bandit territory provided the necessary funds can be made available. With this end in view he is opening negotiations through the manager of the National Bank here and the Nicaraguan Legation in Washington to obtain from the International Acceptance Bank a credit of one million dollars to be guaranteed by some acceptable specific revenue of this Government. I have shown the foregoing to President Moncada and he has expressed approval. General McDougal 32 is in Jinotega personally directing the Guardia operations and I will not have an opportunity to discuss this with him before Wednesday or Thursday. A portion of the press here has been advocating for some time the creation of a volunteer force separate and distinct from the Guardia and this idea appears to be finding considerable popular support. This was the idea the President appeared to have in mind at the outset of our discussion this morning but he finally formulated his proposal as expressed above after I had told him that I believed the proposal would not be acceptable to the Department unless the military force to be created is as completely under the administration and control of the Guardia as though it constituted a part of the Guardia itself. I think we should insist upon this point and establish it beyond doubt. I also told him that I believe his proposal would be more favorably considered by the Department if he could give assurances that the military operations would be combined with a road building program adequate to solve the economic features of the situation as set forth in the letters on this subject recently addressed to him by the Secretary. HANNA 817.00/6928: Telegram The Minister in Nicaragua (Hanna) to the Secretary of State MANAGUA, January 8, 1931-1 p. m. [Received 3:15 p. m.] 6. My telegram No. 5, January 5, 4 p. m. This subject was discussed in conference this morning with the Commander of the Marine Brigade, the Commander of the Guardia and Lieutenant Colonel Matthews who is to succeed to the command of the Guardia in the near future. We are of the unanimous opinion that President Moncada's proposal to increase the Nicaraguan military forces by 500 men should be accepted but only with the clear understanding that this force shall constitute a part of the Guardia as set forth in my telegram of reference. We are of the opinion that in view of the responsibility "Douglas C. McDougal, chief of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, |