Introduction
The Country Team plays a key role in administering the Empire. The ambassador to a par-
ticular country is the leader of a unit whose main objective is to carry out the foreign
policy of the United States. He has at his disposal a wide range of experts — men with
experience in finance, journalism, education, intelligence, military and political science,
agriculture, and labor affairs. The Foreign Service expands along with the Empire: prior
to World War II, there were only 700 Foreign Service Officers stationed in Washington and
abroad while today there are over 7,500.
The U.S. Country Team is a complex machine, usually divided up into 11 different adminis-
trative sections ( See Page ), each headed by a highly-trained Foreign Service Officer.
Following is a brief description of some of the more important sections of the embassy
and their functions:
Political Section: Political Officers are intelligence gatherers and analysts. They mon-
itor the local media and other information sources, maintain contacts with informants and
keep Washington up-to-date on all internal developments. This is the section where the
main CIA intelligence-gathering operatives are placed in U.S. embassies abroad.
Labor Attache, also located in the Political Section, follows the political and economic
activities of the local labor unions, and supplies information on labor policies and
attitudes towards U.S. business investment.
The Economic Section: The Economic Officer takes part in negotiations relating to U.S.
economic policy objectives and analyzes and reports on financial matters. In smaller
posts, he sometimes performs the tasks of the Commercial Officer, whose main task is to
“promote the trade, travel, and private investment interests of the United States.” He
assists visiting U.S. businessmen in establishing contacts and appointments with officials
of the host government, supports the foreign activities of the Department of Commerce,
and reports on business trends, market potentials, and local laws and customs that affect
American business operations.
The NACLA NEWSLETTER is published ten time a year by the North Juerioan
Congress on Latin America. Minimum contribution for 1-yr. subscription: $5
In This Issue:
The Imperial Team/ Latin America …………………………. 1
Document: CRV Position Paper on the Peace Corps …………. 6
U.S. Ambassadors in Latin America …………………….. 10
Gen. Westmoreland on the Army of the Future ……………….. 14
NACLA NEWSLETTER
NORTH AMERICAN CONGRESS ON LATIN AMERICA (NACLA) Vol. 111, No. 7
P.O. Box 57, Cathedral Station, N.Y., N.Y. 10025 November, 1969-2-
The Public Affairs Officer is an officer of the United States Information Agency and is
responsible for U.S. propaganda and cultural activities in the host country. For a des-
cription of the PAO’s activities, see the USIA section below.
The AID Mission Director is responsible for the administration of the AID programs in his
country (see AID section, below). Many AID Mission Directors work with the private in-
vestment officers who assist businessmen interested in these programs.
The Agricultural Attache reports on agricultural production, trade policy, and market de-
velopments for various commodities (see also FAS section, below).
The Consular Officer extends U.S. government protection to American citizens and their
property abroad. He maintains lists of attorneys, and acts as liaison with local tax,
police and customs officials. In “troubled areas,” the visiting U.S. businessman is
advised to register with the Consular Officer. The Consular Officer is also in charge of
dispensing visas to foreign nationals for travel in the United States.
The Administrative Officer is in charge of the management of the embassy: budget, per-
sonnel, maintenance, security, etc.
Military Attaches are also part of each country team. They advise the local military
officers on such matters as counter-insurgency techniques, arms and ordinance purchases,
and so forth. There is usually an Army, Naval and Air Force Attach6 stationed in each
embassy. These men usually have the closest ties of any American with the local mili-
tary forces and play key roles in the development of a given government’s domestic and
foreign military policy.
Normally, all the above men attend weekly country team meetings at the embassy to plot
strategy for carrying out U.S. policy. For an informative account of an ambassador’s
role and his relation to his country team, see ex-Dominican ambassador John Bartlow
Martin’s book, Overtaken by Events (New York: Doubleday Co., 1966).
Two hours after his FALN kidnappers released him, Col. James K. Chenault, deputy chief of the U.S. Army mission in Venezuela, ts shown at an Embassy Wrs conferece. James Haahr, former
Chief of Peruvian
Embassy’s Political
Section follows debates
in Peruvian Senate.
NACLA NEWSLETTER Vol. III, No. 7, November 1969
Published monthly, except May-June and July-August when it is published bi-monthly,
at 160 Claremont Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10027. Subscription price: $5 per year.
Copyright ) 1969 by the North American Congress on Latin America, Inc. Second-
class postage paid at New York, N.Y.-3-
Agency for International Development (AID)
AID, a State Department agency, administers all U.S. government non-military foreign as-
sistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The Alliance for Progress, also
established in 1961, administers all AID assistance in Latin America. There are four
main types of AID assistance, all of which benefit U.S. corporations:
1) Development loans — finance the purchase of U.S. equipment and services for long
range infrastructure development projects such as roads and hydroelectric systems and
social overhead projects such as schools and health facilities.
2) Investment surveys — marketing and investing surveys for U.S. corporations.
Approximately half the AID technicians in Latin America are “contract employees,” techni- cians under contract with U.S. universities and corporations. Of the 1,912 AID technicians
in Latin America in mid-1967 (the world total is 7,865), 958 were U.S. government employ-
ees and 954 were “contract employees.”
3) Investment guarantees — insurance against loss through riots, expropriation and other
political setbacks, for U.S. corporate investments.
4) Currency stabilization loans — rectify deficits in a country’s balance of payments.
These deficits are caused primarily by profit remittances by U.S. firms and interest
payments on previous loans. _ _ Ii I _ I II
AID and the U.S. Economy
Because AID financing is tied tightly to the
purchase of American goods and services,
AID spending directly produces export
business for American farms and industry.
In fiscal year 1967, AID economic pro-
grams financed more than $1.3 billion in
export sales for American firms. Among
other items, AID financed the export of
$109 million in fertilizer, $150 million in
chemicals, $120 million in iron and steel
products, S360 million worth of machinery
and equipment and $127 million worth of
motor vehicles, engines and parts. These
exports create several hundred thousand
American jobs and build permanent mar-
kets for future cash exports.
In addition, American shipping lines
earned about $90 million in AID dollars
for carrying these products to their desti-
nations in the less developed countries.
As of December 1967, American busi-
ness firms, colleges, nonprofit associations
and other private groups held $531 million
in AID contracts for technical assistance
work in the less developed countries, and
for development training and research in
the United States.
Source:
The Task of Development
AID, July 1968, p. 30.
The chart below shows the total AID assistance to Latin American countries through Decem-
ber 31, 1967. According to a recent AID publication, The Task of Development, 90 percent of all country assistance in fiscal year (FY) 1969 will go to 15 countries, six of them
in Latin America — the same six which were the main recipients through 1967: Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
CoMPaAT IRuuMAx or Am Aassa’rAc To ALIArct COUvTaEd Source:
hTnuoue D3. 1, 1987 Survey of the Alliance [In mllonsofrU.S. doUlll for Progress, Senate
1,Ba -0unt-y II M country Foreign Relations Corn., 1. Brazil …………….. $1,9A6 21. Mexleo —- ________— $76.4 2. Chile —————– 573.4 12. Nlcaragua ……… . 73.1 April 29, 1969, p. 865. 3. Colombia .- . ……… 430.3 18. Honduras -. ——- 67. 3 4. Bolivia- -. ………. 329.1 14. Venezuela . ………… 68.9 5. Dominican Republic_— 259.0 15. Haiti .——– ____– 61.6 6. Peru — ..————- 157.3 16. Coota Rica ——- – 0.0 7. Argentina .——— __ 144.4 17. Paraguay —– . .. ___ 659.7 8. Ecuador – …. __. … 124.3 18, El Salvador ———– 58.6 9. Guatemala …..——- 122.0 19. Uruguay –.———- __ 32.5 10. Panama ————— 115. 7
– — —4-
United States Information Agency (USI)
The USIA, known abroad as the United States Information Service (USIS), is the chief prop-
aganda arm of the United States in Latin America. The USIS is the official voice of the
U.S. government overseas and the Public Affairs Officer (POA) is an important member of
each country team who, among other things, acts as the press spokesman for the ambassador.
For example, during the U.S. military invasion and occupation of the Dominican Republic
in 1965, the USIS’s staff there mushroomed from three to over 20, the chief function of
the additional personnel being that of middlemen with the U.S. press corps.
The USIA goes about its task of “Telling America’s Story to the World” (as the plaque on
its headquarters declares), using a variety of media:
1) The Voice of America — beams broadcasts from 92 powerful transmitters throughout the
world.
2) The Motion Picture and Film Service — an estimated 900 million people see USIS films
every year. USIA television programs have been telecast by more than 2,000 TV stations
in 94 countries.
3) The Press and Publications Service — publishes a broad spectrum of material for re-
lease in local papers and periodicals. Among the agency’s three major magazines is
Problems for Communism, printed in English and Spanish. In Mexico City, the USIA manages
a printing plant.
4) Information Center Service — operates a worldwide exhibits program and supplies books in English and local languages to individuals and institutions and to its own “bina-
tional centers.” The USIA supports 131 binational centers, 111 of which are in Latin
America. These cultural centers teach English, maintain
films and sponsor lectures, concerts, art exhibits, etc.
libraries and reading rooms, show
In 1967, the USIA operated on a budget of $173 million.
U.S. Gives Helping Hand In Elections
Overseas With Comic-Strip Posters
Poster developed by USIA used for Dominican cam-
paign, then, slightly modified, in Vietnam.
@ New York Tie ;Washington–The United States gov- ernment has developed a comic-strip type of political poster that appears to work equally well on both sides of the globe. The broadside, n which a- waving cartoon characters display nine stages in the political education of the “good voter,” appears to be the brain child of the U.S. Informa- tion agency, which is headed by Leonard H. Marks, a former corn- municalini s lawyer and lobbyist The pos!tr was supplied by USIA first to the provisional government in the Domicinan Republic to stimulate voting for the presidential elections of June 1. Approximately 69 per cent of the eligible voters turned ot and elected Joaqum tialaguer by a large majority Tihe same nine-panel poster, slight- ly alered, turned up three months lWer in South Vietnam where it had been spplaed, again iby UIA, to the ruling g niiltary regime for Sept. 11 Constituent Assembly elections. The learam turn-out was reported as 80.8 per ent of the eligible voters. President Johnson observed that colDarable A m e r i c a n eectios
rnes News Service
rehabilitation programs in the Do- minican Republic. The inter-Ameri- can organization spokesmen, how- ever, said that the poster was strict- ly and solely the creation of USIA. The posters are not identical. The Dominican voter s depicted seated in an easy chair tunine his dial to political propaganda vAheeas the Vietnamese voter lies on his istomana on a rush mat while he weighs the rival candidates’ claims. orougm out only about 40 per cet of The “good voter” s exhorted to the vote while contests between well eschew “violence” and “extremists,” known candidates in a presidential which, in the case of the Dominican contest brought out 50 per cent. .Republc, imrolve a picture of a USIA officials appeared slly ruffian with a carbine and in Viet- embarrassed yesterday when asked nam a ruffian with a knife. about the new American “global” While the swarthy, mustached vot- election aids.’ ers of Santo Domhf are rvlaced in They pokied out that the poster me Vietnamese poster by voters of merely urged the voters, whether in an indeterminate ethnic strain, buck- the Dominican Republic or in Viet- toothed, wearing headkerchiefs and namn, to exercise their right and re- somewhat thatch-headed, they got sponsibility to vote and did not 00g- the same advice on fundamental gest that they vote for any one or democracy in the American style. any group of candidates. Under a line reading “the nine “The government of Vietnam, in points of the good voter” hey are organizing its get-out-the-vote cam- reminded to study the platfo rs; paign, asked the U. S. for sugges- n to study he sbe- uions,’ an agency spokesman listen to and study speeches; be- ex- ware of demagogues; participate in plained. “The U. . mission, aware a y of the successful Dominican voter- meetings ind seminars and stay education program. secured samples away from extremists. Also, ty are of the Dominican Republic’s liter- urged to choose candidates and par- lure and posters, which the Viet- ties they personally believe most use- name go unnt obviously ful to the country; help their favorite br its own posess” candidates and parties; accept the As for its role in supplying the will of the majority and go to the original posters to the Dominican polls. Republic, the agency insisted that ihis had eben done “through” the York Gazette Daily Organization of American States, which nominally supervised olitical York, Pa., Oct. , 1966-5-
Peace Corps (PC)
The Peace Corps, established in 1961, the same year as AID and the Alliance for Progress,
places Americans in Third World countries “to help fill these nations’ critical needs for
skilled manpower.” They participate in small impact development projects in local commun-
ities on two year assignments. The first Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV’s) started training
in June, 1961 and, as of June, 1968, there were a total of 11,232 volunteers distributed
as follows:
Africa ……………………… 2,935
East Asia/Pacific ……………. 2,442
Latin America ……………….. 3,985
North Africa, Near East, S. Asia.. 1,870
The largest number of PCV’s (36 percent of the total) are in Latin America.
Rocked by internal dissension over public political stands by PCV’s and external charges
of being an agent of U.S. imperialism and an arm of the CIA, the Peace Corps’ image has
been deteriorating rapidly in recent years. In December 1967, the Christian Science Mon-
itor reported “applications to join the Peace Corps dropped 30 percent this year,” and
in September 1969, the Committee of Returned Volunteers issued a statement calling for
the complete abolition of the Peace Corps (see complete text of resolution below). Nix
on’s appointment of Joseph Blatchford to head the PC in April, 1969 did little to improve
the image. Blatchford was formerly executive director and founder of ACCION (Americans
for Community Cooperation in Other Nations) which coordinates community projects in Ven-
ezuela and Brazil “to counter communist propaganda.” * The Peace Corps budget for FY
1969 was set at $193 million (after an $8.7 million cut by Nixon). Spiro Agnew is
current chairman of the Peace Corps’ National Advisory Council (NAC). Among the “blue
ribbon” members of President Johnson’s 22-man NAC was J. Peter Grace, head of W.R. Grace
& Co., one of the major U.S. corporate investors in Latin America.
ACCION is funded by corporate and foundation grants and is operated under the auspices
of the Institute for International Education (See NACLA Newsletter, Vol. II, No. 1).
ACCION has been partly financed by the Ottinger Foundation and the American Institute
for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), both long suspected of being CIA conduits.
Peace Corps Volunteers?
“T can envision employers of all kinds, corporations, banks, insurance companies,
law firms, engineering firms, you name it, allowing, indeed encouraging, the young
men and women they have recruited on the campuses to spend a year or two in volun-
tary service, without a loss of seniority or of opportunity for advancement, but,
on the contrary, with extra points.”
– Peace Corps Director, Jack Hood Vaughn (currently ambassador to Colombia),
addressing the Public Affairs Forum of the Harvard Business School, February
13, 1968 (The New York Times, February 14, 1968).
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