White House Memorandum, “Meeting with President Emílio Garrastazu Médici of Brazil on Thursday, December 9, 1971, at 10:00 a.m., in the President’s Office, the White House,” TOP SECRET

White House Memorandum, “Meeting with President Emílio Garrastazu Médici of Brazil on Thursday, December 9, 1971, at 10:00 a.m., in the President’s Office, the White House,” TOP SECRET

Kissinger, Henry A.

Brazil

Chile

International Relations

During this Oval Office meeting between President Nixon and President Médici, the two discuss the political and economic situations in several nations of mutual concern, among them Chile. Nixon asks Médici whether he feels the Chilean military could overthrow President Salvador Allende. Médici responds that he believes Allende will be overthrown “for very much the same reasons that Goulart had been overthrown in Brazil,” and “made it clear that Brazil was working towards this end.” Nixon emphasizes “that it was very important that Brazil and the United States work closely in this field” and offered “discreet aid” and money for Brazilian operations against the Allende government. During the meeting, Nixon raises the issue of establishing a highly secret back channel between the two presidents; he would like to have “a means of communicating directly outside of normal diplomatic channels when this might be necessary.” Médici agrees and names Brazilian Foreign Minister Mario Gibson Barboza as a representative for such communication while Nixon picks his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger. Médici also tells Nixon he will use Brazilian Colonel Miguel Pereira Manso Neto if the issue is particularly sensitive and discreet. Nixon notes that the two countries “must try and prevent new Allendes and Castros and try where possible to reverse these trends.” At the end of the meeting, Nixon states that he “hoped that we could cooperate closely, as there were many things that Brazil as a South American country could do that the U.S. could not.”

SUBJECT:Meeting with President Emilio GarrastazŭMëdici of Brazil on Thursday, December 9,• 1971, at 10:00 a.m., in the President'sOffice, the White House

PARTICIPANTS:The President
President Emilio Mëdici of Brazil
Major General Vernon A. Walters (Interpreter)

National Security Archive

1971-12-09

Text

Medici Nixon Meeting 9/12/1971

DECLASSIFIED A/ISS/IPS, Department of State, E.O. 12958, as amended, September 4, 2008, published by the National Security Archive


Source link: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/20757-04

English

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