INCOMING TELEGRAM Department ofState Action ARA FROM: Info ACTION: .s G DATE: SP H CAP [UR CONl• IDEhTIAl I (on rol: 19367 Rec'd: March 25 l) 1964 3:09 PM Madrid Secstate 1706 March 25, 7 PM FO ··oFF Director General North American Affairs (Sa.gaz) informed . IL Embassy officer t day that Panamanian Government requesting G S urgent loan or US dollars ten million "to .forestall strike3 r.1nd a.void chaos". Sagaz said GOS to avoid alie.nating USG s.:rlestepp~d issue for several weeks but Panamanian pressure ~ounting and Council of Ministers at March 20 meeting authorized N2C loan nin pri.ncipleH but instructed FONMIN tc first obtain US ~.R views es GOS wants to make sure t1a USG understands that loan CIA Lot de ·ig ed as 1 n r"' n :J c s TJ allev"ate local er· sis Panama. 1~ss US publie and press re<; ct:.on to -..ny GOS ti~ l "k--ly to be atrongl neJ: ti t1uw.anitarian motives loan .tro..ght e to-Jards US · nd like y if .n L~ reaching agreement ~·t -1R Joh~_son' s a te p ~~ t agreem~ t assy Ema.,s., a.;/ in feeling on EmbaDsy officer's views ~ an but solely to of .icer in .icated that oan to Panama at this t at regardless of concid .red as unfriendly a ama ian resistance towards ls jeopardize President dlock over-"ttDrding g~ obtain views Spanish o., existing strong e gaz stated that he shared at d would (11) loan request until GP...4. OODWARD GEJ/10 (fl) Omission. FROM THIS COPY IS DECLASSIFIED 10ITED UNLESS "UNCLASSIFIED" E.O. 13292, Sec. 3.4 State Dept. Guidefin