Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 59 Part 2.djvu/922

 59 STAT.] VENEZUELA-MILITARY SERVICE-MAY 10, 11, 1945 Translation EMBASSY OF VENEZUELA WASHINGTON May 11, 1945. No. 1434 YOUR EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that I have received instructions from my Government to accept the administrative ar- rangement regarding the application of the United States 1940 Selec- tive Training and Service Act to Venezuelan citizens in this country, an arrangement proposed in the note addressed to me by Your Excel- lency on the 10th of the current month. The Government of Venezuela agrees, on reciprocal terms, to the option proposed on behalf of the Venezuelan citizens who have regis- tered under the said Act, or who have already entered the service of the United States Army, to apply for transfer to the Venezuelan Army. In this respect, my Government likewise accepts the guarantees indi- cated in paragraphs a), b), and c) of the aforementioned note. I deem opportune to point out that, in keeping with the compulsory Military Service Law of Venezuela, Venezuelan citizens abroad who have attained the corresponding age are obliged to register in the respective consular offices of the Republic, in order to serve in the armed forces of Venezuela, and that failure to comply with this obliga- tion involves, without further process, the corresponding penal sanction. My Government hopes that compliance with this legal obligation by a Venezuelan citizen will not be interpreted as an infraction of the guarantee stipulated in paragraph a) of the note I am now answering, since it implies no ad hoc pressure on any single individual. The Venezuelan Government is ready to enforce at once the agree- ment in question, and to go over the details for its application with the authorities of the United States Government. I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my highest consideration. DI6GENES ESCALANTE His Excellency JOSEPH C. GREw, Acting Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 1605 54 Stat. 885 . 50 U.S. C., app. §§ 301-318; Supp. IV, § 302 et seq. Ante, p. 166. Ante, p. 1603.

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