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    "localId": "486501062",
    "label": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Guatemala, Situation Report 46",
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    "title": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Guatemala, Situation Report 46",
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        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
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        {
            "day": 27,
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{
    "seq": 32,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
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    "ocrText": "29\n1948, for the first time since the war, imports\nh. Transportation.\nexceeded exports: imports were valued at $68,-\nAir Transport. Guatemala is linked to\n349,860 and exports at $50,165,489.56, produc-\nother countries by two scheduled airlines and\ning an apparent deficit in the balance of trade\ntwo non-scheduled carriers. Pan American\nof $18,184,370.44. However, the Bank of\nWorld Airways, a United States company, and\nGuatemala makes a moderate upward adjust-\nTACA (Transportes Aereos Centro Ameri-\nment in the export figures of at least $14,110,-\ncanos), a Salvadoran company, were the only\n000 in view of the extremely low customhouse\ninternational carriers operating on a sched-\nevaluation of bananas, which is figured on\nuled basis during the year 1948, and during\npurely nominal and invariable prices, and\nthis year their combined traffic amounted to\nshows no correlation with the actual sales price\n54,749 passengers entering and 54,996 leaving\non foreign markets. This figure represents,\nGuatemala. AVIATECA (Companía Guate-\nin effect, that portion of the sales price of\nmalteco de Aviación) is a government-owned\nbananas that is returned to Guatemala in the\nairline (formerly Aerovías de Guatemala, a\ncourse of United Fruit Company operations.\nPan American subsidiary expropriated in\nAn adjustment of this sort, and of this amount,\n1945). Aviateca has a monopoly on all inter-\nis entirely reasonable, and serves to cancel out\nnal passenger and freight traffic, and has ex-\na relatively large proportion of the apparent\npanded its operations until it now serves more\ndeficit in the international trade for 1948. The\nthan 27 communities in Guatemala on regular\ndeficit has, however, stimulated interest in im-\nschedules. During 1948, the gross income of\nport control measures which may eventually\nthis company amounted to more than $1,000,-\nbe applied to conserve dollar exchange.\n000, a large portion of which was derived from\nThe dollar value (customs statistics) of\nthe transport of chicle from the Petén area to\nGuatemala's foreign trade, by countries, was\nPuerto Barrios. It carried 74,706 passengers\nas follows in the year 1948:\nand over 13,000,000 pounds of freight.\nMaritime Transport. Almost all water\nCountry of Origin\nfreight and passenger service to and from\nor Destination\nImports\nExports\nGuatemala is provided by ships belonging to\nUnited States\n$52,106,808\n$44,616,917\nthe United Fruit Company, which also owns\nMexico\n2,864,683\n42,638\nthe port facilities at Puerto Barrios and con-\nCuracao\n1,635,560\n0\ntrols the railroad that links the port with the\nEl Salvador\n1,562,250\n139,995\ninterior. Puerto Barrios, the country's most\nEngland\n1,512,005\n702,688\nimportant seaport, is located on the Caribbean,\nCanada\n1,470,161\n1,970,130\nand is the only port where ships can come\nAruba\n1,289,747\n3,952\nalongside and unload cargo directly onto the\nSwitzerland\n662,224\n251,823\npier or into railroad cars. Regular service to\nBelgium\n580,831\n653,662\nNew York, New Orleans, and other US ports\nPeru\n576,354\n2,301\nis maintained by the United Fruit Company\nHolland\n124,665\n261,403\nships.\nSweden\n379,463\n289,480\nVenezuela\n3,808\n408.706\nLivingston, at the mouth of the Rio Dulce\nItaly\n554,300\n362,607\nnear Puerto Barrios, is the terminus of a ship\nAll Other\n3,027,301\n459,188\nand lighterage service used mainly for the\ntransport of coffee from the Verapaz region.\nTotal\n$68,349,860\n$50,165,490\nOn the Pacific coast, the principal ports are\nChamperico and San José, both termini of the\nAs in other Central American countries, the\nInternational Railways of Central America\nGuatemalan tariff is largely for revenue, but\nand both open roadsteads demanding offshore\nprotection is afforded certain industries, nota-\nanchorage. San José derives its importance\nbly, textiles, cattle, sugar, and matches. Im-\nfrom its proximity (72 miles by rail) to Guate-\nport duties averaged about 14 percent of the\nmala City, and the possibility of constructing\ntotal value of imports during 1948.\nport facilities here (a breakwater, channels,\nECRET"
}