Page. 2 of telegram to Amembassy GUATEMALA LIMITED OFFICIAL USE Classification DEMOCRACIA AMERICANA PATENTIZOLE PROFUNDA CONDOLENCIA PUEBLO Y GOBIERNO DE GUATEMAALA PUNTO SIRVASE ACEPTA CON LAS DE- - MONTRACIONES DE SINCERO PESAR LA RETERADA EXPRESSION DE MI ALTA ESTIMA. JULIO CESAR MENDEZ MONTENEGRO, PRESIDENTE 8K DE GUATEMala UNQTE. END. BUSK L LIMITED OFFICIAL USE - FORM D5-32ZA 8-43 Classification CONTINUINUATION SHEET

Summary  
The documents consist of multiple outgoing telegrams from the U.S. Department of State dated June 12–13, 1968, detailing diplomatic communications following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. These telegrams include messages from President Lyndon B. Johnson to foreign leaders expressing condolences for Kennedy’s death and conveying responses from those leaders to Mrs. Kennedy and her family. The standardized format of each telegram outlines Johnson’s condolence statement, acknowledgment of shared grief over Kennedy’s assassination, transmission of the message to the Kennedy family, and inclusion of replies from foreign governments. The White House explicitly stated that these messages were not intended for public release but could be transmitted through diplomatic channels. The telegrams reference responses from leaders in Pakistan, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, Bahrain, Nigeria, Chad, Japan, NATO, Spain, Laos, Austria, Malawi, Madagascar, Bolivia, Colombia, Ethiopia, and other nations.  

Key People  
- Lyndon B. Johnson (U.S. President)  
- Robert F. Kennedy (assassinated Senator)  
- Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy (widow of Senator Kennedy)  
- Muhammad Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan)  
- Joaquin Balaguer (President of the Dominican Republic)  
- Charles Helou (President of Lebanon)  
- Isa Bin Sulman Alkhalifah (Ruler of Bahrain)  
- General Yakubu Gowon (Nigeria’s Head of State)  
- Francois Tombalbaye (President of Chad)  
- Eisaku Sato (Prime Minister of Japan)  
- Francisco Franco (Chief of the Spanish State)  
- Outhong Souvannavong (President of the King’s Council of Laos)  
- Josef Klaus (Federal Chancellor of Austria)  
- Kamuzu Banda (President of Malawi)  
- Philibert Tsiranana (President of Madagascar)  
- Rene Barrientos Ortuno (President of Bolivia)  
- Ernesto Lazzaro (President of Colombia)  
- Emperor Haile Selassie I (King of Ethiopia)  

Key Locations  
- Washington, D.C. (U.S. Department of State)  
- Rawalpindi (Pakistan)  
- The Hague (Netherlands)  
- San Salvador (El Salvador)  
- Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)  
- Beirut (Lebanon)  
- Manama (Bahrain)  
- Lagos (Nigeria)  
- Fort Lamy (Chad)  
- Tokyo (Japan)  
- Madrid (Spain)  
- Vientiane (Laos)  
- Vienna (Austria)  
- Blantyre (Malawi)  
- Antananarivo (Madagascar)  
- La Paz (Bolivia)  
- Bogota (Colombia)  
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  

Key Events  
1. Assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California.  
2. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s condolence messages to foreign leaders following the assassination.  
3. Diplomatic transmission of condolences from foreign governments to Mrs. Kennedy and Kennedy’s family via telegrams.  
4. Standardized format for condolence messages including acknowledgment of shared grief over Kennedy’s death.  
5. Ethiopian media and public discourse referencing U.S. democracy and political violence as tools against progressive movements.  
6. White House directive prohibiting public release of condolence messages but allowing their dissemination through foreign governments.  

Key Organizations  
- U.S. Department of State (sender of telegrams)  
- Government of Pakistan  
- Netherlands Government  
- Dominican Republic Government  
- Lebanese Government  
- Bahraini Government  
- Nigerian Federal Government  
- Government of Chad  
- Japanese Government  
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)  
- Spanish Government  
- Laotian Government  
- Austrian Federal Government  
- Malawian Government  
- Government of Madagascar  
- Government of Bolivia  
- Government of Colombia  
- Ethiopian Government

RFK Declassified Files

pol_6-2_us_kennedy_06_12_1968_senator_robert_f._kennedy-part_3_of_4.pdf

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