Transcript CIA Interventions in Latin America: Guatemala

CIA Interventions in
Latin America:
Guatemala
Background
• 1954
• Codename: Operation
Success
– Goal: To overthrow the
government of Guatemala
– Reasons behind the
operation: U.S. government
was convinced Jacobo
Arbenz (president of
Guatemala) was a
communist (that is what the
government states…)
Important People Involved:
Guatemala
• Jacobo Arbenz:
Democratically elected
president of Guatemala since
1951
– Policies included
• Construction of a publicly owned
port
• Government-run hydroelectric plant
• Land reform legislation
• Col. Carlos Castillo Armas
– Military leader backed by the
U.S. in overthrowing Arbenz
– Became President of Guatemala
7/8/1954
Jacobo Arbenz
Important People Involved: America
• Economic interests: United Fruit
Company (UFC) controlled most of the
land due to banana production
• President: Dwight D. Eisenhower,
authorized secret bombings of
Guatemala
• CIA Personnel
– Allen Dulles: Head of the CIA
– Jack Peurifoy: Ambassador to
Guatemala
– Al Haney: field commander
– Tracy Barnes: chief of political warfare
– David Atlee Phillips: Voice of
Liberation
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Tactics Used
• CIA funded an anti-communist student
movement in Guatemala City
• Bribed the military to overthrow Arbenz
• Weapons embargo on Guatemala, so Arbenz
could not get any guns
• Leaflets dropped on Guatemalans detailing the
negative aspects of communism
• Psychological warfare (Psy Ops): Voice of
Liberation
Overthrow and Aftermath
• Arbenz was overthrown with the
assistance of U.S. weapons (bombs,
dynamite, hand grenades)
• Arbenz’s people turned against him
because he suspended civil liberties
• Castillo Armas became president and was
assassinated in 1957
• Guatemala had decades of unstable rule,
repression, and death squads later on