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CIA's Role in Guatemala: Cold War Coup and Controversy

Explore the CIA's involvement in the Cold War coup in Guatemala, its impact on the country, and the controversy surrounding it. Compare different accounts and declassified documents to determine what really happened.

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CIA's Role in Guatemala: Cold War Coup and Controversy

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  1. Free Write 1. What do you know about the CIA? • What comes to mind when you think about the CIA? What do you know about them? • What do you think they primarily do? 2. Predict: How might the CIA have been involved in the Cold War?

  2. America & Guatemala

  3. Goals • We will understand America’s involvement in Guatemala during the Cold War • We will practice corroborating to determine what really happened…and how the CIA was involved

  4. Textbook A Source: The Americans, 2002, p. 626. In 1954, the CIA also took covert actions in Guatemala, a Central American country just south of Mexico. Eisenhower believed that Guatemala’s government, headed by JacoboArbenz Guzman, had Communist sympathies because it had given more than 200,000 acres of American-owned land to peasants. In response, the CIA trained an army, which invaded Guatemala and captured Arbenz Guzman and his forces. The army’s leader, Carlos Castillo Armas, became dictator of the country.

  5. Textbook accounts • Work with your table: • List the facts from Textbook B • DISCUSS “reflection question”

  6. Textbook B [In 1954] the CIA acted to protect American-owned property in Guatemala. In 1951 JacoboArbenz Guzman won election as president of Guatemala with Communist support. His land reform program took over large estates, including those of the American-owned United Fruit Company. In May 1954, Communist Czechoslovakia delivered arms to Guatemala. The CIA responded by arming the Guatemalan opposition and training them at secret camps in Nicaragua and Honduras. Shortly after these CIA-trained forces invaded Guatemala, Arbenz Guzman left office. • Source: American Vision, 2006, p. 655.

  7. Corroborate • Fill out chart under “Corroborate” • DISCUSS “Summary Questions” on back and be prepared to share out Textbook B Textbook A

  8. What happened in Guatemala? 1. Why did the U.S. get involved in Guatemala? 2. What details are different in Textbooks A & B?  3. How do these different details affect the overall story? 4. Why do you think that one source found these details important, and the other did not? 5. What else do you want to know in order to determine what really happened in Guatemala?

  9. Part 2:CIA Memos reveal what really happened….

  10. Part 2: Doc 1: Declassified CIA document 1. What does it say about U.S. involvement in Guatemala? 2. Does this document challenge one of the textbook accounts? Why or why not? What does it suggest about what really happened? Doc 2: CIA & Assassinations 3. What does it say about U.S. involvement in Guatemala? Doc 3: Diego Rivera mural 4. Given that Rivera is one of the most famous Mexican painters…what does this suggest about how people in other countries saw America’s actions?

  11. The Big Picture • This event is considered a coup • Definition: a sudden, violent & illegal change of government • American government feared Arbenz had Communist sympathies • United Fruit Company pushed the U.S. government to overthrow him

  12. The CIA • Their plan involved: • Propaganda • Psychological warfare • Assassinations • Trained troops & led the overthrow • 48 people killed • Arbenz resigned and fled the country

  13. Aftermath • Armas took power • Corrupt & brutal dictator • International press came out against America’s actions • Le Monde and The Times both attacked America's "modern form of economic colonialism.”

  14. The fate of Guatemala • Guatemalan democracy destroyed by the coup • Over next 4 decades, military rulers attacked the counter-insurgency • Countless deaths • Disappearances of more than 140,000 Guatemalans

  15. Discussion: What really happened? • Why is this event in Guatemala considered part of the Cold War? • How does this event help you understand the United States’ behavior during the Cold War? • Are you surprised by this story? Why or why not? • Is what happened in Guatemala in keeping with America’s goals?

  16. Arbenz: "They have used the pretext of anti-communism. The truth is very different. The truth is to be found in the financial interests of the fruit company and the other US monopolies which have invested great amounts of money in Latin America and fear that the example of Guatemala would be followed by other Latin countries.[...] I was elected by a majority of the people of Guatemala, but I have had to fight under difficult conditions…I took over the presidency with great faith in the democratic system, in liberty and the possibility of achieving economic independence for Guatemala. I continue to believe that this program is just. I have not violated my faith in democratic liberties, in the independence of Guatemala and in all the good which is the future of humanity…" (quoted by Schlessinger & Kinzer, 1990: 200)

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