In 1954, the United States overthrew the democratically elected government of Guatemala. The official reason was communism. The real reason was bananas.
President Jacobo Arbenz had made a simple promise to his country’s poor: land reform. He kept it. In doing so, he made an enemy of the United Fruit Company — and through them, of two of the most powerful men in Washington.
The Dulles brothers didn’t send an army. They sent a radio station, a handful of planes, and a suitcase of cash. It was enough.
What followed — for Guatemala — was seventy thousand dead, three decades of civil war, and the longest armed conflict in Latin American history.
What followed — for Washington — was a template. The same playbook to be used again and again. And again.
Guatemala 1954 is an essential piece of the puzzle. The below film provides a five minute overview: