. . . to protect the vital supplies of raw materials which Latin American countries export to the USA; to prevent the 'military exploitation of Latin America by the enemy' [The Soviet Union]; and to avert 'the psychological mobilization of Latin America against us.' . . . . By the 1950s trade with Latin America accounted for a quarter ofAmerican exports, and 80 per cent of the investment in Latin America wasalso American. The Americans had a vested interest in the region that itwould remain pro-American. The Guatemalan adventure can be seen as another of the factors thatlead the American government to believe that it could handle Casto. Beforethe Second World War ended, a coup in Guatemala saw the rise to power ofJuan Jose Ar,valo. He was not a communist in the traditional sense of theterm, but he ". . . packed his government with Communist Party members andCommunist sympathizers." In 1951 Jacobo Arbenz succeeded Ar,valo after anelection in March of that year. The party had been progressing with aseries of reforms, and the newly elected leader continued with thesereforms. During land reforms a major American company, the United FruitCompany, lost its land and other holdings without any compensation from theGuatemalan government. When the Guatemalans refused to go to theInternational Court of Law, United Fruit began to lobby the government ofthe United States to take action. In the government they had some verypowerful supporters. Among them were Foster Dulles, Secretary of State whohad once been their lawyer, his brother Allen the Director of CentralIntelligence who was a share holder, and Robert Cutler head of the NationalSecurity Council. In what was a clear conflict of interest, the securityapparatus of the United States decided to take action against theGuatemalans. From May 1st, 1954, to June 18th, the Central Intelligence Agency dideverything in its power to overthrow the government of Arbenz. On...
