Carlos Castillo Armas

When the Allied forces defeated the Axis Powers and World War II ended FDR, Churchill and Stalin made a bargain deal about the future of Europe, and divided the Continent into two spheres of influence, the democratic west, and the communist east. In a speech Churchill remarked, “An iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” Thus the strategy of the United States developed to ensure that arch of Soviet influence remained contained within those established lines. Not long after, communism…

Prior to 1985, Guatemala’s political framework consisted of fragments of a democratic society. In 1839, military dictator Rafael Carrera formed the Republic of Guatemala. However, this was quickly shrouded by militant dictators that elected themselves into office through undemocratic means. Since 1839, Guatemala has seen multiple coup d’états, with very few democratically elected presidents taking office during this time. Additionally, United States intervention in Central America was seen in…

of the democratically elected leader of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz, because of his supposed communist beliefs led to the return of a dictator to power and a future of violence and death. The CIA replaced him with a military dictator, Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas which led to a massive 36 year civil war between this government and their citizens. This civil war was bloody and led to 200,000 Guatemalan deaths or disappearances many at the hands of soldiers provided and trained by the United…

Prior to the Cold War that took place from 1947 to 1991 in various parts of Europe, Latin America and the United States, the United States had established and extended the Monroe Doctrine that had previously warned Europeans against retaking their former colonies. When the U.S. decided to extend this doctrine, they put it in a Cold War context, in which it allowed the U.S. to strengthen Latin American states militarily against communist penetration. Because of North America’s long and…

Section A: Identification and Evaluation of Sources One of the sources that I used is a book titled In the Name of Democracy by Thomas Carothers. It is an examination of U.S. policy in Latin America during the Reagan era. Carothers provides information on U.S. involvement using interviews with United States officials and his own perspective as a former State Department lawyer. Also, the book provides information on the effects of removing the communist influence. This source is created so the…

Soviets that the American government would not tolerate the spread of communism. After one year of preparation, U.S. backed troops invaded Guatemala. Realizing his army had abandoned him, Arbenz resigned as president. The U.S.-chosen leader, Carlos Castillo Armas, assumed control of the government. This ensured the promotion of American interests in Guatemala. Guatemala was aiming for independence, so America restating some control may have resulted in citizens being unsatisfied in the results. …

than a communist. The year is 1954, and democratically elected Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán is in charge. In 1954, the CIA initiated OPERATION PBSUCCESS, a coup-d’état to overthrew Árbenz Guzmán, and replaced him with the military regime of Carlos Castillo Armas. Armas’ rule would be considered one of the most repressive regimes in Latin American history. The coup may have been operationally effective, but the subsequent problems led the country into a “long national descent into savagery.” From…

nism (Pieper) and neoliberal capitalism (Thornton). In an effort to curb the spread the spread of communism in Latin America, the US supported brutal dictatorships that opposed socialist and communist values. The US was afraid of a Latin American communist state emerging so close to US borders (McConnell). Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba is the quintessential example of US’s fears on Latin American communism. After Fulgencio Batista’s pro-American dictatorship was disposed by Castro, Cuba was…

Until the end of the nineteenth century, United States had special relationships mainly with Mexico and Cuba—of course they interacted with other Latin American countries, but it was minimal compared to their relationship with Mexico and Cuba and mostly was concerning trade. The reason for this was the fact that Latin America, apart from Cuba and Mexico, was mainly politically and economically tied to Great Britain. When Latin America became independent in the 1820s, the United States and Great…

only mistreated Muslims and used them as proxies, but also did the same towards Guatemalans and Chileans. In Guatemala in 1954, Americans assisted in the deposing of democratically elected Jacobo Arbenz and replaced him with military dictator Carlos Castillo Armas. This was done because of…