Jacobo Arbenz
1913 – 1971 Guatemalan president of Guatemala
Democratically elected president of Guatemala whose land reform led to his overthrow in a 1954 CIA coup.
Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was elected president of Guatemala in 1950 and pursued a land reform, Decree 900, that redistributed uncultivated estates, including land held by the United Fruit Company. His program and his tolerance of communists in public life alarmed Washington and the company, and in 1954 a CIA operation, PBSUCCESS, forced him from office. Guatemala then fell into decades of military rule and civil war. His removal became a textbook case of a Cold War coup driven by both anti-communism and corporate interest.
Connections
- rival of Allen Dulles — Oversaw the CIA coup that removed him in 1954.
- rival of Allen Dulles — The CIA under Dulles organized the coup that removed him.
- rival of Frank Wisner — Directed the covert planning that led to his removal.
In the timeline
- 1950 Jacobo Árbenz is elected president the president
- 1951 Jacobo Arbenz takes office as Guatemalan president central figure
- 1952 Decree 900 and the land reform the reforming president
- 1953 Bernays and United Fruit in the Guatemala coup mentioned
- 1954 Operation PBSuccess overthrows Arbenz in Guatemala mentioned
- 1954 Jacobo Arbenz forced from power in Guatemala central figure
- 1954 US-backed coup overthrows Guatemala's Jacobo Arbenz central figure
- 1954 US overthrows Guatemala's Arbenz government mentioned
- 1954 The coup topples Árbenz the overthrown president
- 1954 The CIA overthrows Arbenz in Guatemala the overthrown president
- 1954 Guatemala's Jacobo Arbenz is overthrown in Operation PBSuccess the overthrown president
- 1954 The overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala central figure