{"id":150,"date":"2022-01-04T20:51:41","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T20:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/his247su22\/?post_type=chapter&p=150"},"modified":"2025-05-22T18:16:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T18:16:19","slug":"economic-imperialism-and-the-cia","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/his2015\/chapter\/economic-imperialism-and-the-cia\/","title":{"raw":"5.3 Economic Imperialism and the CIA","rendered":"5.3 Economic Imperialism and the CIA"},"content":{"raw":"

Guatemala and the CIA<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_259\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"624\"]\"Jacobo Guatemalan president (1951-1954) Jacobo Arbenz posing for a photo with native Guatemalans. Attribution: Digital Image, Wikimedia Commons.[\/caption]\r\n

While the Soviet Union often supported oppressive Communist regimes, the United States supported any regime that opposed Communism, sometimes intervening to overturn elections when the results seemed to favor the Soviet Union. This was the case when the Eisenhower administration allowed the CIA to support a coup to overthrow the president of Guatemala after he nationalized properties owned by the United Fruit Company. United Fruit owned key Guatemalan infrastructure, including railroads, the harbor, telephone system and held a monopoly over Guatemala\u2019s cash crop \u2013 bananas.<\/p>\r\n

Macrohistory: Guatemala, Unrest and Civil War (2 pages)<\/a>\r\nUnited Fruit Historical Society Chronology: Timeline<\/a><\/p>\r\n\"CIA<\/a>\r\n

Page from the CIA document outlining\u00a0the overthrow of President Arbenz in Guatemala. Read the whole document here.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Iranian Coup<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_261\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"256\"]\"Mohammed Picture released in the early 1950s of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh during a press conference in Tehran, Iran. Attribution: Digital Image, Getty Images.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAlso during the 1950s, the United States and Great Britain backed a coup intended to overthrow Iran\u2019s Prime Minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, an event that helped create the anti-American climate that still seems to prevail in Iranian politics. The CIA plan included measures to undermine Mossadegh\u2019s political base, bribing members of parliament, gaining the cooperation of the Shah, and even organizing demonstrations. The goal of the coup was to install a pro-Western government after it seemed that Mossadegh might become too friendly with the Soviet Union, which wanted access to Iranian oil and ports.\r\n

National Security Archives: Iranian Coup<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Knowledge Check<\/h2>\r\nUse the following ungraded, self-check questions to confirm your learning for this module.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"6\"]\r\n

References<\/h2>\r\n

Byrne, Malcom. \"CIA Confirms Role in 1953 Iran Coup.\"\u00a0NSA Archive,<\/em> August 19, 2013. Accessed May 25, 2015. http:\/\/nsarchive.gwu.edu\/NSAEBB\/NSAEBB435.<\/p>\r\n

Westad, Odd Arne. The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times<\/em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.<\/p>","rendered":"

Guatemala and the CIA<\/h2>\n
\"Jacobo
Guatemalan president (1951-1954) Jacobo Arbenz posing for a photo with native Guatemalans. Attribution: Digital Image, Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the Soviet Union often supported oppressive Communist regimes, the United States supported any regime that opposed Communism, sometimes intervening to overturn elections when the results seemed to favor the Soviet Union. This was the case when the Eisenhower administration allowed the CIA to support a coup to overthrow the president of Guatemala after he nationalized properties owned by the United Fruit Company. United Fruit owned key Guatemalan infrastructure, including railroads, the harbor, telephone system and held a monopoly over Guatemala\u2019s cash crop \u2013 bananas.<\/p>\n

Macrohistory: Guatemala, Unrest and Civil War (2 pages)<\/a>
\nUnited Fruit Historical Society Chronology: Timeline<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CIA<\/a><\/p>\n

Page from the CIA document outlining\u00a0the overthrow of President Arbenz in Guatemala. Read the whole document here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Iranian Coup<\/h2>\n
\"Mohammed
Picture released in the early 1950s of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh during a press conference in Tehran, Iran. Attribution: Digital Image, Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also during the 1950s, the United States and Great Britain backed a coup intended to overthrow Iran\u2019s Prime Minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, an event that helped create the anti-American climate that still seems to prevail in Iranian politics. The CIA plan included measures to undermine Mossadegh\u2019s political base, bribing members of parliament, gaining the cooperation of the Shah, and even organizing demonstrations. The goal of the coup was to install a pro-Western government after it seemed that Mossadegh might become too friendly with the Soviet Union, which wanted access to Iranian oil and ports.<\/p>\n

National Security Archives: Iranian Coup<\/a><\/p>\n

Knowledge Check<\/h2>\n

Use the following ungraded, self-check questions to confirm your learning for this module.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n