The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état, code-named Operation PBSuccess, was a covert operation by the CIA that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz.
A Chiquita PR Campaign was Powerful Enough to Topple the Guatemalan Government
Chiquita’s brand image comes across as fun and playful, but the company has some dark history.
The (Literally) Unbelievable Story of the Original Fake News Network
Once upon a time in Guatemala, the CIA hired a cocky American actor and two radio DJs to launch a revolution and oust a president. Their playbook is being used against the U.S. right now.
[EdNote: This is a Wag the Dog story. Reality is stranger than fiction.*]
Blood For Bananas: United Fruit's Central American Empire
A politician named Jacobo Arbenz was elected president in Guatemala, one of the Central American countries occupied by United Fruit. Arbenz was a strict nationalist, and all he wanted was for his people to stop suffering in poverty. One of the most prominent issues in Guatemala, at the time, was scarcity of land. When United Fruit invaded Guatemala, they bought out many of the local farmers to acquire land for their plantations. This did not leave room for the peasants, who relied on farming as the sole source of their income.
1954 Coup: Destroying Democracy
In 1954, the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government of Guatemala, violently reversing the progressive policies of the civilian governments. This coup was undertaken at the behest of the United Fruit Company, and it ushered in a thirty-six-year civil war that claimed the lives of approximately 200,000 civilians.
Propaganda Revisited
In 1928 Edward Bernays, in a book titled Propaganda, argued that propaganda was a good thing, a useful tool for the ruling elite because the masses needed to be moved. They were sheep too dumb to know what was best for them without guidance. The government and the media should work together to create an appetite for the right goods, services, leaders.
CIA and Assassinations: The Guatemala 1954 Documents
In 1997 the CIA de-classified 1400 of the 100,000 documents related to the Guatemala destabilization program.
Chiquita’s brand image comes across as fun and playful, but the company has some dark history.
The (Literally) Unbelievable Story of the Original Fake News Network
Once upon a time in Guatemala, the CIA hired a cocky American actor and two radio DJs to launch a revolution and oust a president. Their playbook is being used against the U.S. right now.
[EdNote: This is a Wag the Dog story. Reality is stranger than fiction.*]
Blood For Bananas: United Fruit's Central American Empire
A politician named Jacobo Arbenz was elected president in Guatemala, one of the Central American countries occupied by United Fruit. Arbenz was a strict nationalist, and all he wanted was for his people to stop suffering in poverty. One of the most prominent issues in Guatemala, at the time, was scarcity of land. When United Fruit invaded Guatemala, they bought out many of the local farmers to acquire land for their plantations. This did not leave room for the peasants, who relied on farming as the sole source of their income.
1954 Coup: Destroying Democracy
Propaganda Revisited
In 1928 Edward Bernays, in a book titled Propaganda, argued that propaganda was a good thing, a useful tool for the ruling elite because the masses needed to be moved. They were sheep too dumb to know what was best for them without guidance. The government and the media should work together to create an appetite for the right goods, services, leaders.
CIA and Assassinations: The Guatemala 1954 Documents
In 1997 the CIA de-classified 1400 of the 100,000 documents related to the Guatemala destabilization program.
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The proper way to do a mashup like this is to add value through interpreting what it means or making comments regarding these things. What is unfortunate is that the more one learns about our clandestine activities, especially the abuse of power demonstrated in this chronicle of manipulation and subversion, the more challenging it is to trust our nation's leadership. Sadly, Guatemala was not an isolated event.
Here's a bonus track: The Purpose of Propaganda--Social Engineering
*This is why a wise man once said "Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see."
Former Director of the CIA Allen Dulles, and Deputy Director for Plans Richard Bissel talk openly and even proudly about the CIA overthrow of governments, including Guatemala, in this chilling 1965 interview with John Chancellor. (52 minutes)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZQ54yqtlRw
Thanks for sharing that. It makes my stomach churn like a bitter pill, but it is valuable to see who we have been as it provides insights regarding who we are (as a nation).
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