In June 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the advice of his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and head of the CIA, Allen Dulles, launched Operation PBSUCCESS. The goal of this operation, a successor to the planned Operation PBFORTUNE under Truman, was to oust the supposed Communist backed government in Guatemala headed by President Jacobo Arbenz.
PBSUCCESS was seen as a necessary action to prevent the invasion of communism within the U.S. sphere of influence. Eisenhower and his administration facing a stalemate in Korea, the fall of China, involvement in Indochina (Vietnam) as well as potential new states in the Middle East and North Africa falling into Soviet influence needed to show the Allies of western Europe that the U.S. was a strong ally to prevent the Soviets from advancing their communist agenda any further than it already was.
It appeared that the goal of containing communism was failing as states were falling like dominoes under its influence. The new theory about the spread of communism coined domino theory took its name from the nations falling to communism like a stack of dominoes that had been pushed over.
This exhibit seeks to relay the important information regarding Operation PBSUCCESS also known as the 1954 Guatemalan Coup. This site contains a map of Guatemala and its place within the world, photos and short biographies of the main players on both sides, a historical timeline of the events leading up to and including Operation PBSUCCESS, and a choose your own scenario adventure to see what the outcomes are based off of your choices.
PBSUCCESS was seen as a necessary action to prevent the invasion of communism within the U.S. sphere of influence. Eisenhower and his administration facing a stalemate in Korea, the fall of China, involvement in Indochina (Vietnam) as well as potential new states in the Middle East and North Africa falling into Soviet influence needed to show the Allies of western Europe that the U.S. was a strong ally to prevent the Soviets from advancing their communist agenda any further than it already was.
It appeared that the goal of containing communism was failing as states were falling like dominoes under its influence. The new theory about the spread of communism coined domino theory took its name from the nations falling to communism like a stack of dominoes that had been pushed over.
This exhibit seeks to relay the important information regarding Operation PBSUCCESS also known as the 1954 Guatemalan Coup. This site contains a map of Guatemala and its place within the world, photos and short biographies of the main players on both sides, a historical timeline of the events leading up to and including Operation PBSUCCESS, and a choose your own scenario adventure to see what the outcomes are based off of your choices.