Operation PBFORTUNE
Encyclopedia
Operation PBFORTUNE was the name of a contingency plan drafted by the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
in 1951 that outlined a method of ousting Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz
if he was deemed a Communist threat in the hemisphere. The plan was a precursor to Operation PBSUCCESS
, codename for the covert operation that went forward successfully in 1954.
Although PBFORTUNE was officially approved on September 9, 1952, various planning steps had been taken earlier in the year. In January 1952, officers in the CIA's Directorate of Plans
compiled a list of "top flight Communists whom the new government would desire to eliminate immediately in the event of a successful anti-Communist coup." Later, in April 1952, Nicaraguan President
Anastasio Somoza García
visited US President Harry Truman and said that if provided arms, he would collaborate with Guatemalan exile Carlos Castillo Armas
to overthrow Guatemalan President Arbenz. After a CIA agent investigated the feasibility of such a plan, it was proposed that the CIA supply the needed arms and $225,000 to Castillo Armas, and that Nicaragua
and Honduras
should supply air support to the Guatemalan rebels.
Part of the CIA plan called for the assassination of over 58 Guatemalans, and Castillo Armas agreed to collaborate with a request from General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
, the dictator of the Dominican Republic
, to assassinate 4 additional Dominicans who were in Guatemala. Several other assassination plans continued after the termination of PBFORTUNE in October, 1952, when the CIA learned that PBFORTUNE had been discovered.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in 1951 that outlined a method of ousting Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz
Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán
Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as Defense Minister of Guatemala from 1944–1951, and as President of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954....
if he was deemed a Communist threat in the hemisphere. The plan was a precursor to Operation PBSUCCESS
Operation PBSUCCESS
The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was a covert operation organized by the United States Central Intelligence Agency to overthrow Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, the democratically-elected President of Guatemala....
, codename for the covert operation that went forward successfully in 1954.
Although PBFORTUNE was officially approved on September 9, 1952, various planning steps had been taken earlier in the year. In January 1952, officers in the CIA's Directorate of Plans
National Clandestine Service
The National Clandestine Service is one of the four main components of the Central Intelligence Agency...
compiled a list of "top flight Communists whom the new government would desire to eliminate immediately in the event of a successful anti-Communist coup." Later, in April 1952, Nicaraguan President
President of Nicaragua
The position of President of Nicaragua was created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until the Constitution of 1838 the title of the position was known as Head of State and from 1838 to 1854 as Supreme Director .-Heads of State of Nicaragua within the Federal Republic of Central America...
Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García was officially the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.-Biography:Somoza was born in San Marcos, Carazo Department in Nicaragua, the son of...
visited US President Harry Truman and said that if provided arms, he would collaborate with Guatemalan exile Carlos Castillo Armas
Carlos Castillo Armas
Carlos Castillo Armas was a Guatemalan Colonel who came to power in a CIA-orchestrated coup in 1954. He held the title of President of Guatemala from July 8, 1954 until his assassination in 1957.-The coup:...
to overthrow Guatemalan President Arbenz. After a CIA agent investigated the feasibility of such a plan, it was proposed that the CIA supply the needed arms and $225,000 to Castillo Armas, and that Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
should supply air support to the Guatemalan rebels.
Part of the CIA plan called for the assassination of over 58 Guatemalans, and Castillo Armas agreed to collaborate with a request from General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina , nicknamed El Jefe , ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He officially served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, otherwise ruling as an unelected military strongman...
, the dictator of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, to assassinate 4 additional Dominicans who were in Guatemala. Several other assassination plans continued after the termination of PBFORTUNE in October, 1952, when the CIA learned that PBFORTUNE had been discovered.
See also
- Operation PBSUCCESSOperation PBSUCCESSThe 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was a covert operation organized by the United States Central Intelligence Agency to overthrow Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, the democratically-elected President of Guatemala....
- Wikisource:CIA and Guatemala Assassination Proposals: CIA History Staff Analysis
- History of GuatemalaHistory of GuatemalaThe history of Guatemala begins with the arrival of the first human settlers as early as 12,000 BC or even 18,000 BC. Civilization developed and flourished during the Pre-Columbian era with little to no contact with cultures from outside of Mesoamerica...
- Jacobo Arbenz GuzmánJacobo Arbenz GuzmánColonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as Defense Minister of Guatemala from 1944–1951, and as President of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954....
- United Fruit CompanyUnited Fruit CompanyIt had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
- Allen Welsh DullesAllen Welsh DullesAllen Welsh Dulles was an American diplomat, lawyer, banker, and public official who became the first civilian and the longest-serving Director of Central Intelligence and a member of the Warren Commission...
External links
- U.S. State Department report on Guatemalan situation and early CIA planning
- From Arbenz to Zelaya: Chiquita in Latin America - video report by Democracy Now!