Opération PBSUCCESS (beginning 1952 - fine 1954) is a secret operation of the Central Intelligence Agency which reversed successfully the President of the Guatemala Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, democratically elected. The government of Arbenz projected new reforms that the agencies of intelligence of the United States judged nature Communiste. The CIA and the administration Eisenhower suspectaient the introduction of a Soviet Tête of bridge of the west, a risk which did not find opponents in the Maccarthysme intensely Anti-communiste of the time. Arbenz was also the instigator of reform S of arable lands in particular antagonisant the American multinational United Fruit Company, which had large interests in Guatemala and made pressure on varied levels of the US government for an action against Arbenz.

The operation aimed to arm and to form a “Army Release” of circumstance of approximately 400 combatants, under the orders of an officer of the Guatemalan army exiled of the time, Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. Once the reversed government, the CIA founded the “revolutionary movement” jointly with a diplomatic, economic campaign and of Propagande.

In June 1954, the lieutenant-colonel Carlos Castillo Armas invades the Guatemala, helped by troops trained with the Honduras by the CIA and of a rebellious army trained with the Nicaragua.

In the tread of the first coup d'etat orchestrated by the CIA, operation PBSUCCESS employed ideas and methods which were relatively new at the time and following its success, operation PBSUCCESS became the model de facto standard to reverse and destabilize an unfavourable government, in particular the fallen through blow of Cuba to the beginning of the year 1960 and Chile in 1970.

See too

• Opération Ajax
• Affaire Iran-Countered