Operation PBSuccess aimed to overthrow which government?

• A. Guatemala's Árbenz
• B. Nicaragua's Somoza
• C. Cuba's Castro
• D. El Salvador's government

Answer: (A)

PBSuccess was a CIA-led covert effort in the early 1950s aimed at removing Guatemala’s government under Jacobo Árbenz. The United States viewed Árbenz’s land reform and other policies as left-leaning and potentially supportive of communism, which, in the context of the Cold War and American economic interests (notably the United Fruit Company), spurred a plan to overthrow him. The operation combined propaganda, financial and logistical support for opposition forces, and a military push that culminated in Árbenz stepping down and a new government under Carlos Castillo Armas taking power. This targeted Guatemala specifically, not Nicaragua, Cuba, or El Salvador, making Guatemala’s Árbenz the correct focus of the effort.