Editing Operation PBSuccess (section)

==Operational Components== 
Propaganda Campaign: The CIA established Radio Liberación, broadcasting anti-Árbenz messages from Honduras and Nicaragua, managed by Phillips. Leaflets, cartoons, and fake news reports exaggerated Castillo Armas’s strength and warned of communist tyranny.

Paramilitary Force: Castillo Armas led a force of about 480 rebels, trained in CIA camps in Honduras (Camp Trax) and Nicaragua, with support from Somoza and Honduran dictator Juan Manuel Gálvez. The CIA provided weapons, including rifles, machine guns, and mortars, and trained rebels in sabotage and guerrilla tactics.

Air Support: CIA-piloted planes, including P-47 Thunderbolts and Cessnas, conducted bombing runs on Guatemala City and other targets, dropping propaganda and small explosives to create panic. Pilots like Jerry DeLarm were recruited from the U.S. and Latin America.

Intelligence and Subversion: The CIA infiltrated Guatemala’s military and government, bribing officers to defect or sabotage Árbenz’s defenses. Operation WASHTUB, a sub-operation, planted a fake Soviet arms cache in Nicaragua to justify intervention, though it had limited impact.

===Execution===
 (December 1953–June 1954)

===Initial Phase===
 (December 1953–May 1954)
  
Propaganda Build-Up: Radio Liberación began broadcasting in early 1954, spreading rumors of Árbenz’s corruption and Soviet ties. The CIA distributed 100,000 leaflets and used Catholic clergy to denounce Árbenz as anti-religious, exploiting Guatemala’s religious sentiment.

Diplomatic Pressure: At the 10th Inter-American Conference in Caracas (March 1954), John Foster Dulles secured an OAS resolution condemning communism, isolating Guatemala diplomatically. Peurifoy, appointed ambassador in 1953, met Árbenz in December 1953, aggressively demanding the expulsion of communists.

Czech Arms Shipment: In May 1954, Árbenz received 2,000 tons of Czech weapons aboard the ship Alfhem, prompting U.S. outrage and it was used as justification for escalation. The CIA exaggerated the shipment’s threat, claiming it could arm a communist militia, though most weapons were outdated and did not function.

===Main Offensive====
 (June 18–27, 1954) 
Invasion Launch: On June 18, 1954, Castillo Armas’s rebels crossed from Honduras into Guatemala, advancing in five groups toward Puerto Barrios, Zacapa, and other targets. The force was small and poorly trained, relying on CIA air support and propaganda to amplify its threat.

Air Campaign: CIA planes bombed Guatemala City, military bases, and fuel depots, creating chaos. A notable incident involved a bomb dropped on a British ship, SS Springfjord, mistaken for a Guatemalan target, leading to a $1 million U.S. settlement with the UK.

Psychological Impact: Radio Liberación falsely reported massive rebel advances and defections, eroding Árbenz’s military morale. The CIA spread rumors of a U.S. invasion, terrifying Guatemalan officers, many of whom refused to fight, fearing U.S. retaliation.

Military Collapse: Árbenz’s army, about 5,000 strong, was paralyzed by defections and low morale. Key officers, bribed or intimidated, failed to engage Castillo Armas’s force, which stalled near Zacapa. Peurifoy’s ultimatum to Árbenz, demanding resignation, added pressure.

Árbenz’s Resignation: On June 27, 1954, Árbenz, facing military abandonment and U.S. threats, resigned, delivering a radio address blaming UFCO and U.S. imperialism. He sought asylum in the Mexican embassy, later living in exile in Switzerland, Cuba, and elsewhere.

===Aftermath===
 (July 1954–Onward)  

Castillo Armas’s Regime: On July 8, 1954, Castillo Armas was installed as president, forming a junta with CIA backing. His government reversed Decree 900, returning land to UFCO, banned the PGT, and initiated a repressive campaign, killing an estimated 3,000–5,000 suspected 'communists'. The National Committee of Defense Against Communism purged resistance, Castillo Armas was assassinated in 1957, leading to further instability.

Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996): PBSuccess destabilized Guatemala, sparking a 36-year civil war between armed resistance to United States and CIA installed governments  and U.S. backed regimes, resulting in over 200,000 deaths, mostly indigenous Maya, per the 1999 UN Truth Commission. The CIA’s arming of fascist forces fueled genocidal campaigns, notably under Efraín Ríos Montt (1982–1983).

Declassification and Exposure: The CIA declassified 1,400 pages of PBSuccess documents in 1997, prompted by the 1992 Foreign Relations of the United States volume and Guatemala’s peace accords. Nick Cullather’s Secret History: The CIA’s Classified Account of Its Operations in Guatemala, 1952–1954 (1999), a CIA internal history, detailed the operation’s planning and execution, confirming UFCO’s influence and psychological warfare’s success.