TWISTS AND TURNS OF OUR GUATEMALA POLICY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000700590002-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 4, 2004
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 24, 1966
• Content Type: NSPR

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CHICAGO, ILL.
NEV"s
Approved For kelease 2004/12/15 :
25X 1
By Geor ie Anne Geer` ' Argentina, and Richard Helms, the left are the rapidly b g Y -1 Moscoso Argued then a CIA official and now 1 in Gastro,te Rebel Armed
Chicago Daily News Service g
I
7
Its director. Forces (FAR), mad . .
?1966, Chlcaoo Daily News I For Ar-evUlO
e up oft
GUATEMALA CITY They added that this point ACCORDING to the inforr Marxists and young democrats'
who believe there is no lon
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ourc
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id
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es
m
e
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ger
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e
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en- of vices was opposed by Teo
ennedy
nedy adminstration have re- doro Moscoso, then administra-' was himself unsure about, the any democratic way to bring
Instigated and supported the Moscoso., argued that. Arevalo, t eventually relied on a simple
is U.S. Diplomacy:
vote of his advisers
1963 coup by the Guatemalan who membe
'There
f th '?
w
e
.
.
as a
r o
i
military to overthrow the con- 1 democratic left and had
ushed also'soiitic evidence that lowerSend in t7te CI 4
p
stitutionally elected President reforms during his administra-;'levci CIA officials, who appre- III The story of Aml ricanNdi?
Miguel Ydigoras-Fuentes. tion,, was no further to the: ciatcd. Ydigoras' help in the i,plomacy in. Guatemala, which In view of the crucial fight' left ?than 'ex-President Romulo Cuban invasion, were not in + has p l a y e d a major role in-,,;
1. still going on to establish a
e
l
x agreement with thd'decisio,
f Ve
r
n
z e
o
o
c
stable, democratic government j 'Gov.- Luis Munoz Mann of The Ydigot~as coup came at ( been .a story of tcont nuous ins,
in Guatemala and in view of '< ',
t ,Puerto Rico..
ico. - ?,~' ; a time when the brilliance of 1 .. r
Alliance for' Progress to en- ]1MO1iCOSO,, these sources early concern over pushing n ra intelligence Agency.
said, argued that. these men The problems started after,
courage democracy in Latin g .. democracy in Latin American ; ? - -
n,
w r i t c s new chapter in rnen. of the non-Communist the Bay of Pigs invasion, and
d f against dictator Jorge Ubico;;?
!'hemispheric history. left developed reform-minded; the concomitant new reliance, When Juan Jose Arevalo, 'con-;
According to these sources; progressive administral.ion, and Joti--mili tar - re . I m , -es - a sidered the "first president
atnst of
who must remain anonymous, 'he pointed out that both hail y g g
'r become c o m m u n ism, ignited the , t power. revolution, came to+
the. decision to o v c r t h r o w?; become favorites, of P.resident,. , %:;~
-.- ---- . . -- such as spanuat sociansm,-1,
ncdy and his top advisers early was taken, the "coup bloc" known as a more "pragmatic" which meant a kind of mY' sit
-
1963
i
d
d b
h
an
n
was pus
e
y won out--it was voted, that approach.. cal bond between men. He
the. American ambassador to i Ydigoras should be over.-:
.11, IN PART, he Guatemalan made reforms in education lit-
Guatemala, John O.? B' troduced social security and!
.1 ` ! thrown. ..coup led direct l y to toda
's
y
THE REASON was not to; It ,is unclear
whether the Problems. in this most troubled medical CO v a r a g e for the', ? ,?'
.
This workers, encouraged industrial
depose Ydigoras, a flamboyant I? Peralta family was
then country in Latin America
.
, ,
general and dedicated anti- chosen or whether they prof is because it, was followed by development and started union
ti
i
f
za
on o
workers,
Communist who gave. Guate- fered their services: But Col, a military dictatorship whose'
malan land for training exiles Enrique, Peralta. Azurdia YR;_ unpopularity helnmd rasrroite There has never been any
he attempted to control the".'
what was considered to be an culminated in the overthrow on allowed elections to be held-,__ __
a
d th
idd
, ....,
n
e m
le-
;. by Juan Jose Arevalo. In P i' e's i d e n t Kennedy's road government of President some critics, however, is that'
council, the men who in the last years ' of .his presl
pushed Julio Cesar Mendez hlontene-
(Last of a Series)'
But the dencX he became practically 'a
the coup were Bell
who' had gro came into power
,
.
prisoner the
His
At the meeting, the sources been a. top AID official for :Mendez government is still try
Icdar toy the fart
said; Bell argued vehemently many. years and is now poli-ling desperately to straddle the I
.
a U.& militar leftist ad~~tnistration of ' Col_'
that Arevalo, who. had been tical adviser to y two cxtren)cs. Jac?be %lrbenz Guzman.
president from, 1944 to 1950, unit .in Florida; dwin M. ' ' On the right, are some' with- . .
'was a Communist and that his % L f artin, then assistant secretary fin'
in the m i l i t a r y and the f.' THE ARBENZ years matte
election must be prevented at; of'state for inter-American af- econoipic groujs who see'any up onci of the most fascinating
all costs. ' j_fairs and now ambassador ,to lchango ',as_ communistic,: ;On ?cht}pteiri n recent Latin Amen..
1 Approved For Release 2004/12/15 : CIA-RDP75-0014990007QQ59000272
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