The Curious Case of Sydney Gruson and the Obsessions of Guatemala and the United States

Abstract

By 1954, the United States was gripped by the fear of the ever-expanding Communist tide. The expansion of Soviet Russia into Eastern Europe, the fall of China to the reds, and the war over the Korean peninsula had all shaken America's nerves. As the only non-Communist super-power, the United States felt that it was its duty to first halt the spread of Communism and then push it back and replace it with democracies. Any government that had even the slightest hint of Communism must be removed for the safety of the United States and democracy. The United States State Department and CIA became obsessed with rooting out Communism and Communists, and Guatemala became caught in the CIA's crosshairs. This obsession lead to a lack of perspective and inability to see the other side's point of view that caused the CIA, the United States State Department, and the Eisenhower administration to cause the downfall of Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman and end the October Revolution of 1944. Both sides were guilty of tunnel vision. All the CIA could see was red Communists quickly taking over the government of Guatemala and creating a beachhead for Moscow and the USSR to infiltrate the North American continent and the United States' sphere of influence. While the people of the United States and their government may or may not have had justification for this fear, the real tragedy was their inability to see and understand why and what the reality was on the ground in Guatemala. Arbenz and his foreign minister were just as guilty in bringing about their demise. Arbenz and Toriello's inability to understand the United States' fear of Communism, and their own obsession with United Fruit Company contributed in a significant way to the end of their administration.

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