DBQ: Cold War Proxy Wars - CIA Interference in Guatemala

Document based questions covering the United States' decision—self-proclaimed champions of democracy around the world—to send the CIA to overthrow the democratically-elected president of Guatemala in 1954. Includes 5 separate documents:

1. “Soviet Objectives in Latin America” CIA internal document, 1947 (This text excerpt displays the CIA's fears of Soviet involvement in Latin America).

2. Portion of inauguration speech from Jacobo Arbenz, 1951 (This document displays the populist approach of the incoming Guatemalan president and his concern for the poor).

3. Photo of billboard showing a slogan of Arbenz, 1953 (This document portrays the messaging and call to arms for the Guatemalan people to defend their land and right to prosperity promised by the new administration).

4. CIA internal document, “Guatemala and its Relation to Hemispheric Security,” 1953. (When this document was written, a large shipment of arms had recently arrived in Guatemala from Czechoslovakia, a communist “satellite state” in Eastern Europe under heavy Soviet influence. This works to confirm the anxieties of the CIA and American assets who feared Soviet influence in Latin America).

5. Jacobo Arbenz, president of Guatemala, farewell speech from 1954. (Document shows the feelings of Arbenz as he was forced out of office by anti-communist fighters armed and trained by the CIA).

Document questions are designed to highlight the underlying themes represented in the documents. NOTE: The reading level of these documents can be challenging for some students. Designed for use in a 10th grade AP World History classroom in Brooklyn, NY.