Background
Carlos Castillo was an anti-liberal, anti-communist Guatemalan army officer who helped overthrow the dictatorship of Jorge Ubico in 1944. As the October Revolution of 1944 continued, he became angry with the administration of Juan José Arévalo after the assassination of Colonel Jacobo Arana, someone that Castillo respected highly. In November 1950, Castillo attempted to overthrow the Arévalo administration with seventy of his followers. The coup failed, several of his soldiers were killed, and Castillo himself was shot and captured. However, he managed to scape in 1952 and fled to Honduras.
In August 1953, Castillo became the "Liberator" of Guatemala, supported by the Eisenhower administration and specifically the CIA, with the aim of overthrowing the allegedly pro-communist administration of Jacobo Arbenz, Arévalo's successor. With that backing, Castillo successfully completed a coup (PBSUCCESS) against the Arbenz administration and on 1 September 1954 he was officially declared president of Guatemala.
Read more about this topic: National Committee Of Defense Against Communism
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