What was the codename of the US covert operation to overthrow the Guatemalan government in 1954?

The US covert operation to overthrow Guatemala’s government in 1954 was codenamed Operation PBSUCCESS.

The CIA operation targeted President Jacobo Árbenz, whose government had introduced land reforms that affected the powerful United Fruit Company. US officials also viewed the legalization of Guatemala’s communist Party of Labour as evidence of growing Soviet influence, though historians have debated and criticized the strength of that assessment.

The CIA armed and trained a small exile force led by Carlos Castillo Armas. Beginning in June 1954, the operation combined limited military incursions with propaganda, psychological warfare, diplomatic pressure, and the appearance of overwhelming rebel strength. Árbenz resigned on June 27, and Castillo Armas eventually took power.

PBSUCCESS is distinct from Operation PBFORTUNE, an earlier 1952 plan that was abandoned but helped pave the way for the 1954 intervention. Operation Zapata refers to the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, while Mongoose was a later anti-Castro campaign against Cuba.