Editing United Fruit Company (section)

===Guatemala===
{{See also|1954 Guatemalan coup d'état#United Fruit Company lobbying}}[[File:Reforma agraria 1952.jpg|thumb|180px|When President [[Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán]] attempted a [[Decree 900|redistribution of land]], he was overthrown in the [[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état]]]]
Although UFCO sometimes promoted the development of the nations where it operated, its long-term effects on their economy and infrastructure were often devastating. In Central America, the Company built extensive railroads and ports, provided employment and transportation, and created numerous schools for the people who lived and worked on Company land. On the other hand, it allowed vast tracts of land under its ownership to remain uncultivated and, in Guatemala and elsewhere, it discouraged the government from building highways, which would have lessened the profitable transportation monopoly of the railroads under its control. UFCO also destroyed at least one of those railroads upon leaving its area of operation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chapman |first=Peter |year=2007 |title=Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |isbn=978-1-84195-881-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/bananashowunited00chap }}</ref>

In 1954, the Guatemalan government of Colonel [[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état|Jacobo Árbenz]], elected in 1950, was toppled by forces led by Colonel [[Carlos Castillo Armas]]{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=343}} who invaded from [[Honduras]]. Commissioned by the Eisenhower administration, this military operation was armed, trained and organized by the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=340}} (see ''[[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état|Operation PBSuccess]]''). The directors of United Fruit Company (UFCO) had lobbied to convince the [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] and Eisenhower administrations that Colonel Árbenz intended to align Guatemala with the [[Eastern Bloc]]. Besides the disputed issue of Árbenz's allegiance to communism, UFCO was being threatened by the Árbenz government's agrarian reform legislation and new Labor Code.{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=337}} UFCO was the largest landowner and employer in Guatemala, and the Árbenz government's land reform program included the expropriation of 40% of UFCO land.{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=337}} U.S. officials had little proof to back their claims of a growing communist threat in Guatemala;{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=342}} however, the relationship between the Eisenhower administration and UFCO demonstrated the influence of corporate interest on U.S. foreign policy.{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=340}} [[United States Secretary of State]] [[John Foster Dulles]], an avowed opponent of communism, was also a member of the law firm, [[Sullivan and Cromwell]], which had represented United Fruit.{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=338}} His brother [[Allen Dulles]], director of the CIA, was also a board member of United Fruit. United Fruit Company is the only company known to have a [[CIA cryptonym]].{{citation needed|date=May 2025|reason=see [[Talk:United Fruit Company#The Cryptonym Conundrum]], watch out for circular references!}}{{dubious inline|The Cryptonym Conundrum|date=May 2025}} The brother of the Assistant Secretary of State for InterAmerican Affairs, [[John Moors Cabot]], had once been president of United Fruit. Ed Whitman, who was United Fruit's principal lobbyist, was married to President Eisenhower's personal secretary, [[Ann C. Whitman]].{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=338}} Many individuals who directly influenced U.S. policy towards Guatemala in the 1950s also had direct ties to UFCO.{{sfn|Schoultz|1998|p=337}}

After the overthrow of Árbenz, a military dictatorship was established under Carlos Castillo Armas. Soon after coming to power, the new government launched a concerted campaign against trade unionists, in which some of the most severe violence was directed at workers on the plantations of the United Fruit Company.<ref name="Forster 2001 202"/>

Despite UFCO's government connections and conflicts of interest, the overthrow of Árbenz failed to benefit the company. Its stock market value declined along with its profit margin. The Eisenhower administration proceeded with [[antitrust]] action against the company, which forced it to divest in 1958. In 1972, the company sold off the last of its Guatemalan holdings after over a decade of decline.

Even as the Árbenz government was being overthrown, in 1954 a [[General strike of 1954 (Honduras)|general strike]] against the company organized by workers in Honduras rapidly paralyzed that country, and, due to the United States' concern about the events in Guatemala, was settled more favorably for the workers in order for the United States to gain leverage for the Guatemala operation.