Guatemala 1954: When a Fruit Company Helped Overthrow a Government

Episode Description: In 1954, Guatemala’s democratically elected president was overthrown in a CIA-backed operation. At the center of the controversy was an American corporation with enormous economic interests in the country: the United Fruit Company. This episode explores how land reform, Cold War fears, corporate lobbying, and covert intelligence operations collided, raising a troubling question about national sovereignty. What happens when a foreign corporation’s interests become intertwined with another government’s foreign policy?