United Fruit Company vs. Guatemala

They tell you that business is a game of numbers. They are lying.

In 1954, a dispute over uncultivated farmland escalated into a corporate-sponsored coup d'état. The United Fruit Company, facing the loss of its tax-free monopoly in Guatemala, convinced the Eisenhower administration that a few million dollars in banana profits were a matter of national security.

This is the true story of how a corporation bought a country, and the terrifying psychological warfare campaign that destroyed a decade of democracy.

In this episode, we break down:

• The Banana Republic: How "Sam the Banana Man" Zemurray established the precedent for corporate sovereign impunity.
• The 10-Year Spring: Why Jacobo Árbenz’s moderate capitalist reforms triggered a Wall Street panic.
• The Interlocking Directorate: The blatant conflicts of interest between the Dulles brothers, the CIA, and United Fruit.
• The PR Machine: How Edward Bernays, the "Father of Public Relations," tricked the New York Times and the American public.
• Operation PBSUCCESS: The CIA's fake radio broadcasts, mercenary pilots, and chilling "disposal lists."

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