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Guatemala and Czechoslovakia at the beginning of the Cold War

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2016

Abstract

This article introduces a not well researched historic problem about the relation of Czechoslovakia and Guatemala in the period of so called Guatemalan Revolution in the years 1944-1954. It is based mainly on the non published materials from Czech archives, archives of the CIA and important books on the subject.

Czechoslovak relation with Guatemala was created already in the period in-between World Wars, when the commerce of coffee helped to create official diplomatic relations which were sealed in 1936 commercial agreement. After the end of the Second World War these relations were not renewed, however the new democratic regime of the president Arévalo had imminent interest to renew this relationship.

In the same spirit continued also his successor Jacobo Arbenz. He really managed to renew the relations at the diplomatic basis and in the year 1954 realized the purchase of great number of weapons from Czechoslovakia.

Unfortunately it was at the time of growing pressure of the United States towards his regime. So the weapons bought in Czechoslovakia played a great role in the fall of the democratic state in Guatemala, because for the United States represented excellent pretext for intervention.