Carlos Castillo Armas

Carlos Castillo Armas was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who played a pivotal role in the 1954 coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz. Supported by the U.S. government, Castillo Armas led a campaign against Árbenz’s land reforms, which aimed to redistribute land from large estates to poorer farmers. After the coup, he became the President of Guatemala, ruling from 1954 until his assassination in 1957. His regime was marked by repression and violence against opposition, and his actions contributed to decades of political turmoil in Guatemala.