The United States government orchestrated the coup to protect American economic interests and suppress perceived communist influence in Guatemala. The administration conflated the national security concerns of the United Fruit Company with broader geopolitical goals under the Monroe Doctrine.
Deputy Director Frank Wisner headed the operation while Colonel Albert Haney served as field commander from headquarters in Opa-locka Florida. The State Department created a diplomatic team led by John Peurifoy who arrived as Ambassador in October 1953.
Castillo Armas' force of 480 men invaded Guatemala from Honduras and El Salvador on the 18th of June 1954. A premature coup attempt had failed earlier that year when rebels raided an army garrison at Salamá on the 29th of March 1953.
Eisenhower authorized Operation PBSuccess in August 1953 granting a budget of 2.7 million U.S. dollars for psychological warfare. Total planning costs reached between 5 and 7 million dollars employing over 100 CIA agents to execute the plan.
The company spent over half a million dollars to convince lawmakers and the American public that Guatemala needed overthrowing. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and CIA Director Allen Dulles had close ties to the United Fruit Company through their law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.