Carlos Castillo Armas, a Guatemalan military officer, orchestrated an invasion of Guatemala from Honduras with the backing of the United States in a bid to overthrow President Jacobo Árbenz. The invasion took place amidst rising tensions and fears regarding communism in Central America during the early Cold War era. Árbenz had implemented a series of reforms aimed at redistributing land, which antagonized various interests, including the United Fruit Company, a major U.S. corporation whose properties were affected by these policies. On June 18, 1954, Armas crossed into Guatemala with roughly 400 mercenaries, marking the initiation of an armed conflict that would change the course of Guatemalan political history.

As Castillo Armas advanced, he quickly garnered support from sectors of the Guatemalan military dissatisfied with Árbenz’s government. The invasion sparked a swift militaristic response in which multiple cities fell to Castillo’s forces, largely due to Árbenez's inability to rally a significant military defense. Within weeks, Armas’ forces had taken control of the capital, Guatemala City. This successful coup was facilitated by a U.S.-led campaign that included psychological operations and diplomatic pressure to undermine the Árbenz regime, ultimately leading to his resignation and exile. The event has since been viewed as a pivotal moment in U.S.-Latin American relations and foreign interventionist policies.