Simone Lawson
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been involved in numerous regime change operations since its creation in 1947, with the aim of advancing US national security interests and containing the spread of communism during the Cold War. While the CIA has a history of supporting coups and installing favourable leaders, particularly in Latin America, its focus is not solely on regime change. The CIA also engages in diplomatic initiatives, intelligence gathering, and covert actions that may involve supporting or destabilizing foreign governments. The CIA's involvement in regime change has been controversial, with some operations resulting in human rights abuses and political instability.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| CIA's role in regime change | The CIA has been involved in regime change operations since its creation in 1947, with the aim of replacing left-wing leaders with right-wing leaders, military juntas, or authoritarian regimes. |
| Covert operations | The CIA has conducted covert operations to overthrow governments, including propaganda, radio broadcasts, training and funding of dissidents, and infiltration of operatives. |
| Success rate | The CIA has attempted over 60 regime change missions during the Cold War, with a 39% success rate. |
| Target nations | The CIA has targeted both American allies and non-aligned countries, with a higher success rate with allies. |
| Diplomacy | The CIA has used diplomacy and bribery to persuade foreign leaders to replace existing governments. |
| Economic warfare | The CIA has employed economic sanctions and sabotage to destabilize target nations. |
| Assassination attempts | The CIA has been involved in assassination attempts against foreign leaders, such as Fidel Castro in Cuba. |
| Human rights abuses | The CIA has supported regimes with known human rights abuses, such as the murder of political dissidents. |
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What You'll Learn
The CIA's role in regime change
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has played a significant role in regime change operations throughout history, particularly during the Cold War. The creation of the CIA in 1947 and its Office of Policy Coordination in 1948 marked a shift towards covert regime change efforts aimed at rolling back Soviet influence. While the CIA's role has been the subject of debate and speculation, there are several well-documented instances of its involvement in regime change.
One of the earliest known instances of the CIA's involvement in regime change was in Iran in 1953, known as the "28 Mordad coup" in Iran and the "TPAJAX Project" within the US. The CIA, in collaboration with the UK's MI6, worked to remove Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, who had challenged the authority of the Shah and nationalized the Iranian oil industry. The CIA funnelled money into Tehran to buy off Mossadegh's supporters and finance street protests, ultimately leading to his arrest and house arrest.
In 1954, the CIA executed Operation PBSuccess, a coup that overthrew the government of President Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala. The operation was motivated by ideological containment and fears of reduced profits for the United Fruit Company. The CIA assisted the new regime in killing perceived opponents and lied to the US President about the number of casualties. This operation set a precedent for future CIA interventions.
The CIA was also involved in Cuba, where it backed Fulgencio Batista, a military dictator who seized power in 1952. After Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution, the CIA supported a force of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro's government. This invasion, known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, failed within three days. The CIA also conducted psychological operations and acts of sabotage against civilian targets in Cuba and plotted multiple assassination attempts against Fidel Castro.
In Chile, the CIA was involved in the 1973 coup that overthrew the democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende and brought Augusto Pinochet to power. The CIA had previously attempted to prevent Allende from taking office through economic warfare and a failed kidnapping attempt on a Chilean general. After the coup, the CIA conducted a propaganda campaign in support of Pinochet, despite knowledge of severe human rights abuses.
In addition to these instances, the CIA has been implicated in various other regime change efforts, including in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, and Albania. While the CIA's role has varied in each case, its involvement in regime change has often been motivated by ideological, economic, or geopolitical interests. The CIA's operations have included propaganda, funding and training dissidents, assisting in assassinations, and conducting psychological and economic warfare.
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US-backed coups
The United States has a long history of involvement in regime change, with American interest in such operations dating back to at least 1898. During the Cold War, the US increasingly turned to covert regime change operations, particularly in Latin America, to roll back Soviet influence. This period saw the CIA conduct over 60 regime change attempts, with varying levels of success.
One notable example of a US-backed coup is the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, also known as the "28 Mordad coup". The CIA, in collaboration with the UK's MI6, launched Operation Ajax to remove Prime Minister Mosaddegh by persuading the Shah to replace him through diplomacy and bribery. This operation weakened Iran's parliamentary democracy and paved the way for the Shah's authoritarian rule.
In Latin America, the US-backed coup d'états were often aimed at replacing left-wing leaders with right-wing alternatives, military juntas, or authoritarian regimes. For instance, in 1954, the CIA executed Operation PBSuccess, overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala. This operation installed Carlos Castillo Armas, the first of a series of right-wing dictators, and was motivated by ideological containment and the protection of corporate interests.
Another example is the US involvement in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. Following the democratic election of Salvador Allende, the CIA, backed by President Richard Nixon, worked to destabilize Allende's government due to his democratic socialist leanings. This culminated in Allende's overthrow by the Chilean Armed Forces and National Police, resulting in the 17-year military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
The US has also been implicated in other regime change attempts, such as the 1961 coup in the Dominican Republic, where the CIA supplied weapons that led to the murder of dictator Rafael Trujillo. The CIA also backed a failed kidnapping attempt against Chilean Army chief of staff René Schneider in 1970 and supported a coup against President Sukarno in Indonesia in 1965, which resulted in mass killings of suspected communists.
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The Cold War
During the Cold War, the CIA was heavily involved in regime change and diplomacy efforts to halt the spread of communism and counter the influence of the Soviet Union. The CIA's interventions often aimed to ensure that countries were aligned with U.S. interests, particularly in Latin America, where they actively worked to destabilize governments that did not share the U.S.'s anti-Castro stance on Cuba. The CIA supported right-wing dictatorships and insurgencies, such as in Chile, where they backed the 1973 coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, despite being aware of severe human rights abuses. In Iran in 1953, the CIA played a role in the coup that removed Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, who had challenged the authority of the Shah and nationalized the Iranian oil industry. This was the earliest coup of the Cold War that the U.S. government acknowledged. The CIA also conducted covert operations in Poland during the 1980s, supporting the Solidarity trade union and waging a public relations campaign to deter perceived Soviet military threats.
In the 1950s, the CIA supported the Kuomintang's incursions into Western China, providing weapons and supplies, and even transporting opium back to drug traffickers in Thailand. This intervention, known as Operation Paper, was opposed by the US State Department and ultimately failed to retake China for the Kuomintang. The CIA also intervened in Latin America during the Cold War, with significant repercussions. Their efforts to install US-friendly regimes led to large declines in democracy, civil liberties, rule of law, and income in countries like Ecuador (1963), Brazil (1964), Chile (1964), Bolivia (1964), and Panama (1981).
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in the late 1980s are often considered the symbolic end of the Cold War. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika loosened government control in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, marking a shift towards openness and economic restructuring. While the Cold War primarily focused on countering communism, it also coincided with the Civil Rights movement in the US, requiring diplomats to reconcile their advocacy for democracy abroad with addressing racial injustices at home.
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Covert regime change
One notable example of US-backed covert regime change was the 1954 CIA operation code-named Operation PBSuccess, which successfully overthrew the government of President Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala. The operation was motivated by ideological aims and fears of economic losses for US companies operating in the region. The CIA also assisted the new regime in killing perceived opponents and lied to the US President about the number of casualties.
Another instance of covert regime change was the US involvement in the Cuban Revolution. Initially, the US backed Fulgencio Batista, a military dictator who seized power in Cuba in 1952. However, when Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro and his 26th of July Movement, the CIA backed a force of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro's government. This invasion, known as the Bay of Pigs incident, failed within three days. The CIA also conducted psychological operations and acts of sabotage against civilian targets, as well as multiple assassination attempts on Fidel Castro.
In Chile, the CIA was involved in a failed kidnapping attempt against René Schneider, the chief of staff of the Chilean Army, in 1970. Schneider was a supporter of the constitutional order and was seen as an obstacle to military officers seeking to carry out a coup. He was killed in a subsequent kidnapping attempt, and in 1973, the democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende was overthrown by the Chilean Armed Forces and National Police, bringing Augusto Pinochet to power in a US-backed coup.
In Ecuador, the CIA conducted operations from 1960 to 1963 using agent Philip Agee. When President José María Velasco Ibarra refused to break relations with Cuba, the CIA supported a military coup that overthrew him in 1961. However, his replacement, Carlos Julio Arosemena, proved to be less favourable to the US, leading the CIA to back another coup that removed him from power in 1963. The Ecuadorian junta then adopted anti-communist policies and banned the Communist Party of Ecuador.
While the US has had some successes with covert regime change, many attempts have failed or had unintended consequences. For example, the attempt to overthrow the Hoxha regime in Albania failed due to a lack of understanding of the local political landscape and the infiltration of the operation by Soviet intelligence. The focus on short-term gains through covert regime change can also undermine broader US foreign policy goals and lead to negative outcomes, as seen in cases like the Bay of Pigs invasion.
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The CIA's involvement in Latin America
The CIA has a long history of involvement in Latin America, often focused on regime change and countering the influence of socialism and communism in the region. This involvement has taken the form of supporting coups, backing specific candidates in elections, and attempting to assassinate foreign leaders.
One of the earliest examples of the CIA's involvement in Latin America was in Guatemala in 1954. The CIA, motivated by the ideological aim of containment and fears of economic policies that could hurt American business interests, backed a coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz and installed a right-wing dictator, Carlos Castillo Armas. This operation, code-named Operation PBSuccess, became a model for future CIA operations.
In the 1960s, the CIA conducted operations in Ecuador, backing two military coups in 1961 and 1963 that removed presidents José María Velasco Ibarra and Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy, respectively. The agency also backed a coup in the Dominican Republic in 1963 that removed socialist President Juan Bosch, who had received CIA funding during his election campaign. In Brazil, the CIA supported the 1964 coup that overthrew social democrat João Goulart, contributing to a broader shift in South America toward pro-Washington, anti-communist governments.
The CIA also attempted to remove Fidel Castro from power in Cuba, backing the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 and subsequently making numerous attempts to assassinate him. The agency was also involved in a plot to assassinate his brother, Raúl Castro, in 1960. In Chile, the CIA backed a failed kidnapping attempt against General René Schneider in 1970 and supported the 1973 coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende due to his democratic socialist leanings. This led to the rise of the US-backed military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
In Argentina, the CIA tacitly supported the 1976 coup that overthrew President Isabel Perón and resulted in the military dictatorship of General Jorge Rafael Videla. The agency also supported the 1971 coup in Bolivia that removed President Juan José Torres, who had displeased the US by leading the country in a left-wing direction.
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Frequently asked questions
The CIA has been involved in several regime change operations, including the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the 1954 coup in Guatemala, and the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. The CIA has also conducted operations in Ecuador, Cuba, and Argentina, among other countries. The CIA's role in these operations has varied but often includes propaganda campaigns, funding and training dissidents, and planning and executing the coup.
The CIA's regime change operations are often justified as a way to pursue stability and contain the influence of rival powers, such as the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In some cases, the CIA has also described its role in "changing" governments as a success in moving countries from totalitarian dictatorships to Western-style democracies.
The CIA's regime change operations have often been criticized for undermining democracy and causing political and social unrest. In some cases, such as the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the CIA supported regimes that committed severe human rights abuses, including the murder of political dissidents. CIA operations have also failed to achieve their objectives, such as the failed attempt to overthrow the Hoxha regime in Albania.
