Covert Actions in the Middle East and Guatemala
One of the CIA's first covert actions took place in the Middle East. In 1951, Mohammed Mossadegh was the prime minister of Iran. He nationalized Iran's oil fields. This meant he took industries mostly owned by Britain and put them under Iranian control. The British protested this by not buying Iranian oil, but the United States feared that Mossadegh would turn to the USSR for help. The CIA gave millions of dollars to anti-Mossadegh supporters so that the Shah of Iran could return to power, because he was an ally of America. Because of CIA support, the Shah returned to power and gave the oil fields back to western companies.
In 1954, the CIA also took covert actions in Guatemala, a Central American country south of Mexico. Eisenhower believed that Guatemala's government had communist sympathies because it gave more than two hundred thousand ares of American-owned land away to peasants. To combat this, the CIA trained an army which invaded Guatemala. The Guatemalan army refused to defend the president, so he resigned. Then the leader of the army became a dictator who would supposedly side with America.
In 1954, the CIA also took covert actions in Guatemala, a Central American country south of Mexico. Eisenhower believed that Guatemala's government had communist sympathies because it gave more than two hundred thousand ares of American-owned land away to peasants. To combat this, the CIA trained an army which invaded Guatemala. The Guatemalan army refused to defend the president, so he resigned. Then the leader of the army became a dictator who would supposedly side with America.