Bitter Fruit Chapter Summary

Bitter Fruit is a passionate, fast paced book about how the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) held covert operations in Guatemala that helped overthrow the democratically elected president Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. This was a time when the US was under a lot of pressure due to the Cold War, and because the US feared the spread of communism and the impact it would have on our economy, we started to spy on Latin American countries like Guatemala. At this time, Americans had invested over 60 million dollars into the United Fruit Company, (UFC) and if communism were to become the political majority it would end in chaos for the United States’ economy and foreign investors. The espionage and covert operations that the CIA did were ultimately for the worst and these actions
The authors want to convey the impact that America had on their country, and inform people of how the US abuses its powers and takes advantage of its less powerful neighbors. They do a good job providing evidence in a factual matter using government documents which are inarguably true. Also their interactions and pictures make it known that they witnessed most of what they write about, giving their testimony a solid backing and leaving little room for errors or bias. Some of the Bitter Fruit’s greatest strengths include its engaging plot line, interesting style, and the coherent evidence provided by the authors that affirm their allegations toward the United States. I found some of the pictures to be a great representation of the settings because I am a more visual learner, and seeing the pictures and maps really helped my brain further understand what was going. One weakness of the book is following along with names because they are in a language that I cannot