Guatemalan Guerilla Leader Efrain Velasquez

Journal Response Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Journal Response Blum explains the events that happened in Guatemala during 1953 and 1954, and how such events affected the country for the years that followed. Beginning from the plans by the United States’ CIA to overthrow President Arbenz in 1954 on claims that he was a communist to the abduction and killing of Guatemalan guerilla leader Efrain Velasquez in 1992, America has greatly been involved in Guatemala’s affairs. Blum seems to be one-sided on the whole issue. In the author’s opinion, the United States had no right to interfere with the internal affairs of Guatemala. According to Blum, despite the claims by the United States that it was helping Guatemala to get rid of communism for the betterment of their country, it was the communist people who elected Arbenz in the first place. Moreover, according to the author, Arbenz had no connections with any communist nations and neither was he associated with such nations ideologically (Blum, 2014). However, Blum’s need to accurately prove his point led him to concentrate on only one side of the story. Instead of laying out the entire facts for the reader to decide which part of the story to side on, Blum seeks to convince the readers that the United States was the villain. Blum’s arguments have convinced since the author breaks down the analysis and accurately links the historical events to his discussion to prove his point. However, there are several questionable arguments made by the author. Blum states that there were some individuals in Washington who knew that Arbenz was not a communist despite the claims by the U.S. However, th...