The CIA and Its Covert ‘Regime Change’ Operations

The United States has a long history of conducting regime change operations around the world. Among these, many took place in the United States’ own backyard of Central and South America under the pretext of preventing the spread of communism. During the Cold War, a domino theory posited that if certain countries became communist, then neighboring countries would soon follow. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency spearheaded the secret regime change missions to keep the domino theory from becoming reality.

The CIA’s first mission was in Guatemala. After gaining independence from Spain, the people of Guatemala, having lived under a long-standing dictatorship, revolted in 1944 and established their first democratic government the following year. Winning office in a 1950 democratic election, President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán infringed on U.S. financial interests when he implemented land reforms. This caused friction with the U.S. government and ultimately led to a covert operation to overthrow Árbenz’s government in 1953. As a result of the CIA's operations, which included training and providing support for rebels along with psychological warfare, President Árbenz was deposed the following year, and a pro-U.S. government subsequently took over.

The CIA was also deeply involved in overthrowing Salvador Allende’s government in Chile. Allende, a socialist, was elected president in 1970 of a country that had peacefully transferred power through elections for over 40 years. Among other things, Allende pushed to nationalize major industries and in the process clashed with the United States. The United States, having heavily invested in Chile, plotted to overthrow Allende’s government. The CIA conducted covert operations that included manipulating the media, destabilizing the economy and bribing military officials, which culminated in a coup d’état. In 1973, Allende, cornered by coup forces, made a desperate last stand in a final speech at the presidential palace. “They have force and will be able to dominate us, but social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force,” he said. A prolonged dictatorship followed under Augusto Pinochet.

The CIA further conducted the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba in a bid to overthrow Fidel Castro’s government. The mission failed. And in the 1980s, the CIA attempted to crush the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua through operations with the rebel Contras and led countless covert missions in Central and South America. Although the CIA’s operations helped maintain U.S. strategic dominance in the regions, the agency has also been criticized for infringing on sovereignty, violating human rights and spreading anti-U.S. sentiment.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly authorized a CIA covert mission in Venezuela, with some reports indicating the mission aims to overthrow Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Recently, the United States and Venezuela, a country that opposes the United States, have clashed over efforts to crack down on drug cartels. Since last month, the United States has deployed military assets off Venezuela’s coast, even sinking several “drug vessels.” If the CIA’s secret mission is really to change Venezuela’s government, then how is it any different from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a country aligned with the Western bloc? One side launched a full-scale military operation, and the other side carried out a secret one. Is that the only difference?