243. Memorandum From [name not declassified] of the Central Intelligence Agency to J.C. Esterline of the Central Intelligence Agency1

SUBJECT

  • Proposal to Burn [name not declassified]

GUAT 9732 indicates that [name not declassified] will not be of any advantage to PBSUCCESS since he apparently is willing to move only when Calligeris has already won. It also increases my personal suspicion that he may be playing us for suckers and really be helping Arbenz.

2.
In view of his small value and of the possibility that he may be using us, I recommend that an operation be run against [name not declassified] to make him desperate. This can be accomplished by having someone—not known to him to be connected with PBSUCCESS or US—tell him he knows about some recent meeting or meetings [name not declassified] has had with PBSUCCESS representatives and threaten to expose him to Arbenz if he does not deliver $50,000 within 24 hours.
3.
The above recommendation is made in ignorance of possible station capabilities in this regard, and of course, other possibilities would probably suggest themselves to Guat Station.
4.
The result should be beneficial to PBSUCCESS by clarifying whether [name not declassified] is on our side or not by seeing who he goes to. If he is unconcerned by the threat, he is not really our man. If he is made desperate he may act where previously he has waited for someone else. He may make a bold bid to move the army to his control, assassinate Arbenz, or take asylum. Any of these courses would be good, because in the last case he would not be in a position to complicate things when the Callegeris forces are successful.
[name not declassified]
  1. Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Job 79–01025A, Box 154, Folder 2. No classification marking.
  2. See footnote 2, Document 241.