Devils Don't Dream!

Story

Synopsis

Before his journey into exile Jacobo Arbenz, the overthrown President of Guatemala, is presented to photographers stripped down to his underwear: an image seen around the world. Arbenz had led the successful 1944 revolt against the military dictatorship, a regime that had oppressed Guatemala since colonialism. Arbenz, the son of Swiss immigrants, was celebrated as a national hero. Elected President in 1950, Arbenz was not a member of any party - he didn't issue any manifestos. But he began to fulfill his promises - farmers got their own land. 'The first act of justice since colonial times,' said Arbenz. In the early 1950s, with the Cold War intensifying, then Vice President Richard Nixon said, 'Arbenz is not a Guatemalan President.' Nixon called him 'a foreigner, manipulated by foreign powers.' The young President of Guatemala was soon overthrown, declared a traitor, and chased out of the country.

Director

Andreas Hoessli

Language

English

Country

Switzerland

Release date

7 March 1997

Ensemble

Cast

• 

  Jacobo Árbenz

  Self (archive footage)

• 

  Winston Churchill

  Self (archive footage)

• 

  Richard Nixon

  Self (archive footage)

• 

  E. Howard Hunt

  Self (the CIA agent)