Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation- Volume 2- Part 1

~ ~ •. arranging
for a behlnd the scenes conrerence between
Ydigoras and the_ MDN [Cruz Salazar's party].
A "deal" was arranged whereby the assembly
would elect Ydigoras and the MDN would get
three seats in the cabinet, forgiveness
for the sins committed under the Castillo
regime, and a financial "pay-off" to Cruz
and other MDN leaders. On 12 February 1958
the Assembly elected Ydigoras as President. 1/
In the interval from the election of Ydigoras
until the announcement of Eisenhower's anti-Castro
program, both the government of Guatemala and, through
the Agency, the United States Government began to
focus closer attention on Fidel Castro's revolution
which led to the overthrow of the Batista government
at the beginning of 1959. Although the Department of
State hesitated to classify Castro as a communist,
there was little doubt among Clandestine Services
personnel about the direction in which Castro was
tending; and by the early part of 1960, it was clear
that the Government of Guatemala (GOG) was willing to
take some risks in opposition to Fidel Castro. Not
only did Guatemala sever official relations with Cuba,
but before the end of February 1960, President Ydigoras
.
offered the use of his territory to support propaganda
activities directed against Castro; and he also made
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