The overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz.

The Berlin Crisis, the fall of China, and the Soviet acquisition of nuclear weapons in 1948 and 1949 had made leaders wary of Soviet encroachment in the Western Hemisphere. Analyzing Arevalo's term, Americans began to detect sins of Communism. Guatemala had long been a refuge for Communists in Latin America because of its openness. The number of homegrown Communists, however, appears to have been small, though some held high positions in the labor movement. Arevalo had been …

…their country was fighting for them. In the long run, this act of overthrowing the Guatemalan government showed other nations that America was fierce and would collapse all reigns that were of communist nature. However, this didn't stop super powers such as Russia from becoming communist, right away that is. I would imagine it had other countries think twice before they became of the communist reign, which I feel was America's goal the whole time.