armed intervention in another country. On 24 May the US Navy's Caribbean Sea Frontier launched Operation HARDROCK BAKER: air and sea patrols in the Gulf of Honduras, ostensibly "to protect Honduras from invasion and to control arms shipments to Guatemala." The US "began airlifting arms to Nicaragua and Honduras, to restore the balance of power." By 3 June, the US had airlifted weapons to Honduras. By 18 June, the US called for a complete arms embargo against Guatemala. US fear of further arms shipments to Guatemala remained high, and to disastrous effect. On the morning of 27 June 1954 a CIA-operated P-38M Lightning flying over Puerto San José destroyed the British cargo ship with napalm bombs, because the CIA officer in local command of the insurgent "Liberation Air Force" believed she was unloading weapons. In fact Springfjord was loading cotton and coffee for the US shipping company Grace Line. The CIA mistake led to a three-way compensation dispute between the UK, Guatemala and the US that was still unresolved in 1967. Notes Sources External links 1929 ships Merchant ships of Denmark Merchant ships of Sweden Merchant ships of Norway Cold War ships Foreign relations of Czechoslovakia Weapons trade Maritime incidents in 1954 1954 in Guatemala 1954 in the United States Central Intelligence Agency operations Ships built in Odense