Honduras is the most extreme example of what these companies were capable of. To the end of streamlining banana exportation there, the private American companies raised armies to back favorable politicians, built modern infrastructure to speed the transport of goods, and abandoned plantations affected by the fungal Panama Disease (via WorldAtlas). It was the quintessential Banana Republic, but it wasn’t the only one. Their efforts elsewhere were often aided by U.S. military intervention across the Caribbean during the early 20th century. These actions ranged from backing Panamanian independence from Columbia (in order to construct the Panama Canal), to the military occupation of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. 

The relative vacuum of foreign and domestic competition allowed the fruit companies to monopolize trade for decades. The introduction of Communism into the equation only allowed this trend to intensify, as the subsequent rhetoric was a direct threat to their business model of employing impoverished workers (via ThoughtCo.). Such was the case in 1954 when, after the United Fruit company lobbied congress, the elected Communist government of Guatemala was overthrown by CIA-backed rebels. The fruit companies gradually lost their influence during the Cold War, while American motivations for military action changed from profit to ideology. However, the mark they left behind can be inherently felt in Latin America to this day.