The 45 th anniversary of
ANDRE MAUROIS
AND ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA
death
André Maurois,
born Émile Salomon Wilhelm
Herzog; 26 July 1885 – 9 October 1967.
was a French author.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Maurois
http://listado.mercadolibre.com.ar/andre-mourois
Che Guevara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara
Ernesto "Che"
Guevara, May 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967., commonly known as el Che or simply
Che
Fotosi,štiva
http://www.google.com/search?q=ernesto+che+guevara&hl=hr&client=opera&hs=TSV&rls=en&channel=suggest&prmd=imvnsb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=4fduUID7H6X20gGUwIHIBg&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=991&bih=651
Che
http://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara
Punih 45 godina je prošlo
otkad je svijet obišla vijest o Cheovoj.smrti Argentinac, liječnik, borac,
revolucionar, idol, ikona, simbol i lozinka: Ernesto Che Guevara, ubijen je
mučki u Boliviji, 9.listopada 1967. godine. Ostala je legenda, istinska
legenda, i bezbroj puta umnožena fotografija mladog čovjeka koji je, kao i
Isus, htio mijenjati svijet
Che Guevara
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDguevara.htm
THE DEATH OF CHE GUEVARA:
A CHRONOLOGY
Compiled by:
Paola Evans, Kim Healey,
Peter Kornbluh, Ramón Cruz and Hannah Elinson
OCTOBER 3, 1965: In a public
speech, Fidel Castro reads a "Farewell" letter written by Che in
April, in which Che resigns from all of his official positions within the Cuban
government. The letter, which Che apparently never intended to be made public,
states that "I have fulfilled the part of my duty that tied me to the
Cuban revolution...and I say goodbye to you, to the comrades, to your people,
who are now mine." (CIA Intelligence Memorandum, "Castro and
Communism: The Cuban Revolution in Perspective," 5/9/66)
OCTOBER 18, 1965: A CIA
Intelligence Memorandum discusses what analysts perceive as Che Guevara’s fall
from power within the Cuban government beginning in 1964. It states that at the
end of 1963, Guevara’s plan of "rapid industrialization and centralization
during the first years of the Revolution brought the economy to its lowest
point since Castro came to power." "Guevara’s outlook, which
approximated present -day Chinese--rather than Soviet--economic practice, was
behind the controversy." In July 1964, "two important cabinet
appointments signaled the power struggle over internal economic policy which
culminated in Guevara’s elimination." Another conflict was that Guevara
wanted to export the Cuban Revolution to different parts of Latin America and Africa, while "other Cuban leaders began to devote
most of their attention to the internal problems of the Revolution." In
December, 1964, Guevara departed on a three-month trip to the United States, Africa, and China. When he
returned, according to the CIA report, his economic and foreign policies were
in disfavor and he left to start revolutionary struggles in other parts of the
world. (CIA Intelligence Memorandum, "The Fall of Che Guevara and the
Changing Face of the Cuban Revolution," 10/18/65)
FALL, 1966: Che Guevara
arrives in Bolivia
sometime between the second week of September and the first of November of
1966, according to different sources. He enters the country with forged
Uruguayan passports to organize and lead a communist guerrilla movement. Che
chooses Bolivia
as the revolutionary base for various reasons. First, Bolivia is of lower priority than Caribbean Basin countries to US security interests
and poses a less immediate threat, "... the Yanquis wouldn’t concern
themselves... ." Second, Bolivia’s
social conditions and poverty are such that Bolivia is considered susceptible
to revolutionary ideology. Finally, Bolivia shares a border with five
other countries, which would allow the revolution to spread easily if the
guerrillas are successful. (Harris, 60, 73; Rojo 193-194; Rodríguez:1,
157;Rodríguez:1, 198)
SPRING, 1967: From March to
August of 1967, Che Guevara and his guerrilla band strike "pretty much at
will" against the Bolivian Armed Forces, which totals about twenty
thousand men. The guerrillas lose only one man compared to 30 of the Bolivians
during these six months. (James, 250, NYT 9/16/67)
APRIL 28, 1967: General
Ovando, of the Bolivian Armed Forces, and the U.S. Army Section signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with regard to the 2nd Ranger Battalion of the
Bolivian Army "which clearly defines the terms of U.S.-Bolivian Armed
Forces cooperation in the activation, organization, and training of this
unit."
MAY 11, 1967: Walt Rostow,
presidential advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson, sends a message to the President
saying that he received the first credible report that "Che" Guevara
is alive and operating in South America,
although more evidence is needed. (Rostow 05/11/67)
JUNE, 1967:
Cuban-American CIA agent Félix Rodríguez
receives a phone call from a CIA officer, Larry S., who proposes a special
assignment for him in South America in which
he will use his skills in unconventional warfare, counter-guerrilla operations
and communications. The assignment is to assist the Bolivians in tracking down
and capturing Che Guevara and his band. His partner will be "Eduardo
González" and Rodríguez is to use the cover name "Félix Ramos
Medina." (Rodríguez:1, 148)
JUNE 26-30, 1967: Soviet
Premier Aleksey Kosygin visits Cuba
for discussions with Fidel Castro. According to a CIA intelligence cable, the
primary purpose of his "trip to Havana June
26-30, 1967 was to inform Castro concerning the Middle East Crisis...A
secondary but important reason for the trip was to discuss with Castro the
subject of Cuban revolutionary activity in Latin America."
The Soviet Premier criticizes the dispatch of Che Guevara to Bolivia and accuses Castro of "harming the
communist cause through his sponsorship of guerrilla activity...and through
providing support to various anti-government groups, which although they
claimed to be "socialist" or communist, were engaged in disputes with
the "legitimate" Latin American communist parties, those favored by
the USSR."
In reply Castro stated that Cuba
will support the "right of every Latin American to contribute to the
liberation of his country." (CIA Intelligence Information Cable, 10/17/67)
AUGUST 2, 1967: Rodríguez and
González arrive in La Paz, Bolivia. They are met by their case
officer, Jim, another CIA agent, and a Bolivian immigration officer. The CIA
station in La Paz
is run by John Tilton; eventually the CIA’s Guevara task force is joined by
another anti-Castro Cuban-American agent, Gustavo Villoldo. (Rodríguez:1, 162)
AUGUST 31, 1967: The Bolivian
army scores its first victory against the guerrillas, wiping out one-third of
Che’s men. José Castillo Chávez, also known as Paco, is captured and the
guerrillas are forced to retreat. Che’s health begins to deteriorate. (James,
250, 269)
SEPTEMBER 3, 1967: Félix
Rodríguez flies with Major Arnaldo Saucedo from Santa Cruz to Vallegrande to interrogate
Paco. (Rodríguez: 1, 167)
SEPTEMBER 15, 1967: The
Bolivian Government air-drops leaflets offering a $4,200 reward for the capture
of Che Guevara. (NYT 9/16/67)
SEPTEMBER 18, 1967: Fifteen
members of a Communist group, who were providing supplies to the guerrillas in
the southeastern jungles of Bolivia,
are arrested. (NYT 9/19/67)
SEPTEMBER 22, 1967: Che’s
guerrillas arrive at Alto Seco village in Bolivia. Inti Peredo, a Bolivian
guerrilla, gives the villagers a lecture on the objectives of the guerrilla
movement. The group leaves later that night after purchasing a large amount of
food. (Harris, 123)
According to Jon Lee
Anderson’s account, Che takes the food from a grocery store without paying for
it after discovering that the local authorities in Alto Seco have left to
inform the army about the guerrilla’s position. (Anderson, 785)
SEPTEMBER 22, 1967: Guevara
Arze, the Bolivian Foreign Minister, provides evidence to the Organization of
American States to prove that Che Guevara is indeed leading the guerrilla
operations in Bolivia.
Excerpts taken from captured documents, including comparisons of handwriting,
fingerprints and photographs, suggests that the guerrillas are comprised of
Cubans, Peruvians, Argentineans and Bolivians. The foreign minister’s
presentation draws a loud applause from the Bolivian audience, and he gives his
assurance that "we’re not going to let anybody steal our country away from
us. Nobody, at any time." (NYT 9/23/67)
SEPTEMBER 24, 1967: Che and
his men arrive, exhausted and sick, at Loma Larga, a ranch close to Alto Seco.
All but one of the peasants flee upon their arrival. (Harris, 123)
SEPTEMBER 26, 1967: The
guerrillas move to the village
of La Higuera and
immediately notice that all the men are gone. The villagers have previously
been warned that the guerrillas are in the area and they should send any
information on them to Vallegrande. The remaining villagers tell the guerrillas
that most of the people are at a celebration in a neighboring town called
Jahue. (Harris, 123)
1 p.m.: As they are about to
depart for Jahue, the rebels hear shots coming from the road and are forced to
stay in the village and defend themselves. Three guerrillas are killed in the
gun battle: Roberto (Coco) Peredo, a Bolivian
guerrilla leader who was one of Che’s most important men; "Antonio,"
believed to be Cuban; and "Julio," likely a Bolivian. Che orders his
men to evacuate the village along a road leading to Rio Grande. The army high command and the
Barriento government consider this encounter a significant victory. Indeed, Che
notes in his diary that La Higuera has caused great losses for him in respect
to his rebel cell. (Harris 123,124; NYT 9/28/67))
CIA agent, Félix Rodríguez,
under the alias, "Captain Ramos," urges Colonel Zenteno to move his
Rangers battalion from La Esperanza headquarters to Vallegrande. The death of
Antonio, the vanguard commander [also called Miguel by Rodríguez], prompts
Rodríguez to conclude that Che must be close by. Colonel Zenteno argues that
the battalion has not yet finished their training, but he will move them as
soon as this training is complete. Convinced that he knows Che’s next move,
Rodríguez continues pressuring Zenteno to order the 2nd Ranger battalion into combat.
(Rodríguez:1, 184)
SEPTEMBER 26-27, 1967: After
the battle of La Higueras, the Ranger Battalion sets up a screening force along
the river San Antonio
to prevent exfiltration of the guerrilla force. During the mission, the troops
captures a guerrilla known as "Gamba." He appears to be in poor
health and is poorly clothed. This produces an immediate morale effect on the
troops because they notice that the guerrillas are not as strong as they
thought. "Gamba" says that he had separated from the group and was
traveling in hope of contacting "Ramón" (Guevara). (Dept. of Defense
Intelligence Information Report - 11/28/67).
SEPTEMBER 29, 1967: Colonel
Zenteno is finally persuaded by Rodríguez, and he moves the 2nd Ranger
battalion to Vallegrande. Rodríguez joins these six hundred and fifty men who
have been trained by U.S. Special Forces Major "Pappy" Shelton.
(Rodríguez:1, 184)
SEPTEMBER 30, 1967: Che and
his group are trapped by the army in a jungle canyon in Valle Serrano, south of
the Grande River. (NYT 10/1/67)
OCTOBER 7, 1967: The last
entry in Che’s diary is recorded exactly eleven months since the inauguration
of the guerrilla movement. The guerrillas run into an old woman herding goats.
They ask her if there are soldiers in the area but are unable to get any
reliable information. Scared that she will report them, they pay her 50 pesos
to keep quiet. In Che’s diary it is noted that he has "little hope"
that she will do so. (Harris, 126; CIA Weekly Review, "The Che Guevara
Diary," 12/15/67)
Evening: Che and his men stop
to rest in a ravine in Quebrada del Yuro. (Harris, 126)
OCTOBER 8, 1967: The troops
receive information that there is a band of 17 guerrillas in the Churro Ravine.
They enter the area and encounters a group of 6 to 8 guerrillas, opens fire,
and killed two Cubans, "Antonio" and "Orturo."
"Ramon" (Guevara) and "Willy" try to break out in the
direction of the mortar section, where Guevara is wounded in the lower calf.
(Dept. of Defense Intelligence Information Report - 11/28/67)
OCTOBER 8, 1967: A peasant
women alerts the army that she heard voices along the banks of the Yuro close
to the spot where it runs along the San
Antonio river. It is unknown whether it is the same
peasant woman that the guerrillas ran into previously. (Rojo 218)
By morning, several companies
of Bolivian Rangers are deployed through the area that Guevara’s Guerrillas are
in. They take up positions in the same ravine as the guerrillas in Quebrada del
Yuro. (Harris,126)
About 12 p.m.: A unit from
General Prado’s company, all recent graduates of the U.S. Army Special Forces
training camp, confronts the guerrillas, killing two soldiers and wounding many
others. (Harris, 127)
1:30 p.m.: Che’s final battle
commences in Quebrada del Yuro. Simon Cuba (Willy) Sarabia, a Bolivian miner,
leads the rebel group. Che is behind him and is shot in the leg several times.
Sarabia picks up Che and tries to carry him away from the line of fire. The
firing starts again and Che’s beret is knocked off. Sarabia sits Che on the
ground so he can return the fire. Encircled at less than ten yards distance,
the Rangers concentrate their fire on him, riddling him with bullets. Che
attempts to keep firing, but cannot keep his gun up with only one arm. He is
hit again on his right leg, his gun is knocked out of his hand and his right
forearm is pierced. As soldiers approach Che he shouts, "Do not shoot! I
am Che Guevara and worth more to you alive than dead." The battle ends at
approximately 3:30 p.m. Che is taken prisoner. (Rojo, 219; James, 14)
Other sources claim that
Sarabia is captured alive and at about 4 p.m. he and Che are brought before
Captain Prado. Captain Prado orders his radio operator to signal the divisional
headquarters in Vallegrande informing them that Che is captured. The coded
message sent is "Hello Saturno, we have Papá !" Saturno is the code
for Colonel Joaquin Zenteno, commandant of the Eighth Bolivian Army Division,
and Papá is code for Che. In disbelief, Colonel Zenteno asks Capt. Prado to
confirm the message. With confirmation, "general euphoria" erupts
among the divisional headquarters staff. Colonel Zenteno radios Capt. Prado and
tells him to immediately transfer Che and any other prisoners to La Higuera.
(Harris, 127)
In Vallegrande, Félix
Rodríguez receives the message over the radio: "Papá cansado," which
means "Dad is tired." Papá is the code for foreigner, implying Che.
Tired signifies captured or wounded. (Rodríguez:1, 185)
Stretched out on a blanket,
Che is carried by four soldiers to La Higuera, seven kilometers away. Sarabia
is forced to walk behind with his hands tied against his back. Just after dark
the group arrives in La Higuera and both Che and Sarabia are put into the
one-room schoolhouse. Later that night, five more guerrillas are brought in.
(Harris, 127)
Official army dispatches
falsely report that Che is killed in the clash in southeastern Bolivia, and
other official reports confirm the killing of Che and state that the Bolivian
army has his body. However, the army high command does not confirm this report.
(NYT 10/10/67)
OCTOBER 9, 1967: Walt Rostow
sends a memorandum to the President with tentative information that the
Bolivians have captured Che Guevara. The Bolivian unit engaged in the operation
was the one that had been trained by the U.S. (Rostow 10/9/67)
OCTOBER 9, 1967: 6:15 a.m.:
Félix Rodríguez arrives by helicopter in La Higuera, along with Colonel Joaquín
Zenteno Anaya. Rodríguez brings a powerful portable field radio and a camera
with a special four-footed stand used to photograph documents. He quietly
observes the scene in the schoolhouse, and records what he sees, finding the
situation "gruesome" with Che lying in dirt, his arms tied behind his
back and his feet bound together, next to the bodies of his friends. He looks
"like a piece of trash" with matted hair, torn clothes, and wearing
only pieces of leather on his feet for shoes. In one interview, Rodríguez
states that, " I had mixed emotions when I first arrived there. Here was
the man who had assassinated many of my countrymen. And nevertheless, when I
saw him, the way he looked....I felt really sorry for him." (Rodríguez:2)
Rodríguez sets up his radio
and transmits a coded message to the CIA station in either Peru or Brazil
to be retransmitted to Langley
headquarters. Rodríguez also starts to photograph Che’s diary and other
captured documents. Later, Rodríguez spends time talking with Che and takes a
picture with him. The photos that Rodríguez takes are preserved by the CIA.
(Anderson, 793; Rodríguez:1, 193)
10 am: The Bolivian officers
are faced with the question of what to do with Che. The possibility of
prosecuting him is ruled out because a trial would focus world attention on him
and could generate sympathetic propaganda for Che and for Cuba. It is
concluded that Che must be executed immediately, but it is agreed upon that the
official story will be that he died from wounds received in battle. Félix
Rodríguez receives a call from Vallegrande and is ordered by the Superior
Command to conduct Operation Five Hundred and Six Hundred. Five hundred is the
Bolivian code for Che and six hundred is the order to kill him. Rodríguez
informs Colonel Zenteno of the order, but also tells him that the U.S. government
has instructed him to keep Che alive at all costs. The CIA and the U.S. government have arranged helicopters and
airplanes to take Che to Panama
for interrogation. However, Colonel Zenteno says he must obey his own orders
and Rodríguez decides, "to let history take its course," and to leave
the matter in the hands of the Bolivians. (Anderson, 795; Harris 128, 129;
Rodríguez:1, 193; Rodríguez:2)
Rodríguez realizes that he
cannot stall any longer when a school teacher informs him that she has heard a
news report on Che’s death on her radio. Rodríguez enters the schoolhouse to
tell Che of the orders from the Bolivian high command. Che understands and
says, "It is better like this ... I never should have been captured
alive." Che gives Rodríguez a message for his wife and for Fidel, they
embrace and Rodríguez leaves the room. (Rodríguez:2; Anderson, 796)
According to one source, the
top ranking officers in La Higuera instruct the noncommissioned officers to
carry out the order and straws are drawn to determine who will execute Che.
Just before noon, having drawn the shortest straw, Sergeant Jaime Terán goes to
the schoolhouse to execute Che. Terán finds Che propped up against the wall and
Che asks him to wait a moment until he stands up. Terán is frightened, runs
away and is ordered back by Colonel Selich and Colonel Zenteno. "Still
trembling" he returns to the schoolhouse and without looking at Che’s face
he fires into his chest and side. Several soldiers, also wanting to shoot Che,
enter the room and shoot him. (Harris, 129)
Félix Rodríguez has stated
that, "I told the Sargento to shoot....and I understand that he borrowed
an M-2 carbine from a Lt. Pérez who was in the area." Rodríguez places the
time of the shooting at 1:10 p.m. Bolivian time. (Rodríguez:2)
In Jon Lee Anderson’s
account, Sergeant Terán volunteers to shoot Che. Che's last words, which are
addressed to Terán, are "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, you are
only going to kill a man." Terán shoots Che in the arms and legs and then
in Che's thorax, filling his lungs with blood. (Anderson, 796)
OCTOBER 9, 1967: Early in the morning, the unit receives the
order to execute Guevara and the other prisoners. Lt. Pérez asks Guevara if he
wishes anything before his execution. Guevara replies that he only wishes to
"die with a full stomach." Pérez asks him if he is a
"materialist" and Guevara answers only "perhaps." When Sgt.
Terán (the executioner) enters the room, Guevara stands up with his hands tied
and states, "I know what you have come for I am ready." Terán tells him
to be seated and leaves the room for a few moments. While Terán was outside,
Sgt. Huacka enters another small house, where "Willy" was being held,
and shoots him. When Terán comes back, Guevara stands up and refuses to be
seated saying: "I will remain standing for this." Terán gets angry
and tells Guevara to be seated again. Finally, Guevara tells him: "Know
this now, you are killing a man." Terán fires his M2 Carbine and kills
him. (Dept. of Defense Intelligence Information Report - 11/28/67).
Later that afternoon: Senior
army officers and CIA Agent, Félix Rodríguez, leave La Higuera by helicopter
for army headquarters in Vallegrande. Upon landing, Rodríguez quickly leaves
the helicopter knowing that Castro’s people will be there looking for CIA
agents. Pulling a Bolivian army cap over his face, he is not noticed by anyone.
(Rodríguez:1, 12; Harris, 130)
Che’s body is flown to
Vallegrande by helicopter and later fingerprinted and embalmed. (NYT 10/11/67)
General Ovando, Chief of
Bolivian Armed Forces, states that just before he died, Che said, "I am
Che Guevara and I have failed." (James, 8)
OCTOBER 10, 1967: W.G.
Bowdler sends a note to Walt Rostow saying that they do not know if Che Guevara
was "among the casualties of the October 8 engagement." They think
that there are no guerrilla survivors. By October 9, they thought two guerrilla
were wounded and possibly one of them is Che. (Bowdler, The White House
10/10/67)
OCTOBER 10, 1967: Two
doctors,. Moisés Abraham Baptista and José Martínez Cazo, at the Hospital
Knights of Malta, Vallegrande,
Bolivia, sign a
death certificate for Che Guevara. The document states that "on October 9
at 5:30 p.m., there arrived...Ernesto Guevara Lynch, approximately 40 years of
age, the cause of death being multiple bullet wounds in the thorax and extremities.
Preservative was applied to the body." On the same day, and autopsy report
records the multiple bullets wounds found in Guevara’s body. "The cause of
death," states the autopsy report, "was the thorax wounds and
consequent hemorrhaging." (U.S.
Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Airgram, 10/18/67)
OCTOBER 10, 1967: General
Ovando announces that Che died the day before at 1:30 p.m. This means that Che
lived for twenty-two hours after the battle in Quebrada del Yuro, which
contradicts Colonel Zenteno’s story. Colonel Zenteno changes his story to
support General Ovando’s. (James, 15)
The New York Times reports
that the Bolivian Army High Command dispatches officially confirm that Che was
killed in the battle on Sunday October 8th. General Ovando states that Che
admitted his identity and the failure of his guerrilla campaign before dying of
his wounds. (NYT 10/10/67)
Ernesto Guevara, the father
of Che, denies the death of his son, stating that there is no evidence to prove
the killing. (NYT 10/11/67)
OCTOBER 11, 1967: General
Ovando claims that on this day Che’s body is buried in the Vallegrande area.
(James, 19)
OCTOBER 11, 1967: President
Lyndon Johnson receives a memorandum from Walt W. Rostow: "This morning we
are about 99% sure that "Che" Guevara is dead." The memo informs
the President that according to the CIA, Che was taken alive and after a short
interrogation General Ovando ordered his execution. (Rostow, "Death of Che
Guevara," 10/11/67)
OCTOBER 11, 1967: Walt Rostow
sends a memorandum to the President stating that they "are 99% sure that
‘Che’ Guevara is dead." He explains that Guevara’s death carries
significant implications: "It marks the passing of another of the
aggressive, romantic revolutionaries...In the Latin American context, it will
have a strong impact in discouraging would -be guerrillas. It shows the
soundness of our ‘preventive medicine’ assistance to countries facing incipient
insurgency--it was the Bolivian 2nd Ranger Battalion, trained by our Green
Berets from June-September of this year, that cornered him and got him."
(Rostow 10/11/67)
OCTOBER 12, 1967: Che’s
brother, Roberto, arrives in Bolivia
to take the body back to Argentina.
However, General Ovando tells him that the body has been cremated. (Anderson, 799)
OCTOBER 13, 1967: Walt Rostow
sends a note to the President with intelligence information that "removes
any doubt that ‘Che" Guevara is dead." (Rostow 10/13/67)
OCTOBER 14, 1967: Annex No.3
- three officials of the Argentine Federal police, at the request of the
Bolivian Government, visited Bolivian military headquarters in La Paz to help identify the handwriting and
fingerprints of Che Guevara. "They were shown a metal container in which
were two amputated hands in a liquid solution, apparently formaldehyde." The
experts compared the fingerprints with the ones in Guevara’s Argentine identity
record, No. 3.524.272, and they were the same. (U.S.
Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Airgram, 10/18/67)
OCTOBER 14, 1967: Students at
Central University of Venezuela protest the U.S. involvement in Che’s death.
Demonstrations are organized against a U.S.
business, the home of a U.S.
citizen, the U.S. Embassy and other similar targets.
OCTOBER 15, 1967: Bolivian
President Barrientos claims that Che’s ashes are buried in a hidden place
somewhere in the Vallegrande region. (Harris, 130)
OCTOBER 16, 1967: . The
Bolivian Armed Forces released a communiqué together with three annexes on the
death of Che Guevara. The communiqué is "based on documents released by
the Military High Command on October9...concerning the combat that took place
at La Higuera between units of the Armed Forces and the red group commanded by
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, as a result of which he, among others, lost his
life..." The report states that Guevara died "more or less at 8 p.m.
on Sunday, October 8...as a result of his wounds." Also, in order to
identify his body it requested the cooperation of Argentine technical
organizations to identify the remains to certify that the handwriting of the
campaign diary coincides with Guevara’s. Henderson, the U.S. Embassy agent in La Paz, comments that
"it will be widely noted that neither the death certificate nor the
autopsy report state a time of death." This "would appear to be an
attempt to bridge the difference between a series of earlier divergent
statements from Armed Forces sources, ranging from assertions that he died
during or shortly after battle to those suggesting he survived at least
twenty-four hours." He also notes that some early reports indicate that
Guevara was captured with minor injuries, while later statements , including
the autopsy report, affirm that he suffered multiple wounds. He agrees with a
comment by Preséncia, that these statements are "going to be the new focus
of polemics in the coming days." (U.S.
Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Airgram, 10/18/67)
OCTOBER 18, 1967: The U.S.
Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia sends an airgram to the
Department of State with the Official Confirmation of Death of Che Guevara. (U.S. Embassy, La Paz, Bolivia,
10/18/97)
OCTOBER 18, 1967: A CIA cable
highlights the errors leading to Guevara’s defeat. "There were negative
factors and tremendous errors involved in the death of Ernesto "Che"
Guevara Serna and the defeat of the guerrillas in Bolivia... ." Che’s presence
at the guerrilla front in Bolivia,
" ... precluded all hope of saving him and the other leaders in the event
of an ambush and virtually condemned them to die or exist uselessly as
fugitives." The fact that the guerrillas were so dependent on the local
peasant population also proved to be a mistake according to the CIA. Another
error described in this cable is Che’s over-confidence in the Bolivian
Communist Party, which was relatively new, inexperienced, lacking strong
leadership and was internally divided into Trotskyite and Pro-Chinese factions.
Finally, the cable states that the victory of the Bolivian army should not be
credited to their actions, but to the errors of Castroism. " The guerrilla
failure in Bolivia
is definitely a leadership failure..."("Comments on the death of
Ernesto "Che" Guevara Serna," 10/18/67)
OCTOBER 18, 1967: Fidel
Castro delivers a eulogy for Che Guevara to nearly a million people --one of
his largest audiences ever--in Havana’s
Plaza de la Revolución. Castro proclaims that Che’s life-long struggle against
imperialism and his ideals will be the inspiration for future generations of
revolutionaries. His life was a "glorious page of history" because of
his extraordinary military accomplishments, and his unequaled combination of
virtues which made him an "artist in guerrilla warfare." Castro
professes that Che’s murderers’ will be disappointed when they realize that
"the art to which he dedicated his life and intelligence cannot die."
(Anderson, 798; Castro’s Eulogy, 10/18/67)
OCTOBER 19, 1967:
Intelligence and Research’s Cuba
specialist, Thomas L. Hughes, writes a memorandum to Secretary of State, Dean
Rusk. Hughes outlines two significant outcomes of Che Guevara’s death that will
affect Fidel Castro’s future political strategies. One is that "Guevara
will be eulogized as the model revolutionary who met a heroic death,"
particularly among future generations of Latin American youth. Castro can
utilize this to continue justifying his defiance of the usual suspects--"US imperialism,
the Green Berets, the CIA." Another outcome is that Castro will reassess
his expectations of exporting revolutions to other Latin American countries.
Some Latin American leftists "will be able to argue that any insurgency
must be indigenous and that only local parties know when local conditions are
right for revolution." (Intelligence and Research Memorandum,
"Guevara’s Death--The Meaning for Latin America",
10/19/97)
NOVEMBER 8, 1967: The CIA
reports that Cuba
is threatening assassin a prominent Bolivian figure, such as President
Barrientos or General Ovando, in revenge of Che Guevara’s death. ( CIA cable,
11/8/67)
JULY 1, 1995: In an interview
with biographer Jon Lee Anderson, Bolivian General Mario Vargas Salinas reveals
that "he had been a part of a nocturnal burial detail, that Che’s body and
those of several of his comrades were buried in a mass grave near the dirt
airstrip outside the little mountain town of Vallegrande in Central
Bolivia." A subsequent Anderson
article in the New York Times sets off a two-year search to find and identify
Guevara’s remains. (Anderson,1)
JULY 5, 1997: Che Guevara
biographer, Jon Lee Anderson, reports for the New York Times that although the
remains have not been exhumed and definitely identified, two experts are
"100 percent sure" that they have discovered Che’s remains in Vallegrande.
The fact that one of the skeletons is missing both of its hands is cited as the
most compelling evidence. (NYT 7/5/97)
JULY 13, 1997: A ceremony in Havana, attended by Fidel Castro and other Cuban
officials, marks the return of Che’s remains to Cuba. (NYT 7/14/97)
OCTOBER 17, 1997: In a
ceremony attended by Castro and thousands of Cubans, Che Guevara is reburied in
Santa Clara, Cuba. (NYT, 10/18/97)