Who gave the order to kill Argentine-Cuban guerrilla Ernesto “Che” Guevara or who warned him of his presence in Bolivia are some of the questions that still remain open 25 years after the discovery of his remains in Boliviaa task that was made easier at the time Government considered “correct”.
The search was intensified in November 1995 after statements by military officer Mario Vargas Salinas, a former high-ranking commander Bolivian Armed Forceswho claimed to know the whereabouts of the remains Chekilled 28 years ago.
Government in the same month issued a decree establishing a search committee based on information that the body was in a mass grave located on the airstrip of Vallegrande, a city located about 240 km southwest of Santa Cruz, in eastern region of the country.
“Proper” government
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (1993–1997) of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MPR) assumed the presidency of the country and later became president and leader Revolution CubanFidel Castro, what is believed to have influenced the discovery Remains of Che.
The MPR was the architect of the National Revolution of 1952, one of the most important in Latin America, but by the 1990s it had already taken an ideological turn, embracing a free market economy with its eye on the sale of essential companies. .
“What does a government that has been looking for (right-wing) capitalization do, looking for leftovers”Che’ Guevara (…) deep down it was not, assured Efe Ernesto Machicao, who was a minister and diplomat in that government.
Machikao claimed that in the MPR “there were many people who believed in Revolution Cuban”whose “line and opinion were taken into account in the decisions” except that “the president was also a person who had a deep friendship” with left-wing people, and that for this reason “there was no resistance” to intensify the search for the remains Che.
Sánchez de Lozada “was in great harmony with Fidel Castro”, “which was not ideological” but rather “institutional cooperation”, as stated by journalist Juan Carlos Salazar, who covered the activities of the guerrillas and reported decades later from Cuba the arrival of the remains”Che”to Havana.
Discovery of Che’s remains
The search mission lasted almost two years, assisted at various times by Cuban, Argentinean and Bolivian specialists, and moved forward despite setbacks caused by some false or contradictory versions.
The discovery took place in a grave in which seven bodies were found, including “Che”, in the early days of July 1997, a month after the change of government in Bolivia, after the victory Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), dictator Hugo Banser (1971-1978).
Identification of remains”Che“This was due to his morphological features such as the shape of his forehead and the absence of a molar, to which was added the absence of part of the two upper limbs, since after the execution his hands were cut off.
Ten years later, research in Cuba they determined that the remains were indeed those of a revolutionary.
outstanding issues
Burial place”Che“It was a military secret,” like many others associated with his figure, because “the army archives are closed,” said Salazar, author of several texts about the mythical guerrilla.
It remains for the journalist to determine “who made the decision (to kill”Che’)”, which is believed to have originated from a key meeting between then President René Barrientos (1966-1969) and some of his military staff.
Among them are the former head of the armed forces, Alfredo Ovando, and the commander of the ground forces, Juan José Torres, who later became presidents of the progressive country in 1969-1970 and 1970-1971, respectively.
“Who condemned the presence Che in Bolivia in 1966, as the “only” ones who knew were “a few leaders of the Communist Party” or “what the United States knew” about the activities of the guerrillas, even to the point of sending officials to offer “military assistance” to Bolivia in the event of an emergency in this case there are several doubts, he assured.
The investigator stated that from the moment of death “Che”, in 1997, “there were many versions” and that some of them “gave clues” to finding his remains, but at the same time “unknown aspects” remain, so he insisted on “demanding” the Army to open his files.
Bolivian sergeant Mario Teran executed Guevara in La Higuera on October 9, 1967.
EFE
Source: RPP
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.