by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Octorber 6, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

orty-years after the execution of 39-year-old Argentine-born Latin-American revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, his image burns as a symbol of world liberation. Albert Korda's 1960 scruffy beret-clad photo is one of the most famous images ever produced, sold on the streets of Beijing to Nairobi. Four decades since Che was captured in Quebrad del Yuro, Boliva, he's both celebrated and reviled, depending on perspective. To the U.S. government, Che was a Trotsky-like communist revolutionary bringing upheaval to U.S.-backed authoritarian regimes in Latin America. To Latin Americans, he was savior of imperialistic oppression, placing liberation ahead of the U.S. government and publicly-traded corporations. “He wasn't the figure of the heroic guerrilla,” said retired Bolivan Gen. Gary Prado, whose forces captured a wounded and beleaguered Che Oct. 8, 1967.

      Prado can't accept Che's ascension into revolutionary sainthood from the mere mortal captured nearly 40 years ago. Che “wasn't someone to inspire terror or anything, but simply to be pitied,” said Prado, recalling the vastly deteriorated man he plucked wounded out of the bushes in Boliva. Cuban President Fidel Castro noted in 1997 at Guevara's memorial commemoration that he was “not a man who could have been taken prisoner,” had he possessed a working gun. “Wounded and without a weapon they were able to hold him and take him to a small town nearby, La Higuera,” said Castro, preserving Che's heroic status. “The following day, Oct. 9. 1967, at noon, they executed him in cold blood,” Castro told Spanish author Ignacio Ramonet in the book “100 Hours with Fidel,” placing the blame on the Bolivian army and CIA. Conflicting stories still cloud Guevara's death.

      Most accounts, including declassified CIA reports, corroborate that Che was shot Oct. 9, 1967, by Bolivian sergeant Mario Terán, that drew straws for the unhappy task of executing Guevara. Before his death, CIA operative Felix Rodriguez interrogated Guevara and reportedly removed Che's Rolex watch after his death. Some reports indicate that President Lyndon Johnson ordered Che's execution. Other reports suggest that Rodriquez acquiesced to Bolivian President René Barientos who refused to conduct a sensational show trial. “Why did they think that by killing him, he would cease to exist as a fighter?” asked Castro, when Guevara's skeletal remains were laid to rest at Santa Clara, Cuba, where Che and Fidel Castro won the decisive battle in 1958 against U.S.-backed Cuban President Fulgencio Bastista. Castro immortalized Che Oct. 17, 1997 at a Santa Clara monument.

      Cut down in his prime, Korda's 1960 photograph preserves Che's glorified image in perpetuity. His 1953 motorcycle trip through Latin America with friend Alberto Granados, based on Che's meticulous diaries, was made into a popular 2004 movie called “The Motorcycle Diaries.” Che left medical school in Buenos Aires in 1953 to experience firsthand the poverty and suffering throughout South and Central America. “I will perfect and accomplish whatever may be necessary in order to become a true revolutionary,” Che wrote his Aunt Beatriz while settling in Guatemala, observing the land reforms of President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán. While there was much idealism in Che's early writings, he became Castro's henchman in the early days of the Cuban revolution, serving as commander of La Cabana Fortress, where he supervised hundreds of mock trials and executions.

      Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Che's death, Cuba plans to honor Guevara Tueday, Oct. 9 at his Santa Clara monument. “He always did what he said he was going to do,” said Granados, now in his 80s reflecting on his friend's legacy in Cuba. Granados' memories mirrored those of Tirso Saenz, an adviser when Guevara served as Castro's minister of industry. “He was demanding of everyone and practiced being a personal example,” wrote Saenz, recalling Che rejecting a steak dinner, while the rest of Cuba went hungry. Che eventually left Cuba in 1964, spending time in Africa as an advisor to several revolutionary movements. After living in Dar-Es Salaam, Che had no clue that when he returned in 1966 to South Amercia he would be hunted down by CIA and eventually captured. “Don't shoot, I'm Che. I'm worth more to you alive than dead,” Prado recalls Che saying in 1967.

      Much to the chagrin of the West, Che remains a powerful symbol of positive revolution around the globe. Like so many idealists, he couldn't reconcile the practical aspects of post-revolutionary bureaucracy, requiring kangaroo courts and mass executions. He wanted to help improve poverty in Latin America but became snared in Castro's brutal repression. By the time he longed to return to a normal life in Buenos Aires, he was one of the world's most notorious revolutionaries. What Prado observed Oct. 7, 1967, when he pulled a wounded Che was from the brush of Boliva, was a broken down shell of the man who took the wrong path to change Latin America. No one could have imagined that Alberto Korda's 1960 photo would become the face of hope and world revolution. Forty-years after his death, Che's symbol shows no sign of losing its magic.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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