Throughout the rebel armies and refugee camps of the world, Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s name has come to symbolize struggle against oppression, and his face just might be the most recognizable on the planet. The fact that Che advocated nuking New York and brutally slaughtered his own men on the slightest suspicion of disloyalty, and that even Fidel Castro — hardly a model of restraint — noted his “tendency toward foolhardiness,” hasn’t done much to hurt his image, and he remains one of the most famous characters of the 20th century.
Less well-known, though, is Sergeant Mario Terán — the Bolivian soldier who shot Che nine times in a dilapidated mud schoolhouse in 1967. Che had gone to Bolivia to command a 50-man guerrilla team a start new revolution there, but hadn’t counted on the lack of support he received from rural Bolivians — a problem worsened by the fact that no one in his all-Cuban officer pool spoke the local Quechua language. He also hadn’t counted on the intervention of the CIA, which provided the intelligence and Bolivian military training that led to his capture. After several months of skirmishes, the army nabbed an exhausted Che — ragged and lacking medicine for his asthma — and locked him up in a local school while the government decided what to do with him.
Two days later, orders for Che’s execution came down from Bolivian president René Barrientos. Terán and his squad mates — nervous about killing the symbol of a worldwide revolutionary communist movement — drew straws to see who would do the deed, and Terán’s straw came up short. From Wikipedia:
Moments before Guevara was executed he was asked if he was thinking about his own immortality. “No”, he replied, “I’m thinking about the immortality of the revolution.” Che Guevara also allegedly said to his executioner, “I know you’ve come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.” Terán hesitated, then pulled the trigger of his semiautomatic rifle, hitting Guevara in the arms and legs. Guevara writhed on the ground, apparently biting one of his wrists to avoid crying out. Terán shot him again, this time hitting him fatally in the chest – at 1:10 pm, according to Rodríguez. In all Guevara was shot nine times. This included five times in the legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and lastly in the throat.
Mario Terán spent the next several decades in silence and obscurity, and the Bolivian government worked hard to protect his identity from would-be revenge-seekers. His name didn’t resurface until 2007, when his son wrote a letter to a local newspaper thanking communist Cuban doctors for saving his father’s sight as part of a non-profit medical relief program called “Operation Miracle.”
Image via Vermelho.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Rawda // Jan 9, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I will forever remember Che through his own words:
“I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves.”
“At the risk of sounding ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by feelings of love.”
and about the UN:
“We should like to see this Assembly (UN) shake itself out of complacency and move forward. We should like to see the committees begin their work and not stop at the first confrontation. Imperialism wishes to convert this meeting into a pointless oratorical tournament, instead of solving the grave problems of the world. We must prevent their doing so. This Assembly should not be remembered in the future only by the number 19, which identifies it. Our efforts are directed to prevent that.”
and my personal favourite:
“I would rather die standing up, then live life on my knees.”
2 mark // Jan 9, 2009 at 8:12 pm
He certainly had some redeeming qualities, and he truly did help achieve remarkable things, but I think I’ll remember him more for these words:
And on the Cuban Missile Crisis:
3 j l // Jan 10, 2009 at 2:50 am
fuck che!!
good riddance
4 Tom // May 4, 2009 at 3:22 pm
This criminal was stopped in the name of all the people he killed in Cuba by the fire squad. He just got what he deserved. Crazy coward. You surrendered at the last minute instead of fighting like all of your type.
5 Tom // May 4, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Scroll down to see the list of names in the web site “el famoso Che” sent to the other world.
6 Tom // May 4, 2009 at 3:27 pm
http://www.therealcuba.com/MurderedbyChe
7 wjb67 // May 13, 2009 at 10:45 pm
“Hatred is an element of struggle; relentless hatred of the enemy that impels us over and beyond the natural limitations of man and transforms us into effective, violent, selective, and cold killing machines.” ~Che Guevera
Yeah…because anyone whose sole contribution to the world is a manual on terrorism should be praised. Right?
8 Juan Villa // Oct 20, 2009 at 2:46 am
Now the NeoChe - NeoDemocrat coward American Liberals of the U.S. embrace this nut like a piece of fine China. In the end, Che was a murderous Piece of S__t ! And, like Che, the American Liberal, like Bill Maher, Alec Baldwin, etc., are the modern day Marxist cowards that need to jump in to the DUNG HEAP of history.
Juanp
9 stephen reid // Jan 24, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Che was a smelly dickhead Fanny. Power To The People . NOT.
10 Imma // Jan 31, 2010 at 7:02 pm
yes, hard to understand his popularity, thank God the russians took those missles out of Cuba. although I think if Che fired “just one misslle” I think in a matter of “minutes” he and his country would be “nuked” into the next world. |
Castro realized this,
I think Che would have pulled the nuclear trigger, and being second in command is real scary. I dont know where he is now, but it sure is not in “heaven” .
have a nice eternity in “hell” Che.
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