“No contact with Manila,” Ernesto “Che” Guevara wrote several times in his diary as he marched to his death in Bolivia and, behind the phrase, is Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s betrayal and abandonment of the legendary guerrilla fighter, Cuban journalist Alberto Müller said.

“Manila” was the codeword for Cuba, Müller told Efe in an interview ahead of the presentation at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair of his book “Che Guevara. Valgo más vivo que muerto.”

The title comes from a phrase attributed to Che when he was found in the Bolivian village of La Higuera and contrasts the guerrilla’s desire to live with Castro’s order to avoid being captured alive, highlighting the “great differences” existing in 1967 between the two revolutionaries, Müller said.

Müller said there was a guerrilla unit in Havana ready to deploy and rescue Guevara, but “Fidel never authorized the mission,” abandoning the guerrilla leader to his fate.

Che was shot dead on Oct. 9, 1967, in La Higuera.

“He died in a pitiful manner. Without medications for his asthma, without boots and only rags wrapped around his feet, without water, without food and without allies,” Müller said.

To understand why Castro withdrew his support from Guevara, the author takes the reader back to what he considers a turning point in the relationship between them, the 1965 Afro-Asian Conference in Algiers.

Guevara’s address to the assembly meant “a break up with the Soviet Union that harmed Che’s relationship with Fidel,” the author said.

Guevara criticized Moscow, accusing the USSR, without mentioning it by name, of being “accomplices of U.S. imperialist exploitation,” just when the Cuban leader was about to conclude agreements on military cooperation with the Kremlin.

The estrangement between Guevara and Castro increased over time, and deepened when the Cuban leader, without consulting the Argentine-born guerrilla, decided to withdraw Cuban fighters from the Congo, leading to the mission in Bolivia that Müller describes as an “induced suicide.”

“Why Bolivia?” Müller would ask Castro if he were to interview him.

“Che’s posture ran against Fidel’s interests,” the author said. “Che became a pest, an inconvenience for the Cuban Revolution, a pebble in the shoe.”

Müller said several historians and Che biographers that helped in his research agreed with him that “Guevara wanted to go to Argentina, his homeland, to liberate it, and in Havana they invented the Bolivia campaign for him.”

The author said he found out that two years before Guevara’s final mission, Castro had acknowledged that Bolivia “didn’t have conditions for a guerrilla movement” and the peasants there did not need a revolution because agrarian reform in the 1950s had given them ownership of the land.

Even so, the Cuban leader sent Guevara to Bolivia and months later cut off the link with supporters in La Paz, increasing the guerrillas’ isolation and worsening their situation.

“I think Che must have died being very aware of his betrayal,” Müller said. EFE

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Last night I was just thinking about Che, his life, everything he did and said, and suddenly a bunch of words and sentences of love, admiration, respect and pride came flowing out of me.
I wrote them down in a form of a kind of story, and today I would love to share it with you.

You can read it [here]

El 2 de diciembre de1956 Ernesto Che Guevara tiene su encuentro con la tierra cubana. Formaba parte del grupo de 82 expedicionarios dirigidos por Fidel Castro que habían salido desde el puerto mexicano de Tuxpan en un pequeño yate identificado como Granma.

El Che hacia realidad el compromiso que contrajo cuando a mediados de 1955 en la capital mexicana conoció a Fidel y le patentizó brindarle su apoyo a lo relacionado con la más pronta reanudación en Cuba de la lucha contra un régimen dictatorial.

Ya desde el segundo semestre de 1954 Ernesto Guevara se vio obligado a salir de Guatemala cuando se produjo la caída del gobierno progresista de Jacobo Arbenz. Entonces se dirigió hacia México.

Con antelación Guevara había conocido algo de la situación existente en Cuba puesto que tanto en Costa Rica como en Guatemala se había relacionado con exiliados cubanos que habían participado el 26 de julio de 1953 en el asalto a los cuarteles “Moncada”, en Santiago de Cuba y el “Carlos Manuel de Céspedes” en Bayamo.

Un encuentro casual con uno de esos jóvenes cubanos en 1955 en el hospital donde laboraba en México le permitió al Che Guevara después conocer a Fidel.

En relación con ello el Che afirmó: “Lo conocí en una de esas frías noches de México, y recuerdo que nuestra primera discusión versó sobre política internacional. A las pocas horas de la misma noche –en la madrugada- era yo uno de los futuros expedicionarios.”

También Fidel detalló: “Fue un día del mes de julio o agosto de 1955 cuando conocimos al Che. Y en una noche —como él cuenta en sus narraciones— se convirtió en un futuro expedicionario del Granma. Pero en aquel entonces aquella expedición no tenía ni barco, ni armas, ni tropas. Y fue así corno, junto con Raúl, el Che integró el grupo de los dos primeros de la lista del Granma.

Algún tiempo después ya el Che Guevara comenzó a participar en los entrenamientos que se realizaban en México y tuvo que encarar el peligro de ser detenido y deportado del país por su condición de extranjero indocumentado.

Logró salir hacia Cuba en la madrugada del 25 de noviembre de 1956. Con respecto a ello comentaría posteriormente en uno de sus relatos que publicó acerca de sus vivencias en la guerra revolucionaria en Cuba: “Salimos, con las luces apagadas, del puerto de Tuxpan, en medio de un hacinamiento infernal de materiales de todas clases y de hombres. Teníamos muy mal tiempo y, aunque la navegación estaba prohibida, el estuario del río se mantenía tranquilo.”

Si para todos los expedicionarios el viaje hacia Cuba a bordo del yate “Granma” fue una difícil prueba, para el Che lo fue más. A las molestias y limitaciones que provocaba el hacinamiento de 82 hombres en un yate de recreo, unido a las armas y otros utensilios necesarios, el Che tuvo que padecer un intenso ataque de asma que le duró casi toda la travesía.

Pero más irreductible que aquel padecimiento fue su espíritu que no hizo mella en su optimismo.

Otra gran prueba tanto para el Che como para el resto de los expedicionarios fue la de tener que realizar el desembarco por la zona de Los Cayuelos, cerca de la Playa Las Coloradas, en la costa sur de la entonces provincia de Oriente.

De la llegada a Cuba también el Che escribiría: “Apenas bajamos, con toda premura y llevando lo imprescindible, nos introducíamos en la ciénaga, cuando fuimos atacados por la aviación enemiga. Naturalmente, caminando por los pantanos cubiertos de manglares, no éramos vistos ni hostilizados por la aviación, pero ya el ejército de la dictadura andaba sobre nuestros pasos.”

Tres días más tarde los combatientes revolucionarios reciben el bautismo de fuego cuando fueron sorprendidos por el ataque de los soldados de la dictadura batistiana en Alegría de Pío.

El Che especificó lo que estaba haciendo en el momento que se inicia el ataque ya que precisó que se hallaba conversando con uno de los expedicionarios, Jesús Montané.

Manifestó: “El compañero Montané y yo estábamos recostados contra un tronco, hablando de nuestro respectivos hijos; comíamos la magra ración, medio chorizo y dos galletas, cuando sonó un disparo; una diferencia de segundos solamente y un huracán de balas, o al menos eso pareció a nuestro angustiado espíritu durante aquella prueba de fuego, se cernía sobre el grupo de 82 hombres.”

En Alegría de Pío los combatientes rebeldes sufren un duro revés, ya que se produce una gran dispersión. Muchos de ellos son capturados y asesinados en los días sucesivos. Sólo un pequeño número de los expedicionarios pudo eludir la persecución e intentan dirigirse hacia las zonas montañosas.

En uno de los pequeños grupos que transitaban por la parte sur de la provincia oriental se hallaba Ernesto Che Guevara.

Tras más de quince días de fatigosas marchas, caracterizadas por el acoso de las fuerzas de la tiranía y el terrible flagelo del hambre y la sed, los integrantes del grupo encabezado por Juan Almeida, en que se hallaba Ernesto Guevara se reencuentran con Fidel Castro y otros combatientes revolucionarios en horas de la madrugada del 21 de diciembre de 1956 en la finca del campesino Mongo Pérez.

Con antelación, el día 18, se habían reagrupado en Purial de Vicana los pequeños grupos que comandaban Fidel y su hermano Raúl.

No obstante el revés sufrido, y el tener que enfrentarse a condiciones sumamente difíciles, la moral del grupo revolucionario se mantenía muy alta y existía plena disposición de proseguir la lucha.

El 31 de diciembre los familiares del Che Guevara reciben en Buenos Aires una carta que él les enviara desde Cuba y que a través de palabras claves, simbólicas, detalla que se encuentra vivo. Es la primera noticia directa que recibían de él tras su llegada a Cuba en la expedición del yate “Granma.”

El Che les detalla: “Queridos viejos. Estoy perfectamente, gasté sólo 2 y me quedan cinco. Sigo trabajando en lo mismo, las noticias son esporádicas y lo seguirán siendo, pero confíen en que Dios sea argentino.
Un abrazo a todos. Teté.

Firmó esta nota de la manera que solía ser identificado en el ámbito familiar en la etapa de su niñez.

Durante 1957 el Che alcanza un notable prestigio como combatiente. Participó de modo activo en lo que fueron los primeros enfrentamientos exitosos de la tropa rebelde contra las fuerzas de la dictadura en la Sierra Maestra, como fue el combate realizado en la desembocadura del rio La Plata, acerca del cual el señalaría posteriormente: “El ataque a un pequeño cuartel que existía en la desembocadura del río La Plata, en la Sierra Maestra, constituyó nuestra primera victoria y tuvo cierta resonancia, más lejana que la abrupta región donde se realizó.

Fue un llamado de atención a todos la demostración de que el Ejército Rebelde existía y estaba dispuesto a luchar y, para nosotros, la reafirmación de nuestras posibilidades de triunfo final”.

Ya después del combate que tuvo lugar en la zona del Uvero el 28 de mayo, al Che se le encomienda encabezar una Columna, identificada estratégicamente como la cuatro aunque en realidad era la segunda, que tuvo como misión inicial atender a los heridos pero que en el transcurso del tiempo igualmente alcanzó éxitos en posteriores combates.

Acerca de ello expresó el Che: “Posteriormente a Uvero y después de reencuentros con la columna principal de una pequeña que había quedado a mi cargo con los heridos y se había ido nutriendo de distintos combatientes aislados, se me nombre jefe de la Segunda Columna, nominada 4, que debía operar al este del Turquino.

Vale decir, que la columna dirigida personalmente por Fidel operaría fundamentalmente al oeste de ese pico, y la nuestra del otro lado, hasta donde pudiéramos abarcar. Había cierta independencia de mando táctico, pero estábamos dirigidos por Fidel con el cual manteníamos correspondencia por medio de mensajeros cada semana o quince días.”

Al Che, incluso Fidel le confiere por sus méritos y capacidad el grado de Comandante.

En la etapa final de 1957 y el primer semestre del año siguiente, el Che sigue poniendo de manifiesto sus grandes condiciones como combatiente y como uno de los jefes capaces del Ejército Rebelde.

En agosto de 1958 una vez derrotada la gran ofensiva lanzada por la dictadura batistiana contra los integrantes del Ejército Rebelde en las montañas orientales, y de modo muy especial en la Sierra Maestra, Fidel concibió llevar adelante una contraofensiva y en tal sentido encomendó a los comandantes Camilo Cienfuegos y Ernesto Che Guevara, respectivamente, dirigir dos columnas que tendrían como misión realizar la invasión desde la Sierra Maestra hasta las provincias occidental y central de Cuba.

Tanto el Che como Camilo cumplieron a cabalidad aunque en el caso de la Columna encabezada por Camilo no hizo falta que llegara a Pinar del Río, sino que siguió operando en el territorio de las Villas en coordinación con la del Che hasta que se produjo la victoria revolucionaria.

El Che en la provincia de Las Villas desarrolló una activa labor tanto política como militarmente y en la parte final de diciembre llevó adelante acertadamente el ataque a las tropas de la dictadura que defendían la ciudad de Santa Clara.

Con esta decisiva batalla, el Che culminó en forma exitosa su labor durante la lucha de liberación nacional.

De las cualidades del Che Guevara como combatiente con las armas en la mano Fidel señaló en el discurso que pronunció el 18 de octubre de 1967en la Plaza de la Revolución José Martí: “Che era un insuperable soldado; Che era un insuperable jefe; Che era, desde el punto militar, un hombre extraordinariamente capaz, extraordinariamente valeroso, extraordinariamente agresivo.”

Radio Rebelde.cu

La Higuera, Bolivia - A seven-hour drive from Santa Cruz — a city in eastern Bolivia — on a dusty mountain road took me to La Higuera, a village 2 000 meters above sea level.

About a dozen shanties built along the road were the homes of its 80 or so inhabitants. It was here 47 years ago that Ernesto “Che” Guevara, a guerrilla revolutionary committed to the goal of liberating Latin America, was captured by the government army and executed. After strolling through a symphony of birdsong to the centre of the village, I found a bust of Guevara on a pedestal. His strong eyes seemed to show determination.

Guevara was born to a wealthy family in Argentina. After meeting former Cuban President Fidel Castro in Mexico, he went to Cuba and helped lead the guerrilla war there. On the heels of the success of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, he was appointed the president of the National Bank and the minister of industry. He left Cuba in 1965 for Congo and sneaked into Bolivia after leaving Congo.

Guevara was executed by a firing squad. His body, which the military had secretly buried, was discovered in 1997. The school where he was executed has been transformed into a memorial hall that local residents take turns managing. The list of names signed in the guestbook shows that tourists from all over the world have visited the village, walking in Guevara's footsteps.

“The village residents, who believed the government when it called the guerrillas 'murderers,' did not try to help Guevara when he was captured. And they all regretted it when they learned afterward that he had dedicated his life to the liberation of Bolivia,” said Sabina Chuki, a 38-year-old farmer.

Chuki said he has heard his elders repeat words of remorse countless times since his childhood. Guevara's popularity still continues in the village, which is located in a poor area where many live on less than a dollar a day.

Juanita Castro, the younger sister of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, describes Guevara as “an inhuman, cold fish” in her memoir “Fidel y Raul, mis hermanos” (Fidel and Raul, my brothers).

However, Julia Cortez, a 66-year-old housewife who came into contact with Guevara just before he was shot, remembers him differently. “He was a humble, polite person,” she said. Cortez, who was 19 at the time, had been working at the school where Guevara was executed. On Oct. 9, 1967, just before he was killed, she brought him some peanut soup that her mother had made. He must have been famished, Cortez recalls, as he took the bowl with both of his hands - which were tied together - and drank the soup down in one gulp. He told her, “This soup is worth more than gold. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
As Cortez left the classroom with the empty bowl, Guevara pushed open the door with his elbow and smiled at her as she looked back.
“He had gentle eyes for somebody who was prepared to die,” she remembers. “His last smile is still engraved in my mind.” Not long after that, the sound of gunfire echoed through the village.

Source

Che Guevera died 47 years ago, but he continues to inspire millions around the world. The popularity he enjoys so many years after his death is proof that though “they” may have killed the man, “they” will never extinguish the ideas for which he died.

On 9 October 1967, Ernesto “Che” Guevara was executed by a Bolivian army officer at the end of his ill-fated attempt to foment revolution throughout Latin America. He was executed at the behest of the CIA, who hoped his death would deal a shattering blow to the influence of the Cuban Revolution in a part of the world traditionally viewed as America's backyard; its role to provide the cheap labor, raw materials, and markets required to maintain the huge profits of US corporations.

But the CIA were wrong, just as successive US administrations have been wrong, in thinking that the ideas for which Che Guevara fought and died could ever be ended with a bullet. On the contrary, over four decades on from his death the Cuban Revolution continues as a beacon of inspiration and hope to the poor of the undeveloped world.

That a tiny island nation with a population of just over 11 million people, located 90 miles off the coast of Florida, should have the temerity to assert its right to political and economic independence from the United States and survive for so long is nothing short of immense. Indeed, many believe that not only have the ideas for which Che Guevara gave his life survived, they have never been more potent, illustrated by the left turn taken throughout the region in recent years. It is a political turn responsible for transforming a part of the world traditionally associated with military juntas, right wing autocracies, and US puppet regimes into the very opposite.

Today Latin America is a part of the world where democracy has taken root, where the tenets of the Washington neoliberal consensus have been rejected in favor of social and economic justice as the objective of government.

Undeniably, Che's legend has not only continued unabated since his death it has grown. In every town and every city, from Los Angeles to London, Beirut to Bethlehem, from Nairobi to New Delhi, the iconic image of him carrying that expression of burning defiance, captured by Alberto Korda in 1960, is as ubiquitous as it is powerful, found on everything from T-shirts to coffee mugs, rugs, posters and a myriad other items. For many it represents something transcendent in the human experience, an idea that stands in opposition to the values of individualism and materialism which are drummed into us every minute of every day in the West.

A read through Che's writings brings home the fierce determination of a man who burned with anger at the injustice, oppression and exploitation suffered by the world's poor. In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in1964, he said:

“All free men of the world must be prepared to avenge the crime of the Congo. Perhaps many of those soldiers, who were turned into sub-humans by imperialist machinery, believe in good faith that they are defending the rights of a superior race. In this assembly, however, those peoples whose skins are darkened by a different sun, colored by different pigments, constitute the majority. And they fully and clearly understand that the difference between men does not lie in the color of their skin, but in the forms of ownership of the means of production, in the relations of production.”

Not satisfied with merely delivering such a powerful affirmation of solidarity with the poor and oppressed of another land, Che embarked for the Congo in an attempt to give meaning to them, in the process abandoning the relative comfort and status earned him by the success of the Cuban Revolution to risk his life in a mission to spread the revolution throughout the developing world.

 In a later speech to the Afro-Asian Conference in February 1965, he offered this admonition:

“There are no borders in this struggle to the death. We cannot be indifferent to what happens anywhere in the world, because a victory by any country over imperialism is our victory, just as any country's defeat is a defeat for all of us.”

For Che Guevara the struggle against imperialism and exploitation could only be won gun in hand, utilizing in his view the same kind of violence used without compunction by the oppressor. Not for him non-violence and peaceful protest. His experience, his observation of the poverty and truncated lives suffered by millions throughout Latin America and Africa instilled in him a rage and a desire to visit retribution on the system he considered responsible.

In this he was very much a product of his time, when people of the developing world were locked out of the democratic process in parts of the world where right-wing dictatorships made recourse to violence inevitable.

Despite the myriad articles, analysis, and commentary produced on Che Guevara and his life, much of it hostile and withering, one incident sums up more than any article ever could the enduring force of the Cuban Revolution whose ideas he died trying to spread.

In 2006 Mario Teran, an old man living in Bolivia, was treated by Cuban doctors volunteering their services free of charge to Bolivia's poor, just as they have and do to the poor in every corner of the developing world in medical missions that have transformed the lives of millions. They performed an operation to remove cataracts from Mario's eyes, which succeeded in restoring his sight.

Mario Teran is not just any old man, however. He is the Bolivian army officer who executed Ernesto “Che” Guevara in 1967.

[Source]