30 Veritas

Che Guevara: A False Idol for Revolutionaries

by Troy J. Sacquety

Che Guevara (left) and Fidel Castro (right) were the architects of the Cuban Revolution. Guevara’s proponency for exporting the revolution throughout Latin American made him a dangerous enemy to democracies in the region.

Che Guevara’s parents, Celia de la Serna and Ernesto Guevara Lynch, visited him in Havana shortly after the revolution succeeded.

From the age of two, Ernesto suffered from severe asthma. He excelled at sports despite this affliction.

the mid-1960s, Ernesto “Che” Guevara de laSerna, was a clear threat to American foreign

policyinLatinAmerica.HisroleinCuba’sRevolution,his outspoken criticism of the United States, and hisproponency for armed Communist insurgencies in theWesternHemisphere,madehimoneofWashington’stopintelligenceandmilitarytargets.“Thisasthmatic...whoneverwenttomilitaryschoolorownedabrassbuttonhada greater influence on inter-Americanmilitary policiesthananysinglemansincetheendofJosefStalin.”1Che’spart inestablishingthefirstCommunistgovernmentinLatinAmericawaslegendaryintheregion.Inessence,the U.S. Government was concerned by, not just Chetheman, but what he proselytized on insurgency andinstability.HewastheOsamaBinLadenofthe1960s.Che’s image has transcended reality to that of a

romantic hero. But ask anyCuban exile in theUnitedStates today and they will say that Che was simply aruthlessCommunistrevolutionary.2BestknownforhisbrutalityinCuba,hewasdeeplyinvolvedinunsuccessfulinsurgencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congoand Bolivia. While not a thorough account of his life,this article summarizes Che’s youth, idealism, and therevolutionarypaththatledhimtoBolivia.Ernestowasbornon14May1928inRosario,Argentina,

toErnestoGuevaraLynchandCeliadelaSerna.3Thefirstoffivechildren,hewasraisedinanuppermiddleclassfamily.HisfatherwasrelatedtooneofSouthAmerica’s

most established families. While he squandered aninheritance,hiswife,Celia, hadherownandan estatethatprovidedasmallyearlyincome.Ernesto’supbringingwasbohemian;asaboyhewasfreetodoashewished.Buthewasbornwithaserious,lingeringailment.From the age of two Ernesto suffered from severe

asthma, forcing the family to live inadry region. Hisfather complained that “each day we found ourselvesmoreatthemercyofthatdamnedsickness.”4Theasthmamadetheoften-bedriddenErnestoavoraciousreader.Hewasalsodeterminedtoleadanactivelife.Ernestoplayedsportsandengagedindaredevilantics

toimpresshisfriends.Althoughofslightbuild,hewasespecially good at rugby. His bohemian eccentricitiesearned him nicknames, the most unflattering being“Chancho”(pig),becauseErnestodidnotbatheregularlyand wore unwashed clothes for weeks. Despite hisnonconformity,Guevarachosetostudymedicineat theUniversityofBuenosAiresandexplorethecountry.On his trips Guevara noticed the vast differences in

living standards between the rural population and hissocialclass.Theseforaysintothecountrysidemanifestedafeelingofpan-Americanism,adesiretohelpthepoor,andreinforcedhis hatredof the landed aristocracy in SouthAmerica and theU.S. Despite being bourgeois, he heldthemresponsible forLatinAmerica’soppressed indigenouspopulation. The adventure that most influenced the24-year-oldErnestobeganinJanuary1952.PartneredwithAlbertoGranado, he traveled throughArgentina, Chile,Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, and theUnitedStates.5Afterninemonthsoftravelanddiscovery,Ernestowasinfusedwithanewfoundsenseofdirection.HereturnedtoBuenosAiresandcompletedhismedical

studiesinApril1953.The newly minted doctor once

againtooktotheopenroad. After

In

Vol. 4 No. 4 31

Ernesto Guevara’s travels showed him the disparity of

the living standards between the urban middle class

and the rural poor, fostered his Pan-Americanism.

Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz’s socialist

policies caused his ouster. Guevara,

who witnessed it firsthand, was

greatly influenced by the 1954 coup.

Fulgencio Batista, former Army Chief of Staff and Cuban

president, seized power in 1952.

His authoritarian regime aroused

much discontent and prompted Castro to

form an underground movement to remove

him from power.

Flag of the 26th of July Movement (Movimiento 26 de Julio)

The Sierra Maestras are the highest mountains in Cuba. The rugged, inaccessible terrain allowed Castro’s 26th of July Movement a secure base from which to build support. This later became key in Che’s theories on guerrilla warfare.

observing firsthand the results of the 1952Bolivian Revolution in La Paz, he left forGuatemala to support the socialist president,a former Army officer named Jacobo ArbenzGuzmán. There,Ernestomethis futurewife,HildaGadeaandgotthenickname,“Che,”fromCuban political exile Antonio “Ñico” Lópezwho made fun of him for constantly usingthe Argentine expression che [hey!].6 The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)orchestrated overthrow of PresidentArbenz in 1954 had a profound effectonCheGuevara.Afterwards,helookedbackonGuatemalaasa revolution thatcouldhavesucceededifthoseinpowerhadbeenmoreforceful.Arbenz’s populism, especially land

reform and cooperation with Socialists, attractedinternational attention. In 1954, two percent ofGuatemala’spopulationowned72percentof thearableland.Sinceonly12percentofthatlandwasbeingusedannually,Arbenzwantedtoredistributetherest.ThisdidnotpleasethepowerfulandinfluentialU.S.-basedUnitedFruit Company (UFC),whichwasGuatemala’s largestlandowner.Inthemidstofa“RedScare,”Washingtonresponded to theUFC’spleas forhelp, inpartbecauseAmericawasnotkeenona left-leaninggovernmentintheWesternHemisphere.Thus,theCIAtrainedaforceinNicaraguatooverthrowArbenz.On 18 June 1954, nearly 500 men commanded by

CarlosCastilloArmascrossedtheborderinfourgroups.AlthoughtheCIA-trainedrebelsweredealtsevereblows,therevoltoftheGuatemalanArmyenabledfinalsuccess.Arbenzwasforcedintoexile.ThosesuspectedofSocialistsympathies were arrested. Che took refuge inside theArgentineEmbassybeforefleeingtoMexicoCity.Che’srevolutionarycolleaguesfromGuatemalajoined

him there.Ñico López introduced him to FidelCastro,whomChethoughtwas“intelligent,verysureofhimselfandofextraordinaryaudacity;Ithinkthereisamutualsympathy between us.”7 WhenCastro invited him tojointhe26thofJulyMovement,Cheaccepted.Castro’s movement was the cause Che had been

seeking. The group began to covertly train under thetutelage of Spanish Civil War veteran Alberto Bayo.His paramilitary regimen included revolutionary wartheory,physicalconditioning,hand-to-handcombat,andmarksmanship.CastrodidnotdelayhisreturntoCuba.On 25 November 1956, 82 guerrillas boarded the

Granma, anold, leaky, cabincruiser loadeddownwithweaponsand suppliesbound forCuba. Aftera roughvoyage, thesmall force landedon2DecemberatPlayaLasColoradas.8 TheirfirstcontactwithBatista’sforceson 5 December was disastrous. The Army attackedthe guerrillaswhile theywere resting in a sugar canefield.Surprised,theconfusedgroupdidnotputupanorganized defense, and many fled through the densesugarcane.Thosewhotriedtofightwereeitherkilledor

32 Veritas

Born13August1926onasugarplantationnearBirán,Cuba, Fidel Castro, like Che, was from a bourgeoisfamilyof“haves.”Hisfatherownedorleasedthousandsof hectares of land. Castro entered theUniversity ofHavanain1945tostudylawandbecameverypoliticallyactive.BythetimehegraduatedwithaDoctorofLawsdegree in 1950, Castro was extremely resentful ofWashington’sinterferenceinLatinAmericanaffairs.In 1952, General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar, the

formerArmyChiefofStaffandCubanPresident,seizedcontrolofthepopularlyelectedCubangovernmentina coup d’état. Convinced that the coupwasunlawful,Castrodecidedthatanarmedrevoltwasnecessary.HeformedaguerrillamovementtocapturetheMoncadaBarracks to get the necessaryweapons for a popularuprising. On 26 July 1953,Castro’s amateur 135-manforcewassoundlydefeated;nearlyhalfoftheguerrillaswerekilled.Survivorsfledintothecountryside,wheretheywerehunteddown.Castrowascaptured,publiclytried,andsentencedtofifteenyearsinprison.Lessthantwoyearslaterhewaspardonedwithfamilyinfluence.HefledtoMexicointhesummerof1955,toplan,andorganize another group to fight against Batista. To

commemoratethefailedattackontheMoncadaBarracks,Castronamedhisguerrilla force theMovimiento 26 de Julio (26th of July Movement). While some memberswereCommunists, likehis brotherRaúl, itwasnot arequirement. The revolutionarieswere simplyunitedbytheirmutualhatredofBatista.

Castro and the Cuban Revolution.

Fidel Castro, seen here with Che Guevara, was a charismatic and powerful orator. He was determined to “free” Cuba from the rule of General Fulgencio Batista.

Conditions in the Sierra Maestra were harsh, but their remoteness allowed the guerrillas to easily detect incursions by government troops. Raúl Castro is kneeling with a telescoped rifle. His brother, Fidel, is standing directly behind him.

During the Santa Clara campaign in the last

weeks of 1958, Che met Aleida March. They

later married (as shown at right). After her

husband’s death, she established the Che

Guevara Studies Center.

captured.Che,Castro,andCastro’sbrotherRaúl,wereamongthefewthatmanagedtoescape.Thetwenty-plussurvivorscongregatedinthe

safetyoftheSierraMaestraMountains.9Reunited,theybeganrecruitinganti-Batistafarmers.Oncethe urbanunderground cells of the 26th of JulyMovement discovered that there were Granma survivors, arms, supplies, and money trickledinto the remotemountain camps. Hit and runattacks on small outlying garrisons garneredmore. As the number of successful attacksgrew, the group gained sympathy throughoutCuba.Castrocapitalizedonthisbygrantinganexclusive interview toHerbertMatthewsof theNew York Times.AsympatheticMatthewsgreatlyexaggerated

the number of guerrillas to “thousands.”“General Batista cannotpossiblyhopetosuppresstheCastrorevolt.”10TheinterviewshowedthatHavana’sclaimsthat Castro was dead wereuntrue.Recruitsandsupportpoured into the mountainretreats. By surviving andsticking with Castro, theArgentineprovedhisloyalty anddedication.Che’s fervent belief in

the revolutionsethimapartand added tohis credibility

Vol. 4 No. 4 33

Guevara publicly trashed his enemies.

His speeches angered the United States,

and later, the Soviet Union.

Sugar was Cuba’s main export and source of hard currency. Che set an example by volunteering a large portion of his free time “to the revolution,” by cutting sugar cane, or working on the docks.

Construction of the La Cabaña fortress began in 1763. At the time of the Cuban Revolution it was being used as a prison. For much of 1959, Che oversaw the trials and executions of “enemies of the revolution” here.

among the Cubans as aGranma veteran. Althoughrecruitedasadoctor,hisleadershipandorganizationalskillspromptedCastrotopromotehimtoComandante andgivehimcommandofoneofthetworebelcolumns[at that time,Castrowas theonlyotherComandante].Fidelneededhisskillsinthebrutalstruggle.Desperatetosavehisregime,Batistasentlargeforces

intothemountains.Whiletherebelsrarelykilledenlistedsoldierswhosurrendered,capturedinsurgentsexpectedlittlemercy. Castro’smenwere brutalwith deserters.Poorlivingconditionsmadethataseriousthreat.Thosecaughtwere summarily tried and executed. Thewarquicklyspreadbeyondthemountains.The 26th of July Movement expanded guerrilla

operations to assassinating prominent governmentsupporterssuchaspoliceandmilitaryofficers. Batistalaunched“OperationVerano,”intotheSierraMaestrainlateJune1958inresponse.Thesix-weekoffensivewasadisaster. Itwassucha largepsychologicalvictorythatCastro expanded combatoperations into the lowlands.Chetookhiscolumndowntobuildallianceswithotherresistancegroups.Under pressure from the loosely united guerrilla

groups, Batista’s forces gave ground in late December1958. Che’s column secured numerous towns anddefeated several garrison elements. The insurgencyachieved success after capturing Santa Clara. Joinedby Camilo Cienfuegos’s column, the united guerrillasapproachedthecity.Their300-350troopsfaced3,500ofBatista’sthoroughlydemoralizedsoldiers.The rebels secured the city after a series of brief

engagements. When the Army fled, the way to thecapitalHavana,wasopen.Lessthantwelvehoursafterthe fall of Santa Clara, Batista’s government collapsed.

HeescapedtotheDominicanRepublicon1January1959.ThevictoriousrebelsrolledintoHavanaunopposedandtook control of government buildings. Che installedhimself in La Cabaña, an 18th Century fortress turnedprisonwherehepresidedover“revolutionarytribunals”of“warcriminals”untilJune1959.

34 Veritas34 Veritas

Several Latin American countries contributed to the U.S.-led blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They realized that their countries were also within range of the Soviet Union’s nuclear missiles.

When Havana sided with the Soviet Union, it was supplied with large amounts of Russian equipment, such as this T-34/85 tank. Che was the main architect of the Cuban-Soviet relationship.

Several thousand people were tried at La Cabaña.Theywereeithersentencedtoprisonorexecuted.Formergovernment officials, police, and army personnelwhohadservedBatistawereroundedup.LuisO.Rodriguez,a former platoon sergeant that fought in the SierraMaestra, was arrested at home. Rodriguez describedthesedreadfultimes.

“things were very disorganized . . . every night they would come in with a list . . . if you were called in [late at night/early morning] it would mean that you were going to trial. They would tell you not to carry anything with you. [This was] contrary to if they called your name during the day and would ask you to bring your belongings if you had anything. You knew you would be transferred . . . But if you were called during the night it was a different thing. You knew that your life was almost gone . . . After they called the names for about an hour or so nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden you heard the discharge of several rifles and after a few seconds . . . the single shots [coup de grâce], sometimes one, sometimes two . . . even four. All this time we saw Che . . . calling us criminals . . . he would say ‘all you guys will end up the same way. You deserve it.’ We were wondering why is this guy here, he was not even a Cuban . . . He was very arrogant and cold.”11

The trials shook the militaries of LatinAmerica because large numbers of officerswere summarily executed. The Cubanrevolutionaries posed a threat to the

professionalmilitarysocialclassintheregion.Bolsteredby the success, Che began making bellicose publicstatementsregardinginsurgencyandrevolution.On27January1959ChemadehisSocial Projections of the

Rebel Armyspeech.Itwasanominousviewofthefuture.

“The revolution is not limited to the Cuban nation because it has touched the conscience of (Latin) America and seriously alerted the enemies of our peoples. The revolution has put the Latin American tyrants on guard because these are the enemies of popular regimes . . . the victory against the dictatorship is not a passing one but becomes the first step to the victory of (Latin) America.”12

Cuba had already begun to surreptitiously supportrevolutionarymovements in the region, forcing nearbycountries to fight internal threats. At the same time,theU.S.pressuredCubabecauseCastrowasmovingtonationalizeAmerican-ownedeconomicassets.Domestically,Castroneeded tobuild stability inCuba.

The executions at La Cabañawere stopped because theywereattractingtoomuchworldattention.Chewassentonathree-monthworldtourostensiblytogarnersupportforthenew revolutionarygovernment and topromote sugarsales,Cuba’smajorexport.Whenhereturned,Guevarawas

Vol. 4 No. 4 35

Photographs taken by an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft revealed the presence of Soviet nuclear weapons. This prompted the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Che Guevara, using his experience in the CubanRevolution,organized“lessons”intoa“how-tomanual,”Guerrilla Warfare, toserveasaprimerforotherguerrillamovements.1 His central tenet was that small, mobile,revolutionarycadreswouldserveasthevanguardorfocus(foco)forpopulardiscontent.Bywinningsymbolicmilitaryvictoriesovergovernmentforces,thesefocosinspiredpublicsupportwhiletheyexpandedtherevolution.Therewerethree basic premises: First,aguerrillamovementcouldoverthrowanestablishedgovernmentbackedbyregulartroops;Second, poor economic conditionswerenotkeyto revolutionary success (in 1958/59 Cubawas enjoyinganeconomicboom)becausecombatvictoriescouldcreatethe conditions necessary for popular support; Third,revolutionary guerrilla movements had to be rurallybased to provide a safe haven, where they could hideandbuild support.2 The criticalmessage in foco theorywas that a smallgroupofdedicated rebels couldwina“warofnationalliberation”andoverthrowanestablishedgovernmentrelativelyquickly.3However,thefoundationforChe’stheorywasdifficulttoreproduce.Cuba had been ripe for revolution in 1958. Batista’s

corrupt, ruthless regimehad alienated themiddle classand peasants by violating basic individual rights. Thearmywaspoorlyledanditstroopshadlittlefightingspirit.They were perceived as bullies backed by governmentauthorityandguns.ThisenabledFidelCastrotounitethefactionsthatopposedBatista.Chealsoforgothowmuchurbansupportwasprovidedtotheguerrillasintheformofmoney,intelligence,supplies,andrecruits.4

Still,manyaspectsof focowereadaptedbyguerrillamovementsinCentralAmerica[Nicaragua,ElSalvador,and Guatemala] and South America [Peru, Colombia,Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela].5 Many of the leadersweretrainedinCuba.Mostimportantly,CheGuevara’sfoco theory, which had worked in Cuba, was notexportable.Itdidn’tmatter.Itcapturedtheimaginationofrevolutionariesworldwide.

Endnotes1 CheGuevara,Guerrilla Warfare(Lincoln,Nebraska:UniversityofNebraska

Press,1998).SeveraleditionsofChe’sbookareinprint.Formoreinformation,seeGeneralAlbertoBayo,150 Questions for a Guerrilla (UnitedStates:PantherPublications,1963).BayoprovidedtheinitialtraininginMexicotoCheandCastrobeforetheylaunchedtheirinvasionofCubain1956.

2 CheGuevara,Guerrilla Warfare,8.3 RobertL.Scheina,Latin America’s Wars: The Age of the Professional Soldier,

1900-2001; Volume Two(Washington,D.C.:Brassey’sInc,2003),265.4 SirRobertThompson,consult.ed.,War in Peace,(London:OrbisPublishing

Limited,1981),148-149.5 FortheCentralAmericanfocowars,seeWilliamE.Odom,On Internal War:

American and Soviet Approaches to Third World Clients and Insurgents (Durham,NorthCarolina:DukeUniversityPress,1992),97,119-120,122.FortheSouthAmericanfoco wars,seeScheina,Latin America’s Wars,265-277,293.

Che Guevara’s Guerrilla Warfare was intended as a manual to teach revolutionaries the necessary steps for waging an insurgency. It was based on faulty presumptions because it used the Cuban Revolution as an exportable model.

Foco Theory

keptbusyaspresidentoftheNationalbankandmanagerofnationalized foreignassets. But,Chestillmanaged tofindtimetobrokerstrongertieswiththeSovietUnion.On3January1961,theUnitedStatesbrokediplomatic

ties with Cuba because of its appropriation of U.S.-owned properties without compensation and itsturntoSocialism.13TheCongressionalquotaofCubansugarpurchasedbytheU.S.wasabolished.Thatwasthe final impetusforHavanatomoveintotheSovietsphere.Russiansmallarmsandtanksfollowed.Chedeservedthe lion’s share of credit for this SovietCuban relationship.14 AsMinisterof Industries, Che forgedCuba’s economic policy—despite lacking a background in business,industry,financeorgovernment.CIAanalystsassessedthat this forced Castro afterwards to dedicate aninordinateamountoftimeto“findingremediesforthedisastrouseffectsoftheregime’searlypolicies—largelythoseengineeredbyGuevara.”15Casto’s“revolutionaryhoneymoon”wasabouttobeupset.With President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s approval, the

CIAtrainedhundredsofanti-CastroCubanstoinvadetheisland.TheBrigade2506launcheditsdisastrousinvasion

36 Veritas

Che left Cuba in 1965 and his whereabouts were unknown until he was killed in Bolivia in 1967. From April to November 1965, Guevara tried to coax success from a revolution in the Congo, but failed miserably.

Flag of the United States-trained Brigade 2506

Important sites in the Cuban revolution.Map by D. Telles.

The Bay of Pigs invasion by the Brigade 2506 was over in days. Che did not take part in combating the United States-trained force, but later used the defeat to taunt Washington.

By 1961, Cuba was prepared to deal with a U.S-backed invasion

force, as this period poster declares. The

Soviet-supplied and trained military dealt the U.S.-sponsored Brigade

2506 a catastrophic defeat at the Bay of Pigs

in April 1961.

on17April1961attheBayofPigs(Bahía de Cochinos).Theanticipated popular uprising did not occur. The newlyelectedpresident,JohnF.Kennedy,didnotauthorizeU.S.militaryinterventionandCastro’sforcessavagelycounter-attacked.16Fourdayslater,thefightinghadendedandmorethan 1,100 were taken prisoner.17 As the commander offorces inwesternCuba,CheGuevaradidnotparticipate,butstilltauntedtheAmericansovertheepisode. In August, while attending an Organization of

American States (OAS) conference in Uruguay, CherequestedameetingwithU.S.delegateRichardGoodwin.Thediplomat toldPresidentKennedy thatChe“wantedtothankusverymuchfortheinvasion—thatithadbeenagreatpoliticalvictory...andtransformedthemfromanaggrievedlittlecountrytoanequal.”18 TensionsbetweenHavanaandWashingtonworsened

during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.AlthoughPresidentKennedyandSovietPremierNikitaKhrushchevavertedthecrisis,ChefeltSovietprestigewas weakened.19 Che revealed how radical he was afewweeksafterwardsbytellingBritishjournalistSamRussellthathadCubacontrolledthemissiles;hewouldhave fired them off.20 The U.S. had no choice but toconsiderGuevaraagravethreat.

Vol. 4 No. 4 37

Che continued his ranting on 11 December 1964 inthe United Nations, when he lambasted the U.S. for its“imperialist”treatmentofLatinAmericaandtheinequalityshownitsownminorities.Hesaid,“Howcanthosewhodothisconsiderthemselvesguardiansoffreedom?”21Thensurprisingly, Che outraged the Soviet Union in Algierson25March1965whenhecalledMoscowanaccomplice“of imperialist exploitation,” for its trade policies withthedevelopingworld.22Afterbecoming somewhatof anembarrassmenttoHavana,heprivatelyrenouncedhisrank,positions,andCubancitizenshiptoFidelCastroinordertofomentrevolutionelsewhere.23Castrolaterreleasedtheletter.TheunveilinginsinuatedthatGuevarashouldnotreturntoCubalesthehaveproofthathisidealismandfoco revolutionarytheoryworked.“Che’swhereaboutsbecamethe world’s best-kept, most guessed-at secret,” until hisdeathinBoliviainOctober1967.24 HehadalreadytriedtosponsorfocosinLatinAmerica—

most notably in Argentina—but the regime had beenalertedandtheinsurgencyquelledbeforeitgotstarted.ChethenturnedtoAfrica.There,thenewlyindependentDemocratic Republic of the Congo (from Belgium) hadanongoinginternalrebellionthatwasreceivingsupportfromtheSovietUnionandotherCommunistnations.ToChe,theCongo“wasoneofthemostimportantfieldsofbattle,”andanidealplacetotesthisfoco theory.25 “This isahistoryofa failure”was thefirst line that

ChewroteintheprefacetohisCongodiary.26FromApriltoNovember1965,Chepushedhisfoco concepts,butwasreceivedindifferently.Heblamedhislackofsuccessonthe African rebel leaders and troops, describing themas “corrupted by inactivity,” lacking “revolutionaryawareness,” and “lazy and undisciplined.” Theywere“thepoorestexampleofafighter that Ihaveevercomeacross.”27 But,healso learned thathehad tobe totallyinchargeofhisnextventure. ThispredilectionprovedfatalinBolivia.Chewentintoseclusiontoprepareforhisnext,hopefullybetter,expedition.ManyU.S.intelligenceanalyststhoughtthatGuevara

was dead. Still, because of his stature, his provensupport for armed Communist revolution, andconnection to Fidel Castro, Washington had to beprepared to deal with him if/when he reappeared.Communist-insurgenciesinspiredbyCheGuevarahadtobeeliminated.ItwasfinallydoneinBolivia.

Endnotes1 AndrewSt.George,“HowtheU.S.GotChe,”True April1969,93.2 LuisRodriguez, interviewbyDr. Troy J. Sacquety, 1December 2008, Fort

Bragg,NC,digitalrecording,USASOCHistoryOfficeClassifiedFiles,FortBragg,NC.RodriguezfoughtwithGeneralFulgencioBatista’sforcesagainstCastro,andwiththeBrigade2506attheBayofPigs.

3 John LeeAnderson,Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (NewYork: GrovePress,1997),3.Che’smotherwasthreemonthspregnantwhenshemarried.Thebirthcertificatewasback-datedtohideherpregnancy.

4 Anderson,Che Guevara,13.5 Thistripwasdepictedinthe2004film,The Motorcycle Diaries,andwasbased

onthebookwiththesamename. 6 Thetwomarried18August1955[theydivorcedin1959],andtheirdaughter,

HildaBeatriz,wasbornon15February1956.7 Anderson,Che Guevara,175.8 SirRobertThompson,consult.ed.,War in Peace,(London:OrbisPublishing

Limited,1981),146.9 Anderson,Che Guevara,213.10 Herbert Matthews, New York Times, 24 February 1957; online at http://

www.cubanlibrariessolidaritygroup.org.uk/articles.asp?ID=447, accessed 29September2008.http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/matthews/matthews011859.pdf.

11 Rodriguezinterview,1December2008.12 TonySaunois,“SixInPower,CubaVstheGingos,”“http://www.socialistworld.

net/pubs/che/six.html,accessed15October2008.13 U.S.DepartmentofState,“BackgroundNote:Cuba,”foundonlineathttp://

www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2886.htm,accessed5December2008.14 Anderson, Che Guevara, 492. When the U.S. cut diplomatic ties, Havana

seizedallAmerican-ownedproperty.ThousandsofCubansfledtotheU.S.aspolicticalrefugees.

15 CIAIntelligenceMemorandum,“TheFallofCheGuevaraandtheChangingFaceoftheCubanRevolution,”18October1965,foundonlineattheNationalSecurityArchive;http://www.gwu.edu/~nsaarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/che1_1.htm,accessed21November2008.

16 Theinvadershadevenbroughtextraweaponswiththemtoarmnewrecruits.Rodriguezinterview,1December2008.

17 FormoreontheBayofPigsInvasion,seeGraysonLynch,Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs (WashingtonD.C.:Brassey’s,1998). ThesurvivorswerelaterransomedandreturnedtotheU.S.

18 Richard Goodwin, Memorandum for the President, “Conversation with theCommandanteErnestoGuevaraofCuba,”22August1961,foundonlineathttp://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/bayofpigs/19610822.pdf.accessed20November2008.

19 AleksandrFursenkoandTimothyNaftali,“One Hell of a Gamble”: Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy, 1958-1964 (NewYork,NewYork:W.W.Norton,1997),327.

20 Anderson,Che Guevara,545.21 CheGuevara,“AttheUnitedNations,”11December1964.onlineathttp://ils.

unc.edu/~michm/Che/unations.html,accessed1December2008.22 CheGuevara,“AttheAfro-AsianConferenceinAlgeria,”foundonlineathttp://

www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/1965/02/24.htm,accessed1December2008.23 CheGuevara,“FarewellLettertoFidelCastro,”1April1965,locatedinErnesto

CheGuevara,Bolivian Diary(NewYork,NewYork:Pathfinder,2002),71-73.24 St.George,“HowtheU.S.GotChe,”93.25 Ernesto“Che”Guevara(ed.DanielJames),The Complete Bolivian Diaries of Che

Guevara and other Captured Documents(NewYork,NewYork:SteinandDays,1968),14.

26 Ernesto“Che”Guevara,The African Dream: The Diaries of the Revolutionary War in the Congo (NewYork,NewYork:GrovePress,2000),1.

27 Guevara,African Dream,226-227.Troy J. Sacquety earned an MA from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and his PhD in Military History from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining the USASOC History Office staff he worked several years for the Central Intelligence Agency. Current research interests include Army and Office of Strategic Services (OSS) special operations during World War II, and Special Operations Units in Vietnam.

38 Veritas

Vol. 4 No. 4 39

American Special Forces Enter the Picture

Vol. 4 No. 4 39

Illustration by Mariano Santillan