The Bolivian Diary

by Неизвестный

  Guerrilla fighters resting.

  Guerrilla fighter crossing a river.

  Che Guevara reading in the observation post.

  Olo Pantoja (left) and Moisés Guevara (right).

  FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Alejandro, Inti, Urbano, Rolando, Che, Tuma, Arturo, and Moro.

  Tania.

  Che Guevara on the banks of a river.

  Che Guevara’s Bolivian Diary, first entry, November 7, 1966.

  “Analysis of the Month.” A page from Che Guevara’s Bolivian Diary.

  A page from Che Guevara’s Bolivian Diary. His birthday, June 14, 1967, and the birthday of his daughter Celia.

  Che Guevara’s Bolivian Diary.

  Che Guevara’s Bolivian Diary, final entry, October 7, 1967.

  Survivors of the guerrilla troop arriving in Chile.

  April 20

  At around 7:00, we reached the house of Nemesio Caraballo, whom we had met during the night and who had offered us coffee. The man had left, leaving the house locked, with some frightened servants still there. We prepared a meal there, buying some corn and jocos5 (zapallos)6 from the farmhands. At 13:00, a van showed up with a white flag, carrying a sub-prefect, the doctor, and the priest from Muyupampa; the priest was a German. Inti spoke with them. They had come in peace, but they wanted to be mediators for peace on the national level. Inti offered a truce for Muyupampa in exchange for a list of supplies to be brought to us before 18:30. They would not agree because, according to them, the army controlled the village, and they asked for an extension until 6:00 in the morning, but this was refused.

  They brought two cartons of cigarettes as a sign of good will and told us that the three who left had been arrested in Muyupampa and that two of them are in trouble for having false documents. Bad news for Carlos, but Dantón should be all right.

  At 17:30, three AT-6s aircraft came and dropped a few bombs on the house where we were cooking. One of them fell 15 meters away and Ricardo was slightly wounded by some shrapnel. That was the army’s response. We have to make our proclamations known so that the soldiers will be completely demoralized; judging by their envoy, they are already scared stiff.

  We left at 22:30 with two horses, the confiscated one and the one belonging to the journalist. We headed straight to Ticucha until 1:30, where we stopped to sleep.

  April 21

  We walked a little way to the house of Rosa Carrasco, who looked after us very well, selling us whatever was necessary. At night we walked to the junction of the Muyupampa and Monteagudo road, a place called Taperillas. The idea was to stay at a water hole and explore the area to see where to set up our next ambush. Another reason to stay here is the news on the radio about the death of three mercenaries: a Frenchman, an Englishman, and an Argentine. There must be a response to this disinformation campaign so as to teach them a lesson.

  Before dinner, we went to the house of old man Rodas, the stepfather of Vargas, who was killed at the Ñacahuazú; we explained what had happened and he seemed satisfied. The vanguard misunderstood their instructions and continued along the road, disturbing some dogs that barked excessively.

  April 22

  We began making mistakes in the morning; after we had withdrawn into the woods, Rolando, Miguel, and Antonio went to look for a site for an ambush; they surprised a small YPFB truck [Bolivian State Petroleum Reserves] that was checking out our footprints while a peasant was telling them about our presence here the night before; we decided to take everyone prisoner. This changed our plans, but we decided to position ourselves for an ambush during the day to capture any passing supply trucks and to ambush the army if it came this way. We seized a truck with some supplies and plenty of bananas, along with a considerable number of peasants; but another one was let go that was examining our tracks as were other small YPFB trucks. We were delayed, waiting for a meal that included the tempting offer of bread, but it never came.

  My intention was to load up the small YPFB truck with food and to proceed with the vanguard to the junction of the road to Ticucha, four kilometers away. At nightfall, a little plane began to circle our position and the barking of dogs in neighboring houses became more persistent. At 20:00, we were ready to leave, despite the evidence that our presence had been detected. Just then, a brief clash occurred and then we heard voices calling on us to surrender; we were all hidden and had no idea what had happened, but fortunately, our belongings and the supplies were already on the small truck; after a while we got everything organized, only missing Loro, but all signs indicated that nothing had happened to him. It turned out that Ricardo was the one involved in the encounter, having surprised the soldier’s guide as they were climbing the ridge to surround us; the guide might have been shot.

  We left with the small truck and all the available horses, six in total; the people took turns walking and riding, but in the end everyone rode in the small truck, with six from the vanguard on horseback. We arrived in Ticucha at 3:30, and at El Mesón, the priest’s property, at 6:30. The truck got stuck in a hole on the way.

  The balance sheet of the action is negative; on the one hand, there was a lack of discipline and foresight, and on the other, the loss (temporary, I hope) of a man. In addition, we paid for goods but we failed to bring them with us. Finally, we lost a bundle of dollars that fell out of Pombo’s bag. These are the results of the action. This is without considering the fact that we were surprised and forced to retreat by a group that must have been quite small. There is much to do to transform this group into combat unit, although morale is very high.

  April 23

  A day of rest was declared, and it passed uneventfully. At noon, the plane (AT-6) flew over the area; we reinforced the sentries but nothing happened. At night instructions for the next day were given: Benigno and Aniceto will go to find Joaquín—four days. Coco and Camba will explore the trail to the Río Grande and prepare it for use—four days. We will stay close to the cornfield, waiting to see if the army comes before Joaquín is able to join us. Joaquín is instructed to bring everyone, only leaving behind any mebers of the reject group, if they are sick.

  The mystery still surrounds the fate of Dantón, Pelado, and the English journalist; the press is censored, and another clash has just been announced in which three to five prisoners were captured.

  April 24

  The explorers departed. We positioned ourselves one kilometer upstream on a small ridge; from our lookout, we could watch the last peasant’s house, about 500 meters before the priest’s farm. (We found marijuana in his fields.) The peasant showed up again and was inquisitive; in the afternoon, an AT-6 fired two machine-gun bursts at the little house. Pacho disappeared mysteriously; he was sick and had stayed behind; Antonio showed him the road and he started out in our direction. From where he was, he should have made it in five hours, but he never came back. Tomorrow we will search for him.

  April 25

  Bad day. At about 10:00 Pombo returned from the lookout warning us that 30 soldiers were advancing toward the little house. Antonio stayed at the observation post. While we were getting ready, Antonio arrived with the news that there were 60 soldiers and they were preparing to advance. The lookout proved to be inefficient in giving us sufficient warning. We decided to set up an improvised ambush along the access path to the camp; quickly, we chose a short stretch along the creek with a visibility of 50 meters. I positioned myself there with Urbano and Miguel, who had the automatic rifle. El Médico,7 Arturo, and Raúl occupied a position on the right to impede anyone trying to flee or to advance that way. Rolando, Pombo, Antonio, Ricardo, Julio, Pablito, Darío, Willy, Luis, and León occupied the lateral position on the other side of the creek to completely cover the flank. Inti stayed at the river bed to attack anyone looking for refuge there. Ñato and Eustaquio went to the lookout with instructions to withdraw when the firing started. Chino remained behind, guarding the camp. My already meager troops were reduced by three men: Pacho, lost, with Tuma and Luis off looking for him.

  In a whil
e the army’s advance guard appeared, which to our surprise included three German shepherds and their trainer. The animals were restless, but it did not seem that they had detected us. However, they continued to advance and I shot at the first dog, but missed. When I aimed at the guide, the M-2 jammed. Miguel killed the other dog, from what we could see, but it was not confirmed. No one else entered the ambush. Intermittent gunfire commenced at the army’s flank. When the shooting was over, I sent Urbano to order a retreat, but he came back with the news that Rolando was wounded. Shortly, they brought him back, but he was already dying; he died as we began to give him plasma. A bullet had split his femur and all the surrounding nerves and vessels; he bled to death before we could do anything. We have lost the best man of the guerrilla force, one of its pillars, my compañero since he was basically a child, when he became the messenger for Column 4 [during the Cuban revolutionary war], through the invasion, and now to this new revolutionary venture. Of his sorrowful death, only one thing can be said, for a hypothetical future yet to materialize: “Thy brave little captain’s corpse has stretched to immensity in its metallic form.”8

  The rest of the day was spent on a slow withdrawal operation, collecting everything and the body of Rolando (Captain San Luis). Pacho joined us later: he had made a mistake and went to where Coco was, and it took him all night to return. At 3:00 we buried the body under a thin layer of earth. Benigno and Aniceto arrived at 16:00, reporting that they had fallen into an army ambush (or rather a skirmish), losing the backpacks but getting out unharmed. According to Benigno’s calculations, this occurred as they had nearly reached the Ñacahuazú. Now we have the two natural exits blocked, so we will have to “head for the hills”; leaving along the Río Grande is not smart because it is predictable and would take us further from Joaquín, from whom we have had no news. At night we reached a crossroads: one leading to the Ñacahuazú and the other to the Río Grande, and we slept there; we will wait here for Coco and Camba to reunite our small troop. The balance sheet of the operation is extremely negative: Rolando was killed, but not only that—the losses we inflicted on the army cannot be more than two and a dog, even with everyone shooting, our position was not studied or prepared properly and those shooting could not see the enemy; and finally, the lookout system was very bad, failing to give us enough advance warning.

  A helicopter landed twice at the priest’s house; we do not know if it went to pick up the wounded, and aircraft bombed our previous positions, which indicates they have not advanced at all.

  April 26

  We walked for a few meters and I ordered Miguel to look for a place to camp while a search party went to find Coco and Camba, but he turned up at midday with both of them. They said they had cleared a path that would take us four hours to walk loaded with our supplies and that it is possible to climb the ridge. Nevertheless, I sent Benigno and Urbano to find a way up close to the canyon of the creek that flows into the Ñacahuazú, but they returned at dusk to say it is no good. We decided to continue on the trail cleared by Coco and to try to find another that leads to the Iquira.

  We have a little mascot: Lolo, a baby urina [deer]. Let’s see if it survives.

  April 27

  Coco’s four hours turned out to be only two and a half. We thought we had reached a place on the map called Masico: an area with many bitter orange groves. Urbano and Benigno continued work on the path and cleared enough for one hour more. The cold is intense at night.

  Bolivian radio transmitted military reports announcing the deaths of a civilian guide, a dog trainer, and the dog Rayo. Our losses are given as two dead: one presumed to be Cuban, nicknamed Rubio, and the other, a Bolivian. It is confirmed that Dantón is imprisoned near Camiri; it is certain the others are alive with him.

  Altitude = 950 meters.

  April 28

  We made our way slowly until 15:00. By then, the creek had run dry and headed in another direction, so we stopped. It was already too late to explore, so we went back to where there was water to set up camp. We have just enough food for four days. Tomorrow we will try to reach the Ñacahuazú via the Iquira, and we will have to cut through the mountains.

  April 29

  We checked out some clearings that could be seen. The result was negative. At this point, at least, we are in a canyon with no easy way out. Coco thinks he saw a canyon that intersects with this one, but he did not explore it; tomorrow we will take the entire troop there.

  After a long delay, we completely decoded Message No. 35, which had a paragraph asking for me to add my signature to a call in support of Vietnam, organized by Bertrand Russell.

  April 30

  We began the attack on the hill. The supposed canyon ended at some cliffs, but we found a stretch we could climb; darkness took us by surprise close to the peak and we slept there; the chill was not too bad.

  Lolo died, a victim of Urbano’s impulsiveness when he threw his rifle at its head.

  Radio Habana broadcast a report from Chilean journalists stating that the guerrillas are so strong that they can threaten cities and that they recently captured two military trucks full of supplies. The magazine Siempre interviewed Barrientos who, among other things, admitted that he had Yankee military advisers and that the guerrilla movement arose due to the social conditions in Bolivia.

  Summary of the month

  Things are developing normally, although we have to acknowledge two severe losses: Rubio and Rolando; the death of the latter is a severe blow because I was planning to give him command of an eventual second front. We have seen action four more times, all of them with generally positive results and one very good one—the ambush in which Rubio died.

  On another level, we are totally cut off; illness has undermined the health of some compañeros, obliging us to divide our forces, which has greatly reduced our effectiveness; we have still not made contact with Joaquín; the peasant support base has yet to develop, although, it appears that the systematic terror they suffer will ensure the neutrality of most—support will come later. There has not been a single new recruit, and apart from the deaths, we have lost Loro, who disappeared after the action at Taperillas.

  Of the points on military strategy noted above, we can emphasize:

  a) The measures taken to control us have not been very effective to date, and while they bother us, they allow us some movement, given the army’s weakness and lack of mobility; besides, after the last ambush against the dogs and the trainer, we can presume they will be more careful when entering the woods.

  b) The clamor continues, but now from both sides; after the publication of my article in Havana, there can be no doubt about my presence here.

  It seems certain that the North Americans will intervene heavily here, having already sent helicopters and apparently the Green Berets, although they have not been seen around here.

  c) The army (at least one or two companies) has improved its technique; they surprised us at Taperillas and were not demoralized at El Mesón.

  d) The mobilization of peasants is nonexistent, except as informers, which is somewhat troublesome; but they are neither quick nor efficient, and of no consequence.

  Chino’s status has changed and he will be a combatant until the second or third front is established. Dantón and Carlos were victims of their own haste, almost desperation, to leave and of my lack of energy to stop them; now communication with Cuba is cut off (Dantón) and the plan of action for Argentina (Carlos) is lost.

  In summary: A month in which all has developed normally, considering the inevitable contingencies of a guerrilla force. Morale is good among all the combatants who have had their preliminary test as guerrilla fighters.

  1.Sun-dried meat or jerked beef.

  2.This refers to descendants of those people who, divided in many groups, extend from the Amazon to the La Plata River. The word comes from the phrase, abá guarini, meaning man of war.

  3.Refers to Bolivian Army Major Rubén Sánchez Valdivia.

  4.George Andrew Roth,
British-Chilean photographer.

  5.Jocos are a type of pumpkin with a hard shell.

  6.Zapallos are pumpkin with a soft or smooth shell.

  7.From this point, references to “El Médico” refer to Moro, as the other two doctors (Negro and Ernesto) left with Joaquín’s group.

  8.From Pablo Neruda’s “Un Canto para Simón Bolívar.”

  MAY 1967

  May 1

  We celebrated the date by clearing vegetation, but we walked very little; we have still not reached the point where the waters divide.

  Almeida spoke in Havana, applauding the famous Bolivian guerrillas and me. The speech was rather long but good. We have sufficient food for three days. Ñato killed a small bird with a slingshot today; we now enter the era of the bird.

  May 2

  A day of slow progress and confusion about our geographical position. We effectively only walked for two hours, because the path was so difficult to clear. From a height we could locate a point close to the Ñacahuazú that suggests we are quite far north, but there is no sign of the Iquira. I ordered Miguel and Benigno to work on the path for the entire day in order to reach the Iquira or at least some water, because we have run out. There is enough food for five days but very meager.

  Radio Habana continues its information offensive about Bolivia, with exaggerated reports.