The Bolivian Diary

by Неизвестный

  July 25

  We spent the day at rest, sending three pairs of scouts in different directions, led by Coco, Benigno, and Miguel. Coco and Benigno emerged at the same place from which one can take the road to Moroco. Miguel reported that the creek definitely flows into the Rosita and that it is possible to go that way although a path needs to be cleared with machetes.

  There is a report of two actions, one in Taperas and another in San Juan del Potrero, which could not have been carried out by the same group, raising doubt about whether they really happened or if the reports were truthful.

  July 26

  Benigno, Camba, and Urbano were assigned to clear a path along the creek, avoiding Moroco; the rest of the personnel stayed in the camp and the center group set up an ambush at the rear. No incidents.

  News of the action at San Juan del Potrero was circulated by foreign radio stations in full detail: 15 soldiers and one colonel were captured, their belongings were taken, and they were set free: our practice. This spot is on the other side of the highway between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. In the evening I gave a little talk about the significance of July 26, the rebellion against oligarchies and against revolutionary dogmas. Fidel made a brief mention of Bolivia.

  July 27

  We were all ready to leave and the troops at the ambush site had been ordered to depart automatically at 11:00 when Willy showed up a few minutes before the hour, announcing the army was here. Willy, Ricardo, Inti, Chino, León, and Eustaquio were sent into action along with Antonio, Arturo, and Chapaco. Events unfolded like this: Eight soldiers appeared on the crest, walking south down an old path, and then they returned, firing a few mortar rounds and making signals with a cloth. At some point, we heard them call for Melgar,8 who could have been the same one from Florida. After resting for a while, the eight soldiers started marching toward the ambush site. Only four fell into it as the rest were a little behind; there are three dead for sure and probably a fourth, who is wounded at least. We withdrew without taking their weapons and gear because it would have been too difficult, and we headed off downstream. When we came across the opening of another small canyon, we set up a new ambush, while the horses were sent to the end of the road.

  My asthma hit me hard and those measly few sedatives are just about gone.

  Altitude = 800 meters.

  July 28

  Coco, Pacho, Raúl, and Aniceto were commanded to cover the mouth of the river that we think is the Suspiro. Little progress was made clearing a path through a canyon that is very narrow. We camped apart from the vanguard because Miguel had gone too far for the horses to keep up as they were either sinking in the sand or suffering on the rocks.

  Altitude = 760 meters.

  July 29

  We continued through a canyon that descends to the south, with good cover on the sides and plenty of water. At about 16:00 we met up with Pablito, who told us that we were at the mouth of the Suspiro with no incidents. I thought for a moment the canyon could not be the Suspiro, because it headed south, but at the last turn, it veered to the west and flowed into the Rosita.

  At about 16:30 the rear guard arrived and I decided to travel on to get away from the mouth of the river, but I did not feel like demanding the effort needed to go farther than Paulino’s farm, so we set up camp beside the road, an hour from the mouth of the Suspiro. During the evening, I gave the floor to Chino so he could talk about his country’s [Peru] independence day, July 28; later, I explained why this camp was badly situated, and gave the order to get up at 5:00 and to occupy Paulino’s farm.

  Radio Habana reported some army troops had fallen into an ambush and were later rescued by helicopter, but it was hard to hear.

  July 30

  I was really bothered by asthma and was awake all night. At 4:30, when Moro was making coffee, he warned us that he had seen a lantern coming across the river. Miguel, who was awake because of the sentry change, went off with Moro to detain the travelers. From the kitchen, I heard this exchange: “Hey, who goes there?”

  “The Trinidad Detachment.” Shooting broke out right away. Immediately, Miguel brought back an M-1 and a cartridge belt taken from a wounded soldier, along with the news that there were 21 men on the road to Abapó and in Moroco there were 150. More casualties were inflicted on the enemy, but we could not be sure of the number in the prevailing confusion. It took a long time to load the horses and the black one got lost, and with it an ax and a mortar that had been taken from the enemy. It was already close to 6:00 and we lost even more time because some of the loads fell off. The end result was that the last of us to cross came under fire from the young soldiers who were becoming bolder. Paulino’s sister was at her farm and received us very calmly, reporting that all the men in Moroco had been arrested and were in La Paz.

  I hurried our troops along and went with Pombo, under fire again, past the river canyon where the path ends to where we could organize the resistance. I sent Miguel with Coco and Julio to take the forward position while I spurred on the cavalry. Covering the retreat were seven men from the vanguard, four from the rear guard, and Ricardo, who stayed behind to reinforce the defense. Benigno, (with Darío, Pablo, and Camba), was on the right side; the rest came along the left.

  I had just given the order to rest at the first suitable spot, when Camba arrived with the news that Ricardo and Aniceto had been hit while crossing the river; I dispatched Urbano with Ñato and León and two horses, and sent for Miguel and Julio, leaving Coco at the forward post. They went through without receiving my instructions and, in a while, Camba returned again reporting that they and Miguel and Julio had been surprised and that the soldiers had advanced farther along. Miguel had withdrawn and was awaiting instructions. I sent Camba back again with Eustaquio, which left only Inti, Pombo, Chino, and me. At 13:00, I sent for Miguel, leaving Julio at the forward post and I withdrew with the group of men and horses. When I reached Coco’s post on the high ground, the news caught up with me that all the survivors were there, that Raúl was dead, and that Ricardo and Pacho were wounded. Things happened like this: Ricardo and Aniceto were imprudently crossing the clearing when Ricardo was wounded. Antonio organized a line of fire between Arturo, Aniceto, and Pacho, and they rescued him, but then Pacho was wounded and a bullet to the mouth killed Raúl.

  The withdrawal was difficult, dragging the two wounded men and with little help from Willy and Chapaco, especially the latter. Later Urbano and his group with the horses and Benigno and his people joined them. This left the other flank unguarded, through which the soldiers advanced and surprised Miguel. After a painful march through the woods, they came to the river and joined us. Pacho came on horseback but Ricardo could not ride and they had to carry him in a hammock. I sent Miguel, with Pablito, Darío, Coco, and Aniceto, to occupy the mouth of the first creek to the right, while we tended the wounded. Pacho had a superficial wound that went through his buttocks and the skin of his testicles, but Ricardo was in critical condition and the last plasma had been lost in Willy’s backpack. Ricardo died at 22:00 and we buried him near the river, in a well-hidden place so that the soldiers could not find him.

  July 31

  At 4:00 we set off along the river, and after taking a shortcut, headed downriver without leaving tracks; later in the morning we reached the creek where Miguel had set up the ambush, but he had misunderstood the order and had left tracks. We walked upstream some four kilometers and went deep into the woods, covering our tracks and camping close to one of the creek’s tributaries. At night I went through the errors of the action:

  1)bad location of the campsite;

  2)poor use of time, which enabled them to shoot at us;

  3)an excess of confidence, which caused the loss of Ricardo and then of Raúl during the rescue; and

  4)lack of decisiveness in saving all the gear.

  We lost 11 backpacks with medicines, binoculars, and some potentially damaging items, such as the tape recorder onto which we copied the messages from Manila, Debray’s book wit
h my notes in it, and a book by Trotsky; all this does not take into account the political value that this haul has for the government and the confidence it will give the soldiers. We estimate about two dead and up to five wounded on their side, but there are two contradictory news reports: one, from the army, acknowledges four dead and four wounded on the 28th, and another from Chile talks of six wounded and three dead on the 30th. The army later issued another statement announcing they had found a body and that the second lieutenant was out of danger. Of our dead, it is hard to say how to categorize Raúl, given his introspection; he was not much in combat or at work, but he was always interested in political problems, although he never asked any questions. Ricardo was the most undisciplined of the Cuban group and the least resolute facing daily sacrifices, but he was an extraordinary combatant and an old comrade in arms from the first failure of Segundo,9 in the Congo, and now here. It is another tangible loss, due to his capabilities. We are now 22 men, with two wounded, (Pacho and Pombo), and me, with full-blown asthma.

  Analysis of the month

  We still have the same negative points as the previous month, namely: the impossibility of contact with Joaquín and the outside world, and the loss of men. Now we have 22 men, with three disabled (including me), which decreases our mobility. We have had three encounters, including the taking of Samaipata, causing the army about 7 dead and 10 wounded, approximate figures from conflicting reports. We have lost two men and have one wounded.

  The most important features are:

  1)Total loss of contact continues.

  2)Continued sense of the lack of peasant recruitment, although there are some encouraging signs in the reception from peasants whom we have known for a while.

  3)The legend of the guerrilla force is acquiring continental dimensions; Onganía10 is closing the borders and Peru is taking precautions.

  4)The attempt at contact through Paulino failed.

  5)The morale and combat experience of the guerrilla fighters is increasing with each battle; Camba and Chapaco remain the weak ones.

  6)The army continues to be ineffective, but there are units that appear to be more combative.

  7)The political crisis of the government is growing, but the United States is giving small loans, which are of great assistance in tempering the level of Bolivian discontent.

  The most urgent tasks are: To reestablish contact, to recruit combatants, and to obtain medicines.

  1.Department of Criminal Investigations (DIC), secret police.

  2.Revolutionary Authentic Party, led by Wálter Guevara Arce.

  3.Bolivian Social Democratic Party.

  4.The Revolutionary Front was a coalition that supported Barrientos.

  5.Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB), a right-wing party.

  6.There is an error in the diary. This person is earlier referred to as Paulino’s brother-in-law.

  7.Type of brown sugar loaf made from sugar cane juice.

  8.Antonio Melgar turned out to be a courier for the Bolivian Army.

  9.Refers to the nom de guerre of Jorge Ricardo Masetti.

  10.Juan Carlos Onganía, military man who overthrew President Arturo Illía in a coup d’état in Argentina in 1966.

  AUGUST 1967

  August 1

  A quiet day: Miguel and Camba began work on the trail but got no farther than one kilometer due to the difficulty of the terrain and the vegetation. We killed a wild colt, which should give us meat for five to six days. We dug small trenches to set up an ambush if the army should come by. If they come tomorrow or the next day and do not discover the camp, the idea is to let them pass first and then open fire.

  Altitude = 650 meters.

  August 2

  The path seems to be going well, thanks to Benigno and Pablo, who are working on it. They took almost two hours to get back to the camp from the end of the trail. There was no more news about us on the radio, after an announcement that they had moved the body of an “antisocial.” My asthma is hitting me very hard and I have used up my last anti-asthmatic injection; all I have left are tablets for about 10 days.

  August 3

  The trail has become a fiasco; it took Miguel and Urbano 57 minutes to return today; we are progressing very slowly. There is no news. Pacho is recuperating; on the other hand, I am not doing so well; I had a bad day and a bad night and I have no idea how a solution will be found in the short term. I tried an intravenous Novocain injection, to no avail.

  August 4

  The troops found a canyon that runs southwest and may drain into the creeks that flow into the Río Grande. Tomorrow, two pairs of slashers will go to clear paths and Miguel will climb up our path to explore what seem to be old farms. My asthma improved somewhat.

  August 5

  Benigno, Camba, Urbano, and León split into pairs to make more progress, but they ran into a creek that flows into the Rosita and had to continue cross-country. Miguel went to scout the farm but never found it. The horsemeat was finished off; tomorrow we will try to fish and the day after we will sacrifice some other poor beast. Tomorrow we will head to the new water hole. My asthma was implacable; in spite of my aversion to splitting up, I had to send a group on ahead; Benigno and Julio volunteered to go; it remains to be seen if Ñato is willing.

  August 6

  The camp was moved; unfortunately, it took us not three hours but only one to cover the trail, which means we still have a long way to go. Benigno, Urbano, Camba, and León continued on with machetes, while Miguel and Aniceto set out to find where the new creek merges with the Rosita. By nightfall they had not returned, so we took precautions, especially because I had heard something that sounded like a mortar shell in the distance. Inti and Chapaco spoke, and then I said a few words about today being the anniversary of Bolivia’s independence.

  Altitude = 720 meters.

  August 7

  By 11:00 in the morning we had given up Miguel and Aniceto for lost; I gave Benigno the order to proceed carefully to the mouth of the Rosita and to investigate a little in the direction they went, if they had made it that far. Nevertheless, the lost ones appeared at 13:00, having simply encountered difficulties along the way and night fell before they reached the Rosita. Miguel had really put me through hell. We stayed at the same place but the slashers found another creek, so we will go that way tomorrow. Today the old horse Anselmo died and we only have one pack horse left; my asthma is unchanged, but the medicine is running out. Tomorrow I will make the decision about sending a group to the Ñacahuazú.

  Today marks exactly nine months since I arrived and we established the guerrilla force. Of the initial six, two are dead, one has disappeared, two are wounded; and I am suffering from asthma with no idea how to overcome it.

  August 8

  We walked for something like an hour, but to me it seemed like two because of the exhaustion of the little mare; at one point, I slashed her neck, opening a deep wound. The new campsite is probably the last one with water until we reach the Rosita or the Río Grande; the macheteros are 40 minutes from here (two to three kilometers). I appointed a group of eight men for the following mission: They will leave from here tomorrow, and hike all day; the next day, Camba is to return and report; the day after, Pablito and Darío will return with the news from that day; the other five will proceed to Vargas’s house and from there Coco and Aniceto will return to report on how things are going. Benigno, Julio, and Ñato will continue on to the Ñacahuazú to get the medicine for me. They should go very carefully to avoid ambushes; we will proceed and meet either at Vargas’s house, depending on our speed, or farther up at the creek that runs in front of the cave on the Río Grande, the Masicuri (Honorato), or the Ñacahuazú. There is news from the army saying that an arms cache was discovered in one of our camps.

  I gathered everyone together tonight to make the following speech: We are in a difficult situation; Pacho is recuperating, but I am a complete wreck and the incident with the little mare shows that at times I am beginning to lose control; thi
s will be corrected, but we are all in this together and anyone who does not feel up to it should say so. This is one of those moments when great decisions have to be made; this type of struggle gives us the opportunity to become revolutionaries, the highest form of the human species, and it also allows us to emerge fully as men; those who are unable to achieve either of those two states should say so now and abandon the struggle. All the Cubans and some of the Bolivians committed themselves to stay until the end and so did Eustaquio, but he criticized Muganga for putting his backpack on the mule and for not carrying firewood, which provoked an angry response from Muganga. Julio lashed out at Moro and Pacho for similar reasons, which brought another angry response, this time from Pacho. I closed the discussion saying we were debating two things of a very different nature: one was if they were willing to continue or not, and the other was about petty arguments and internal problems of the guerrilla force which detract from the magnitude of the more important decision. I did not like the comments made by Eustaquio and Julio, but neither did I like the response from Moro and Pacho. In short, we have to be more revolutionary and strive to set an example.