In 1967, the CIA and Bolivian army joined forces to hunt down revolutionary leader Che Guevara through the Andes mountains. After leaving Cuba, Guevara and a small guerrilla force secretly entered Bolivia, aiming to spark a communist revolution across South America. But as his health failed and local support crumbled, Guevara's final mission — and death — would transform him into a legend.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterFollow Redacted: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/redacted/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is the premise of 'Death of Che'?
In late September 1967, the famous revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara crouched behind a tree on a rugged hillside high in the mountains of Bolivia. His comrades were nearby, cowering behind other trees and watching him anxiously. From his hiding spot, Guevara could see a Bolivian soldier halfway down the hill. One wrong move and their lives would be over. And so would their revolution.
A decade earlier, Guevara helped lead the Cuban Revolution that carried Fidel Castro to power. Guevara had come to Bolivia ten months ago to start a communist uprising there, too. But the mission hadn't gone as he'd hoped. And now he'd heard on the radio that the Bolivian army had 1,800 soldiers searching for him and his few remaining men.
Down the hill, the soldier spoke to a peasant woman, and as they were talking, he seemed to point at the very tree where Guevara was hiding. Guevara's chest tightened, and his lungs fought for air. It wasn't just anxiety. A month ago, the Bolivian army had found his cache of asthma medication and confiscated it.
Guevara struggled without his inhaler, and his breathing only got worse as he and his men climbed to higher and higher altitudes. At times, he could barely walk, so they were forced to travel by mule. The soldier stared right at Guevara's tree for a long, tense moment. Then he abruptly turned and walked down the hill, away from where Guevara and his men were hiding. Guevara let out a sigh.
He was supposed to be leading a revolution throughout South America, but they were still just in their very first country and already surrounded. They'd escaped for the time being, but Guevara had a feeling that the end was near. Maybe not today, but soon the Bolivian army was going to capture him.
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Chapter 2: Why did Che Guevara go to Bolivia?
From Ballin Studios and Wondery, I'm Luke LaManna, and this is Redacted Declassified Mysteries, where each week we shine a light on the shadowy corners of espionage, covert operations, and misinformation to reveal the dark secrets our governments try to hide. This week's episode is called The Death of Che Guevara. Che Guevara has one of the most famous faces in the world.
His portrait appears on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and posters. His signature black beret is almost instantly recognizable, and his deep-set eyes seem to peer into the future. He's come to symbolize youthful idealism and fierce rebellion. and he's viewed as the eternal underdog and a martyr for his cause.
Having seen Che Guevara's face everywhere, I had been given the impression that he was clearly some kind of pop culture icon. Maybe at one point I thought he was in a band. It wasn't until I took an interest in military and political history that I began to understand who he actually was.
As one of the architects of the Cuban Revolution, Guevara was once an archenemy to the United States, and the Central Intelligence Agency viewed his capture as crucial to stopping the spread of communism. To the CIA, Guevara was a terrorist intent on destabilizing Latin America and threatening the entire free world.
The agency first opened a file on Guevara in 1954, not long after the Cuban Revolution began. Over the years, it became one of the CIA's largest records as the agency worked to track him down around the globe. Guevara's popularity in the West may be unique for a communist revolutionary.
After all, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, is still largely seen as a dictator and serial human rights abuser. Meanwhile, Guevara is considered a legend, even though he too killed in the name of communism and oversaw the execution of 500 prisoners at a famous Cuban jail. So how did Guevara transform himself into a pop culture icon while preaching global revolution?
And what role did the CIA play in creating the modern Che Guevara brand? Is it possible that Che has his enemies to thank for his current popularity? In November 1966, Che Guevara sat at a table at a secret training camp in the Viñales region of Cuba. The table was overflowing with roasted pig and red wine. Guevara savored every bite.
In a few hours, he would be getting on a plane to Bolivia, where he was going to lead the next revolution. Following a similar playbook as he had used in Cuba, he planned to unite the peasants of the country against their oppressors. He would rally them under one rebel banner and lead them in attacking the Bolivian army until the government collapsed.
An advance team was already in Bolivia, making contact with the local Communist Party and finding a secure location for their base of operations. Now it was time for Guevara to join them. Guevara had dreamed of spreading the revolution through South America since he was a young man. But as he looked around the table, part of him became sad that this was the end of an era for him.
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Chapter 3: How did the Bolivian mission differ from Guevara's expectations?
His dream was that revolution in Bolivia would be the spark that ignited communist uprisings across the continent, including in Guevara's native Argentina. Such a massive revolution could take years, but only if his plan actually worked this time. The previous year, he had tried to start a revolution in the Congo, but the mission had ended in disaster and he was back in Cuba in a matter of months.
As Castro wrapped up another story, Guevara rubbed his hand over the top of his head. He still wasn't used to feeling the smoothness of his scalp. As part of his disguise, a specialist from Cuba's intelligence services had personally plucked hairs one by one from Guevara's scalp.
International intelligence agencies, including the CIA, were desperate to know where Guevara was, so he was traveling to Bolivia undercover as a middle-aged businessman with a receding hairline. Between the thinning hair and the thick black glasses he wore, he was unrecognizable. Even his own daughters had been fooled by his appearance. Guevara checked his watch and leapt from the table.
He'd gotten so wrapped up in all the tales of his glory days with Castro, he'd lost track of the time. He needed to go to the airport now or he would miss his flight. Castro stood up and the two men hugged. Then they just looked at each other until Guevara couldn't bear it any longer. Overwhelmed by sadness, he broke Castro's gaze and hurried into a car that was waiting for him.
Once inside, he barked at the driver to hurry. It was time to lead the next revolution. A month later, in December 1966, Guevara was in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in southeastern Bolivia, training 24 men committed to overthrowing the government.
Their secret base camp was stocked with food and ammunition, and a network of comrades in the capital of La Paz were carrying messages to and from Guevara. Guevara had concerns about his rebel army. Of the 24 men under him, only nine were from Bolivia. This was supposed to be a Bolivian uprising, but there were more Cuban rebels in their small group.
Guevara knew he needed more, at least 20 Bolivians. So in late December, he prepared to meet Bolivia's Communist Party leader, Mario Monge. With Monge's support, Guevara hoped he could recruit the remaining fighters he needed. When Monge arrived at their camp, Guevara led him to the forest to talk privately.
He pitched his vision that a Bolivian uprising was the first shot needed in a revolution that would bring down United States dominance over the continent forever. To Guevara, everything was riding on success in Bolivia. And that success was riding on Monge's support. But Monge had several demands.
Guevara thought Monge should serve as the political leader of the movement, while Guevara would lead the military operations. But Monge wanted to be the military leader too. Guevara would not agree to that. They also argued over whether to work with Monge's rival political party, the Maoist Communist Party. Guevara thought they should, but Monge again disagreed.
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Chapter 4: What role did the CIA play in Che Guevara's demise?
In front of him, a gorilla who went by the name Paco slumped in a chair, his hands tied behind his back. The young rebel was filthy. His long beard was matted with knots. Rodriguez growled at Paco. He demanded information about the rebel forces. Paco hissed back that he'd never talk. Rodriguez smiled. He'd see about that.
Since he had arrived in the country a month ago, Rodriguez had been posing as a Bolivian army captain. He'd been embedded with an elite unit of Bolivian soldiers who were trained by the United States Army. Their mission was to stop the guerrillas, who had killed 30 Bolivian soldiers so far. And earlier that day, Rodriguez's unit finally had a big break.
Tipped off by a local farmer, they'd ambushed a group of 10 guerrillas. Rodriguez's unit had cornered the unsuspecting group at a river crossing and opened fire at close range. Paco was one of the only survivors of the attack. One of the officers in Rodriguez's unit wanted to execute Paco, but Rodriguez had stopped him.
He believed that Paco could provide intel that would help them find Guevara, and now he was determined to extract that information. Rodriguez dragged a chair in front of Paco and took a seat. It was time to try a different approach. He kept his voice calm and reasonable. He told Paco that he just wanted to know about his life as a gorilla.
He asked him to tell him about the men who had been in his group. Where were they from? What were they like? Paco looked up. This seemed to soften him. After a moment, he began to talk about one of the men. He was a medical student who had trained in Cuba. It wasn't especially helpful information, but at least Paco was talking. Rodriguez was determined to keep wearing him down.
The more he knew about life in Guevara's rebellion, the better he'd be able to hone in on the man himself and make good on his vow to bring him down.
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Chapter 5: Who are the key figures in the Bolivian uprising?
Guevara was desperately trying to get word back to Cuba that they needed more fighters, but his radio had broken and he had no way to transmit a message. Meanwhile, their food was dwindling fast, the terrain was rough, and the weather was extreme. Sometimes it was brutally hot, other times the wind was so sharp it felt like it was cutting through their skin. And it was only getting worse.
Guevara felt their only escape from the soldiers was to go higher up into the mountains. But the altitude made Guevara's asthma worse. The attacks were so intense, they kept him awake at night. As he huddled against the rock, trying to sleep, he heard two of his men break out into a fight a few yards below him. One insulted the other's mother, and the two were soon yelling and shoving.
This was the last thing Guevara needed. He knew he should go and break up the fight, but he couldn't work up the energy. Guevara had turned 39 a few months ago. He'd written in his diary that at his age, he was starting to wonder just how much longer he could keep fighting. But as the shouting between his men grew louder, he saw one man raise his fist to punch the other one.
Finally, Guevara lumbered to his feet and yelled down for the guys to knock it off. His voice was reedy and thin, but Guevara was still their leader. The men listened and stopped fighting. Two months later, on October 7, 1967, Che Guevara was lying in a potato patch in a narrow ravine high in the Andes. His ear was pressed to his radio.
He was listening to a report saying that the Bolivian army had encircled the guerrillas. By this point, he had just 17 people left in his group, down from the initial 24. The Bolivian army had continued to close in on them, and a small group of guerrilla fighters had been caught in several gun battles, barely managing to escape each time.
By early the next morning, Guevara's men spotted the soldiers on the ridges of the ravine on either side of them.
was no way to escape their only way out was to fight guevara split his small group of men into three squadrons assigning them positions along the narrow ravine for hours there was a tense standoff both sides had their guns trained on the other but neither fired then as two of guevara's men ran to new positions the bolivian soldiers started shooting they killed one of guevara's men
Guevara hid behind a boulder at the bottom of the ravine and shot up at the soldiers with the rest of his men. But not long into the battle, a soldier's bullet ricocheted off Guevara's gun and destroyed it, leaving him unarmed. Then, Guevara got hit. One bullet struck his left calf, while another pierced his hat, barely missing his head. Unarmed and wounded, Guevara had to escape.
With the help of one of his men, he tried to climb out of the ravine and up a nearby embankment. They hoped that the soldiers would be distracted by the battle and not shoot at them. But Guevara, leading on his comrade for support, made it only a few feet before a Bolivian soldier burst out from the brush. The gun pointed directly at them. The soldier yelled that he had captured two guerrillas.
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Chapter 6: How did Felix Rodriguez influence the search for Guevara?
One colonel suggested decapitating Guevara and preserving his head as proof. but Rodriguez had argued that was too barbaric. He advocated that they remove only one finger. The fingerprint could be used to prove it belonged to Guevara. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, and they removed his hands.
A pair of Argentine forensic experts compared the fingerprints from the severed hands to the fingerprints they had on file for Guevara. It was a positive match. Finally, Cuba, Che's family in Argentina, and the rest of the world knew Guevara really was dead. Rodriguez and his colleagues at the CIA held their breath as they waited to see how the world would react.
Nine days after Che Guevara's death, his brother-in-arms, Fidel Castro, stood in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución. He eulogized the dead revolutionary in front of close to a million people who gathered to mourn. Castro couldn't hide his emotion. This wasn't the Cuban leader, the dictator. This was a man who lost someone important to him.
Castro described Guevara as a model human being, the type of person revolutionaries and their children should aspire to be. Castro hailed him as the human embodiment of the revolutionary spirit. Any disagreements they had about the best approach to revolution were irrelevant. Behind him hung a huge banner with Guevara's portrait.
Guevara was bearded with long, scraggly hair and a black beret perched on his head. His large brown eyes conveyed his purpose and determination. Castro swore that his fight would go on. Almost immediately after Guevara's death, questions arose about how exactly he had died.
Bolivian officials made inconsistent statements to the press about when Guevara had been killed and what kind of wounds he had suffered at the time of his capture. Very quickly, the cover story that Guevara had died in combat was shot full of holes. But the Bolivian government doubled down. On October 16, 1967, a week after Guevara was executed, the armed forces released a report.
It officially confirmed that Guevara had died in combat, but it redacted the exact time on both the death certificate and the autopsy report, fueling suspicions that the Bolivian military was hiding the truth. People quickly jumped to the theory that the United States was involved. Five days after Guevara's death, students at the Central University of Venezuela organized protests at the U.S.
Embassy. During the height of the Cold War, it was easy for people to believe that the United States had executed Che Guevara in cold blood. The country's foreign policy was laser-focused on stopping the spread of communism, and Che Guevara was one of its most famous proponents.
In the wake of his death and the unanswered questions about it, his armed struggle in Bolivia took on mythic proportions in media accounts and eventually books. It became a David versus Goliath story. Guevara was a small idealist going up against the giant of the United States. The truth remained classified for years.
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