Bolivia, former soldier who killed revolutionary doctor Ernesto Guevara de la Serna in 1967 dies. El Che was killed in the village of La Higuera with the approval of the late Bolivian president René Barrientos
Former Bolivian sergeant Mario Teran Salazar, who killed Ernesto Che Guevara in 1967, died overnight at the age of 80 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, eastern Bolivia.
The news was given by Gary Prado, the officer who captured Che in the jungle 54 years ago. Prado learned of the death of Salazar, who had been his student at the officers' school, from the relatives of the missing man.
"I was notified by his family and his comrades in the armed forces because he was in a military hospital”, he said. The hospital refused to confirm the death and cause of death for “reasons of confidentiality”.
On October 8, 1967, the Bolivian army arrested Guevara, a mythical figure of armed revolutionary action during the Cold War, with the support of two Cuban-American CIA agents.
Che led a handful of guerrillas who had survived fighting, hunger and disease in the Bolivian mountains. Wounded in battle, he had been transported to an abandoned school in the village of La Higuera.
Here he spent his last night: he was shot the following day by Teran Salazar with the approval of Bolivian President René Barrientos (1964-1969), a fierce anti-communist.
“This is the worst moment of my life. I saw Che tall, very tall, enormous. His eyes were shining brightly.”, Teran Salazar had said at the time. “Keep calm, he told me, and aim well! You are about to kill a man! Then I took a step back, towards the door, closed my eyes and fired.”
Article published on March 11, 2022 - 09pm
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