• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Latin America

Che Guevara's First Guerrilla Battle Celebrated in Bolivia

  • Che Guevara’s spirit of resistance lives on in Latin America.

    Che Guevara’s spirit of resistance lives on in Latin America. | Photo: EFE/Archive

Published 25 March 2017
Opinion

Che helped in the struggle against the U.S.-backed Bolivian military regime. 

Bolivia is honoring the 50th anniversary of Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s first guerrilla-led victory with National Liberation Army of Bolivia.

RELATED: 
US Blockade Against Cuba Still in Place 55 Years Later

State officials, relatives of those that found alongside Che, members from social movements and National Liberation Army founders gathered in an auditorium of the Central Bank in La Paz, to remember Che’s legacy. The Argentine-born doctor who became one of the key figures of the Cuban Revolution, is considered one of the most influential figures in Latin America, and Bolivia is no exception.

Che had already travelled to the Congo to help fight against U.S. imperialism, and with the National Liberation Army guerrillas he attempted to implement the foco theory of guerrilla struggle to overthrow the Bolivian military regime of Rene Barrientos and establish a socialist state similar to Cuba.

Fifty years ago Che helped create the guerrilla army also known as the “Ñancahuazú Guerrilla” and led them to their first victory in the town of Camiri. The National Liberation Army successfully ambushed 35 soldiers from the U.S.-backed Bolivian Army.

Speaking at the event, National Liberation Army founder Nila Heredia said that Che’s legacy has been continued through guerrillas and social movements who fought against authoritarian rulers. Pablo Ramos, president of Bolivia’s Central Bank, recalled his experiences with Che in Cuba.

RELATED: 
Thousands of Bolivians Mobilize to Demand Access to Pacific

After months of hard fighting the National Liberation Army struggled in its battle against the U.S.-trained and supported Bolivian army, Che was captured. After refusing to give in to interrogation, Che was executed on Oct. 9, 1967, aged 39. It is believed that Rene Barrientos' regime was instructed by the CIA to hunt down and kill Che.

A day later, Che’s body was displayed to the international media with Bolivian army troops. He was then buried in the small Town of Vallegrande. Several towns and cities in Bolivia’s south-east have memorials to his fight along the “Ruta del Che.”
Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.