On 6th January 1967 in his diary in Bolivia, Che refers to what he had told those making up the guerrilla unit, specifically about the qualities of a guerrilla unit and the need for greater discipline. He soon begins studying Quechua, the native language of the inhabitants of the territory of the ancient Inca empire, which is widely used in Bolivia's rural areas.
On 23rd March 1967 Che's guerrilla hold their first clash with Bolivian soldiers. They inflicted seven dead among the army forces and capture 14 prisoners, including a sergeant-major. On 25th March 1967 Che christens the guerrilla forces he is leading the National Liberation Army of Bolivia.
"In the course of the meeting, this group was named the National Liberation Army of Bolivia. A public statement will be issued."
On 10th April 1967 the members of the National Liberation Army of Bolivia fight two other victorious battles. In the first, which takes place at 10.30 in the morning, they cause three dead and one wounded and capture seven soldiers. In the second, which takes place at five in the afternoon, Bolivian soldiers suffer 13 casualties-- seven dead and six wounded -- and 13 fall prisoner, including a sergeant-major. In this battle, the guerrilla force loses Cuban Jesús Suárez Gayol (Rubio).
On 16th April 1967, Che and his men successfully storm the settlement of Bella Vista and talk with the dwellers. In Cuba, his Message to the Peoples of the World he sent through the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America (OSPAAAL) is published. He highlights the need for people to struggle to free themselves from the alienating colonial and neocolonial exploitation.
?If we, on a small point of the world map fulfill our duty and place at the disposition of the struggle whatever little we are able to give -- our lives, our sacrifice --, it can happen that one of these days we will take our last breath on any land not our own, yet already ours, as we have watered it with our blood. Let it be known that we have measured the scope of our acts and that we consider ourselves no more than individuals in the great army of the proletariat; but we feel proud at having learned from the Cuban Revolution and its top leader the great lesson to be drawn from Cuba's attitude in this part of the world: What do the dangers or sacrifices of a man or a people matter when what is at stake is the destiny of humanity.?
On 25th April 1967 Che's guerrilla fight another battle, in which Cuban Eliseo Reyes Rodríguez (Rolando) falls. Soon after that, on 14th June 1967 Che turns 39 years old in the Bolivian jungle.
"I've reached my 39th birthday, and I am inevitably approaching the age when my future as a guerrilla must be considered. For now, I'm still `alive and kicking'."
On 26th June 1967 another significant clash takes place with Bolivian soldiers. The Cuban Carlos Coello (Tuma) is fatally wounded. On 6th July 1967 Che and the other guerrillas storm the town of Samaipata, capital of the Bolivian province of Florida. On 26th July 1967 Che speaks to the guerrillas accompanying him about the significance of the attack on the Moncada barracks on the 14th Anniversary of this event.
On 30th July 1967 In another clash with Bolivian soldiers Cuban José María Martínez Tamayo (Ricardo) and Bolivian Raúl Quispaya Choque fall in combat. On 8th August 1967 faced with the hardships the guerrilla unit is going through, Che gathers the combatants together. He gives an analysis and points out that whoever feels incapable of enduring it should say so.
"We have reached a moment when great decisions are called for. This type of struggle provides us the opportunity to become revolutionaries, the highest level of the human species. At the same time, it enables us to emerge as full men. Those who are unable to achieve either of these two states should say so and abandon the struggle..."
On 31st August 1967 in the ford of Puerto Mauricio, in Río Grande, the following fighters die in an ambush: Juan Vitalio Acuña Núñez (Joaquín), Apolinar Aquino Quispe, Walter Arencibia Ayala, Tamara Bunke Bider (Tania), Moisés Guevara Rodríguez, Gustavo Machín Hoed D'Beche (Alejandro) and Fredy Maymura. The latter was taken prisoner and then murdered. Since April this year, the group led by Joaquín had lost contact with Che.
Two days after the fall of these combatants, Che records in his diary that he had heard news on the radio about the annihilation of Joaquín's group, although he does not believe it.
On 22nd September 1967 Che and his men stormed the town of Alto Seco. As Inti Peredo relates, in the center of the small town there is a small plaza, a church and a school. They hold a meeting there. The peasants silently and attentively listen to what first Inti and then Che point out, although they do not know the latter's identity. Che refers to the state of neglect of the town and to the exploitation of which peasants are victims.
On 26th September 1967 Che and the other guerrillas arrive at La Higuera, a small settlement on the slope of a mountain down to Río Grande. La Higuera is situated to the southwest of the province of Vallegrande. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the forward detachment leaves to try to reach Jagüey and they fall into an ambush half an hour later. Miguel Hernández Osorio, Roberto Peredo (Coco) and Mario Gutiérrez Ardaya died in the shootout.
"Our losses this time are very great indeed. The one we will feel most is Coco, but Miguel and Julio were magnificent fighters, and the human value of all three is incalculable."
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A
detailed chronology of Che's life you can find
in this book "A Brave Man" on Cuba
Directo website |
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