Retired Bolivian officer Mario Terran Salasar, who claimed to have killed Argentine Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1967, died yesterday Thursday at the age of 80 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, eastern Bolivia.
"He died, he was sick, nothing could be done," Gary Prado, the commander of the force that captured Che in the Bolivian jungle 54 years ago, told AFP.
Mr Prado said he was informed of the death of Salasar, a student at the officers' school, yesterday morning. "I was alerted by his family and colleagues in the armed forces because he had been admitted to a military hospital," he explained. The hospital refused to confirm his death and cause, citing "medical confidentiality".
On October 8, 1967, the Bolivian army captured Che Guevara, a mythical figure in revolutionary armed action during the Cold War, with the support of two Cuban-American CIA agents. Che led a handful of guerrillas who survived fighting, famine and disease in the mountains of Bolivia. Injured in battle, he was taken to an abandoned school in the village of La Igera.
He spent his last night there: he was executed the next day by Teran Salasar, after the approval of President Rene Barrientos (1964-1969), a sworn anti-communist.
"It was the worst moment of my life. Che seemed to me big, very big, huge. "A thousand fires were burning in his eyes," Teran Salasar later said. "'Calm down,' he told me, 'and mark well! You will kill a man! '. I took a step back, towards the door, closed my eyes and shot. "
After his death, at the age of 39, Che became a legend. His body was displayed as a trophy in the neighboring village of Vallegrande, an image captured by French Agency journalist Marc Etten. After thirty years of service, Teran Salasar retired and tried to remain anonymous, avoiding the press. For a long time it was claimed that Guevara's killer was not himself, but another soldier with the same name.
Source: KYPE