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Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Lynch
Che Guevara at the La Coubre memorial service. Photo taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960 Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ... Smoke rises over Havana harbor following the explosion People near the docks run from the blast At 3:10 p. ... Alberto Kordas photograph of Che Guevara Alberto Kordas famous photograph of Che Guevara was taken on March 5, 1960 at a Cuban funeral service for victims of the La Coubre explosion,[1] but was published seven years later. ... Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda (September 14, 1928 – May 25, 2001) was a photographer, famous for his photo of Che Guevara. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Alternate name(s):	Che
Date of birth:	May 14, 1928
Place of birth:	Rosario, Argentina
Date of death:	October 9, 1967 (aged 39)
Place of death:	La Higuera, Bolivia
Major organizations:	26th of July Movement

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Lynch (May 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, el Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, political figure, author, military theorist, and leader of Cuban and internationalist guerrillas. His stylized image also later morphed into a ubiquitous worldwide countercultural symbol. May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... The El Che monument La Higuera (Spanish: The Fig Tree) is a small village in Bolivia located in the Department of Santa Cruz, some 150 km (bee-line) southwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. ... The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Revolutionary, when used as a noun, is a person who either advocates or actively engages in some kind of revolution. ... The foco theory of communist revolution by way of guerrilla warfare, also known as focalism (Spanish language: foquismo), was developed by Ernesto Che Guevara, based upon his experiences surrounding Fidel Castros 1959 victory in the Cuban Revolution. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe a cultural group whose values and norms are at odds with those of the social mainstream. ...

As a young medical student, Guevara embarked on a journey throughout Latin America and was transformed by the endemic poverty he witnessed. His experiences and observations during these trips led him to the conclusion that the region's socio-economic inequalities were an insidious result of capitalism, neo-colonialism, and imperialism, with the only remedy being world revolution. This belief prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social revolution under President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara’s radical ideology. Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... Socioeconomics or Socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... Neo Colonialism is the belife that former colonies of European powers have never recieved economic freedom from their former rulers. ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... World revolution is a Marxist concept of a violent overthrow of capitalism that would take place in all countries, although not necessarily simultaneously. ... Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (September 14, 1913 – January 27, 1971) was the president of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954, when he was ousted in a coup détat organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, known as Operation PBSUCCESS, and was replaced by a military junta, headed by Colonel... Former president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán on the cover of TIME magazine in June 1954 after his overthrow Operation PBSUCCESS was a CIA-organized covert operation that overthrew the democratically-elected President of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in 1954. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Later while in Mexico he joined and was promoted to commander in Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, playing a pivotal role, while being viewed as "Castro's brain", in the successful guerrilla campaign to overthrow the U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.^[1] After the Cuban revolution, Guevara served in many prominent governmental positions, including President of the National Bank and “supreme prosecutor” over the revolutionary tribunals and executions of suspected war criminals from the previous regime. Along with traveling around the world meeting important leaders on behalf of Cuban socialism, he was a prolific author of an assortment of books, including a classic manual on the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to incite revolutions first in an unsuccessful attempt in Congo-Kinshasa and ultimately in Bolivia, where he was captured with help of the CIA and executed. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba. ... The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of Santa Clara, Cuba by revolutionaries under the command of Che Guevara. ... General Fulgencio Batista (pronounced or ) y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician. ... Belligerents 26th of July Movement Cuba Commanders Fidel Castro Che Guevara Raul Castro Fulgencio Batista The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batistas regime on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement and other revolutionary elements within the country. ... Guerrilla Warfare published by Ocean Books 2006. ... Guerrilla redirects here. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

Both notorious for his disciplined brutality and revered for his unwavering dedication to his revolutionary doctrines, Guevara remains a controversial and significant historical figure. Because of his death, invocation to armed class struggle, and romantic visage; Guevara became an inspirational icon of leftist revolutionary movements worldwide, as well as a global merchandising sensation. He has since been venerated and reviled in dozens of biographies, memoirs, books, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. Time Magazine professed him to be one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century,^[2] while an Alberto Korda photo of him (shown) has been declared "the most famous photograph in the world."^[3] The South African Police Crush Another Demonstration by the Shack dwellers Movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, 28 September, 2007 Class struggle is the active expression of class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. ... Left wing redirects here. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda (September 14, 1928 – May 25, 2001) was a photographer, famous for his photo of Che Guevara. ... Alberto Kordas photograph of Che Guevara Alberto Kordas famous photograph of Che Guevara was taken on March 5, 1960 at a Cuban funeral service for victims of the La Coubre explosion,[1] but was published seven years later. ...

Early life

Birthplace home of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Rosario, Argentina.       Other view.

A teenage Ernesto (left) with his parents and siblings, ca.1944. Seated beside him, from left to right: Celia (mother), Celia (sister), Roberto, Juan Martín, Ernesto (father) and Ana María.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was ^born[›] on May 14, 1928 in Rosario, Argentina, the eldest of five children in a family of Basque and Irish descent. His mother was of ^Basque[›] ancestry, while his father had ^Irish[›] roots. After Guevara's eventual death, Che's father would reminisce "The first thing to note is that in my son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels."^[4] Growing up in a family with leftist leanings, Guevara became known for his radical perspective even as a boy, idolizing Francisco Pizarro while yearning to have been one of his soldiers. Though suffering from the crippling bouts of asthma that were to afflict him throughout his life, he excelled as an athlete. He was an avid rugby union player and earned himself the nickname "Fuser"—a contraction of "El Furibundo" (raging) and his second surname "Serna"—for his aggressive style of play. Ernesto was also nicknamed "Chancho" (pig) by his schoolmates, because he rarely bathed, and proudly wore a "weekly shirt". Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2304x1728, 984 KB) Summary The building where Che Guevara lived during his first years, on 480 Entre Ríos St. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2304x1728, 984 KB) Summary The building where Che Guevara lived during his first years, on 480 Entre Ríos St. ... Rosario is the largest city of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rosario is the largest city of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. ... Language(s) Basque - few monoglots Spanish - 1,525,000 monoglots French - 150,000 monoglots Basque-Spanish - 600,000 speakers Basque-French - 76,000 speakers [4] other native languages Religion(s) Traditionally Roman Catholic The Basques (Basque: ) are an indigenous people[5] who inhabit parts of north-central Spain and southwestern... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González should not be confused with another Francisco Pizarro who joined Hernán Cortés to conquer the Aztecs. ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ...

Guevara learned chess from his father and began participating in local tournaments by the age of 12. During his adolescence, he became passionate about poetry, especially that of Pablo Neruda, John Keats, and Sara De Ibáñez. It is also said that he memorized Kipling's "If" by heart. The Guevara home contained more than 3,000 books which allowed Guevara to be an enthusiastic and eclectic reader, with interests including Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Gide and Faulkner. He also enjoyed adventure classics by Jack London, Emilio Salgari, and Jules Verne as well as essays by Sigmund Freud and Bertrand Russell.^{[citation needed]} This article is about the Western board game. ... Pablo Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973) was the penname and, later, legal name of the Chilean writer and communist politician Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. ... Keats redirects here. ... This article is about the British author. ... If— is a notable poem by Rudyard Kipling. ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... Kant redirects here. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... Gide redirects here. ... William Cuthbert Faulkner (born William Falkner), (September 25, 1897–July 6, 1962) was an American author. ... For other persons named Jack London, see Jack London (disambiguation). ... Emilio Salgari. ... This article is about the French author. ... Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, and pacifist. ...

In 1948 Guevara entered the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine and fell in love with 16-year-old Maria del Carmen Ferreyra.^[5] In 1951, Guevara took a year off from his medical studies to embark on a trip traversing South America with his friend, Alberto Granado, on a motorcycle to spend a few weeks volunteering at the San Pablo Leper colony in Peru on the banks of the Amazon River. Guevara used notes taken during this trip to write an account entitled The Motorcycle Diaries. The Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) is the largest university in Argentina, founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Alberto Granado (born on August 8, 1922 in Hernando, Córdoba, Argentina) was the travelling companion of Che Guevara during their trip around Latin America, and founder of the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba. ... For other uses, see Motorcycle (disambiguation). ... A leper colony is a place to quarantine people with leprosy from the rest of the population. ... This article is about the river. ... Map of Guevaras trip with Alberto Granado. ...

Witnessing the widespread poverty, oppression and disenfranchisement throughout Latin America, and influenced by his readings of Marxist literature, Guevara began to view armed revolution as the solution to social inequality. By trip's end, he also viewed Latin America not as separate nations, but as a single entity requiring a continent-wide liberation strategy. His conception of a borderless, united Hispanic America sharing a common 'mestizo' culture^{Hispanic America[›]} was a theme that prominently recurred during his later revolutionary activities. Upon returning to Argentina, he completed his medical studies and received the diploma accrediting him as a medic on June 12, 1953.^Diploma[›] For other uses, see Oppression (disambiguation). ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Hispanic America (Hispanoamérica in Spanish) refers to those parts of the Americas inhabited by Spanish-speaking peoples. ... Mestizo is a Spanish term that was formerly used in the Spanish Empire to designate people of mixed European (Spaniard) and Amerindian ancestry living in the region of Latin America. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Guatemala

On July 7, 1953, Guevara set out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. In December 1953 he arrived in Guatemala where President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán headed a democratically elected government that, through land reform and other initiatives, was attempting to end the U.S.-dominated latifundia system. Guevara decided to settle down in Guatemala so as to "perfect [him]self and accomplish whatever may be necessary in order to become a true revolutionary".^{Perfeccionaré[›]} is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (September 14, 1913 – January 27, 1971) was the president of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954, when he was ousted in a coup détat organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, known as Operation PBSUCCESS, and was replaced by a military junta, headed by Colonel... -1... Latifundia are pieces of landed property covering tremendous areas. ...

A map showing Che Guevara's movements between 1953 and 1956; including his trip north to Guatemala, his stay in Mexico and his journey east by boat to Cuba with Fidel Castro and other revolutionaries.

In Guatemala City, Guevara sought out Hilda Gadea Acosta, a Peruvian economist who was well-connected politically as a member of the socialist American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) led by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre. She introduced Guevara to a number of high-level officials in the Arbenz government. Guevara also established contact with a group of Cuban exiles linked to Fidel Castro through the attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba.^[6] During this period he acquired his famous nickname, "Che", due to his frequent use of the Argentine interjection Che (pronounced [tʃe]), which is used in much the same way as "hey", "pal", "eh", or "mate." Image File history File links Size of this preview: 443 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (483 × 654 pixel, file size: 256 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Che Guevara ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 443 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (483 × 654 pixel, file size: 256 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Che Guevara ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... The American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) also known as the Partido Aprista Peruano (Peruvian Aprista Party) is a Peruvian left-wing social democratic political party. ... Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (22 February 1895 – 2 August 1979) was a Peruvian political leader who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement. ... Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán was the democratically-elected, left-wing reformist President of Guatemala. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island nation of Cuba, some 540 miles (869 km) east south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana. ... Look up eh in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Guevara's attempts to obtain a medical internship were unsuccessful and his economic situation was often precarious. On May 15, 1954 a shipment of Škoda infantry and light artillery weapons was sent from Communist Czechoslovakia for the Arbenz Government and arrived in Puerto Barrios,^[7][8] prompting a CIA-sponsored coup attempt.^[7] Guevara was eager to fight on behalf of Arbenz and joined an armed militia organized by the Communist Youth for that purpose, but frustrated with the group's inaction, he soon returned to medical duties. Following the coup, he again volunteered to fight, but soon after, Arbenz took refuge in the Mexican Embassy and told his foreign supporters to leave the country. After Hilda Gadea was arrested, Guevara sought protection inside the Argentine consulate, where he remained until he received a safe-conduct pass some weeks later and made his way to Mexico.^[9] is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar). ... Å koda Works (Czech: Å kodovy závody; today Å koda Holding, a. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Puerto Barrios, city (1994 est. ... Lebanese Kataeb militia The term Militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary [1] citizens to provide defense, emergency, law enforcement, or paramilitary service, and those engaged in such activity, without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. ... The rule of Napoleon Bonaparte after his coup detat in France had conducted the manners of French governmant under dictatorship and in a consulate. ...

The overthrow of the Arbenz regime by a coup d'état backed by the Central Intelligence Agency cemented Guevara's view of the United States as an imperialist power that would oppose and attempt to destroy any government that sought to redress the socioeconomic inequality endemic to Latin America and other developing countries. This strengthened his conviction that Marxism achieved through armed struggle and defended by an armed populace was the only way to rectify such conditions. Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ...

Cuba

Further information: Che Guevara's involvement in the Cuban Revolution

Riding a mule in Las Villas province, Cuba, November 1958

After the battle of Santa Clara, January 1, 1959

In his trademark olive green military fatigues, June 2, 1959

Guevara arrived in Mexico City in early September 1954, and renewed his friendship with the other Cuban exiles whom he had known in Guatemala. In June 1955, López introduced him to Raúl Castro who later introduced him to his older brother, Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who had formed the 26th of July Movement (M-26-7) and was now plotting to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in what became the Cuban Revolution. Guevara recognized at once that Castro was the cause for which he had been searching. Main article: Che Guevara Che Guevara was a key figure in the Cuban Revolution, an uprising that removed the government of General Fulgencio Batista over the island. ... The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of Santa Clara, Cuba by revolutionaries under the command of Che Guevara. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the Cuban politician. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba. ... General Fulgencio Batista (pronounced or ) y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician. ... Belligerents 26th of July Movement Cuba Commanders Fidel Castro Che Guevara Raul Castro Fulgencio Batista The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batistas regime on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement and other revolutionary elements within the country. ...

Although he planned to be the group's medic, Guevara participated in the military training with the members of the Movement, and, at the end of the course, was called "the best guerrilla of them all" by their instructor, Colonel Alberto Bayo.^[10] The first step in Castro's revolutionary plan was an assault on Cuba from Mexico via the Granma, an old, leaky cabin cruiser. They set out for Cuba on November 25, 1956. Attacked by Batista's military soon after landing, most of the 82 men were either killed in the attack or executed upon capture. Guevara wrote that it was during this bloody confrontation that he laid down his medical supplies and picked up a box of ammunition dropped by a fleeing comrade, finalizing his symbolic transition from physician to combatant. Alberto Bayo y Giroud (1892, Camagüey—1967, Havana) was a Cuban military leader of the defeated left-wing Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War. ... Granma is the yacht that was used to transport the fighters of the Cuban Revolution to Cuba in 1956. ... is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Only a small band of revolutionaries survived to re-group as a bedraggled fighting force deep in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where they received support from the urban guerrilla network of Frank País, the 26th of July Movement, and local country folk. With the group withdrawn to the Sierra, the world wondered whether Castro was alive or dead until early 1957 when the interview by Herbert Matthews appeared in The New York Times. The article presented a lasting, almost mythical image for Castro and the guerrillas. Guevara was not present for the interview, but in the coming months he began to realize the importance of the media in their struggle. Meanwhile, as supplies and morale grew low, Guevara considered these "the most painful days of the war."^[11] Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province from what is now Guantánamo Province to Niquero [1] in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. ... Urban guerrilla refers to someone who fights a government or dictatorship using unconventional warfare in an urban environment (see: guerrilla tactics). ... Frank Pais was born on December 7, 1934 and was a Cuban revolutionary. ... Herbert Matthews Herbert Lionel Matthews (1900-1977) was a reporter [1] for the New York Times said to be the first to report Fidel Castro was alive in the Sierra Maestra [2]. And also a reporter partial to the Republic side in (The Spanish Civil War (1961) Hugh Thomas) and... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ...

At this point Castro promoted Guevara to comandante of a second army column. However, Guevara's first idea to hit an enemy garrison at Bueuycito did not go as planned. When his men were late to arrive, he began the attack without them. He told a sentry to halt, but when the sentry moved, Guevara decided to shoot. However, his gun jammed as did the gun of the young rebel who was with him. Guevara fled under a hail of bullets, which in turn brought a hail of bullets from the rebels in the hills, and the barracks surrendered before Guevara repaired his tommy gun. As Guevara said, "My survival instincts took over."^[12]

As Guevara reconsidered his tactics, he imposed even more ruthless treatment as a strict disciplinarian whose harsh methods were already notorious among the rebel fighters. Deserters were severely punished as traitors, and Guevara was known to send execution squads to hunt down deserters seeking to escape.^[13] As a result, Guevara became feared for his brutality and ruthlessness.^[14] During the guerrilla campaign, Guevara was also responsible for the execution of a number of men accused of being informers, deserters or spies.^[15] Execution is a synonym for the actioning of something, of putting something into effect. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses of Desertion, see Abandonment. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ...

In late July of 1958 Guevara would play a critical role in the Battle of Las Mercedes by using his column to halt a force of 1,500 men called up by Batista's General Cantillo in a plan to encircle and destroy Castro's forces. Years later in 1984, USMC Major Larry Bockman, would analyze and describe Che's tactical appreciation of this battle as "brilliant".^[16] As the war extended, Guevara led a new column of fighters dispatched westward for the final push towards Havana. In the closing days of December 1958, Guevara directed his "suicide squad" in the attack on Santa Clara, that became the final decisive military victory of the revolution.^[17][18] Batista, upon learning that his generals were negotiating a separate peace with the rebel leader, fled to the Dominican Republic the next day on January 1, 1959. Jan. ... Combatants Cuban Revolutionaries Cuban Government, Batista Commanders Fidel Castro General Eulogio Cantillo Strength 300 3,000 Casualties 70 70 ? The Battle of Las Mercedes was the last battle of Operation Verano, the summer offensive of 1958 launched by the Batistia government during the Cuban Revolution. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... This article is about the capital of Cuba. ... Jan. ... The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of Santa Clara, Cuba by revolutionaries under the command of Che Guevara. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On January 8, 1959, Castro's army rolled victoriously into Havana.^[19] On February 7, 1959, the government proclaimed Guevara "a Cuban citizen by birth" in recognition of his role in the triumph of the revolutionary forces. Shortly thereafter, he divorced Hilda Gadea, who was still in Mexico. On June 2, 1959, he married Aleida March,^{Children[›]} a Cuban-born member of the 26th of July movement with whom he had been living since late 1958. is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

During the rebellion against Batista's dictatorship, the general command of the rebel army, led by Fidel Castro, introduced into the liberated territories the 19th-century penal law commonly known as the Ley de la Sierra.^{Ley de la Sierra[›]} This law included the death penalty for extremely serious crimes, whether perpetrated by the dictatorship or by supporters of the revolution. In 1959, the revolutionary government extended its application to the whole of the republic and to war criminals captured and tried after the revolution. This latter extension, supported by the majority of the population, followed the same procedure as those seen in the Nuremberg Trials held by the Allies after World War II.^[20] To implement this plan, Castro named Guevara commander of the La Cabaña Fortress prison, for a five-month tenure (January 2 through June 12, 1959).^[21] Guevara was charged with purging the Batista army and consolidating victory by exacting "revolutionary justice" against traitors, chivatos, and Batista's war criminals.^[22] Serving in the post as "supreme prosecutor" on the appellate bench, Guevara oversaw the trials and executions of those convicted by revolutionary tribunal. The justification for the executions was the hope of preventing the people themselves from taking justice into their own hands, as happened during the chaos of the anti-Machado rebellion.^[23] It is estimated that several hundred people were executed on Guevara's extra-judicial orders during this time.^{executions[›]} For the 1947 Soviet film about the trials, see Nuremberg Trials (film). ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A Spanish-era military base overlooking Havana harbor. ... is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

(right to left) Rebel leader Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban President Manuel Urrutia, and Guevara. January 1959.

Meeting with French philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in 1960. Guevara was also fluent in French. ^[24]

On June 12, 1959, as soon as Guevara returned to Havana, Castro sent him out on a three-month tour of fourteen countries, most of them Bandung Pact members in Africa and Asia. Sending Guevara from Havana also allowed Castro to appear to be distancing himself from Guevara and his Marxist sympathies, that troubled both the United States and some of Castro's M-26-7 members.^[25] He spent twelve days in Japan (July 15–27), participating in negotiations aimed at expanding Cuba's trade relations with that nation. During this visit Guevara also ^{secretly[›]} visited the city of Hiroshima, where the American military had detonated an atom-bomb fourteen years earlier. Guevara was "really shocked" at what he witnessed and by his visit to a hospital where A-bomb survivors were being treated.^[26] Cuban poster showing Camilo Cienfuegos. ... Manuel Urrutia Lleó (1901 - 1981) was a Cuban political figure. ... Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980), normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (pronounced: ), was a French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. ... La Beauvoir redirects here; also see: Beauvoir (disambiguation). ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Asian-African Conference was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, organized by Egypt, Indonesia, Burma, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, and Pakistan. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... Little Boy was the codename of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945 by the 12-man crew of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets (Tibbets, age 92, died Nov. ...

Upon returning to Cuba in September 1959, it was evident that Castro now had more political power. The government had begun land seizures included in the agrarian reform law, but was hedging on compensation offers to landowners, instead offering low interest "bonds", which put the U.S. on alert. At this point the affected wealthy cattlemen of Camagüey mounted a campaign against the land redistributions, and enlisted the newly disaffected rebel leader Huber Matos, who along with the anti-Communist wing of the M-26-7, joined them in denouncing the "Communist encroachment."^[27] During this time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was offering assistance to the "Anti-Communist Legion of the Caribbean" who was training in the Dominican Republic. This multi-national force comprised mostly of Spaniards and Cubans, but also of Croatians, Germans, Greeks, and right-wing mercenaries, were plotting to topple Fidel Castro.^[28] Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... Camagüey (founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe around 1515) is a city in central Cuba and is the nations third largest city. ... Huber Matos was a Cuban revolutionary who successfully overthrew the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, Raul Castro and others. ... The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba. ... Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina (October 24, 1891–May 30, 1961) ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. ... The Spanish people or Spaniards are an ethnic group native to Spain, in southwestern Europe, who are primarily descended from the autochthonous pre-Indo-European Euskaldunak, Latin, Visigothic, Celtic and Moorish peoples. ...

These developments prompted Castro to further clean house of "counter-revolutionaries", and appoint Guevara chief official at the National Institute of Agrarian Reform ^INRA[›] and later President of the National Bank of Cuba ^BNC[›], while allowing him to retain his military rank. Although seeming to be a strange choice for the important position, Guevara had been promoting the creation of self-sufficient industries since his days in the Sierra Maestra. Guevara was expecting the U.S. to invade, and the Cuban population to then leave the cities and fight as guerrillas, although Guevara's hopes for armed uprisings elsewhere were failing.^[29]

In 1960 Guevara provided first aid to victims when the freighter La Coubre, a French vessel carrying munitions from the port of Antwerp, exploded twice while it was being unloaded in Havana harbor, resulting in well over a hundred dead.^[30] It was at the memorial service for the victims of this explosion that Alberto Korda took the most famous photograph of him, "Guerrillero Heroico". Smoke rises over Havana harbor following the explosion People near the docks run from the blast At 3:10 p. ... Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda (September 14, 1928 – May 25, 2001) was a photographer, famous for his photo of Che Guevara. ... Alberto Kordas photograph of Che Guevara Alberto Kordas famous photograph of Che Guevara was taken on March 5, 1960 at a Cuban funeral service for victims of the La Coubre explosion,[1] but was published seven years later. ...

Guevara later served as Minister of Industries, a post in which he helped formulate Cuban socialism, and became one of the country's most prominent figures. He called for the diversification of the Cuban economy, and for the elimination of material incentives. He believed that volunteer work and dedication of workers would drive economic growth and that all that was needed was will. To display this, Guevara led by example, working endlessly at his ministry job, in construction, and even cutting sugar cane, as did Castro.^[31] During this time he also wrote several publications advocating a replication of the Cuban revolutionary model, promoting small rural guerrilla groups (foco theory) as an alternative to massive armed insurrection. Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... Guevara teaching guerrilla tactics to Congolese forces. ...

Guevara did not participate in the fighting of the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, having been ordered by Castro to a secretly prearranged command post in Cuba's western Pinar del Río province where he fended off a decoy force.^[32] He suffered a bullet grazing to the cheek during this deployment however, when his pistol fell out its holster and accidentally discharged.^[33] Belligerents Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Cuban exiles trained by the United States Commanders Fidel Castro José Ramón Fernández Ernesto Che Guevara Francisco Ciutat de Miguel John F. Kennedy Grayston Lynch Pepe San Roman Erneido Oliva Strength 15,000 1,511 Cuban exiles 2 CIA agents Casualties and losses... Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. ...

Guevara played a key role in bringing to Cuba the Soviet nuclear-armed ballistic missiles that precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. During an interview with the British newspaper Daily Worker a few weeks after the crisis, Guevara angrily stated that "if the missiles had been under Cuban control, they would have fired them off." Sam Russell, the British correspondent who spoke to Guevara at the time came away with "mixed feelings", calling him "a warm character" and "clearly a man of great intelligence", but "crackers from the way he went on about the missiles."^[34] Diagram of V-2, the first ballistic missile. ... For the video game based on the possible outcomes of this event, see Cuban Missile Crisis: The Aftermath. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Daily Worker was a newspaper published by the Communist Party USA, a Comintern affiliated organization in New York, beginning in 1924. ...

Disappearance from Cuba

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on December 11, 1964.
(listen  or  read)

Walking through Red Square in Moscow, November 1964

In December 1964 Che Guevara traveled to New York City as head of the Cuban delegation to speak at the U.N. He also appeared on the CBS Sunday news program Face the Nation^[35] and met with a gamut of people and groups including U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy,^{[citation needed]} several associates of Malcolm X,^{[citation needed]} and Canadian radical Michelle Duclos^{[citation needed]}. On December 17, he left for Paris and embarked on a three-month international tour to the People's Republic of China, the United Arab Republic (Egypt), Algeria, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Dahomey, Congo-Brazzaville and Tanzania, with stops in Ireland and Prague. In Algiers on February 24, 1965, he made what turned out to be his last public appearance on the international stage when he delivered a speech at an economic seminar on Afro-Asian solidarity.^[36][37] He specified the moral duty of the socialist countries, accusing them of tacit complicity with the exploiting Western countries. He proceeded to outline a number of measures which he said the communist-bloc countries must implement in order to accomplish the defeat of imperialism.^[38][39] Having criticized the Soviet Union (the primary financial backer of Cuba) in such a public manner, he returned to Cuba on March 14 to a solemn reception by Fidel and Raúl Castro, Osvaldo Dorticós and Carlos Rafael Rodríguez at the Havana airport. Image File history File links Che-onu-1964. ... Image File history File links Che-onu-1964. ... The United Nations General Assembly (GA, UNGA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... For other uses, see Red Square (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Face The Nation logo, used until 2002. ... Not to be confused with the anti-Communist senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy. ... Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ... Michelle Duclos is a Canadian terrorist who supports the Quebec sovereignty movement which desires the seperation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Not to be confused with the Kingdom of Benin, now the Benin region of Nigeria, or Benin City in that region. ... For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of Algeria. ... is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Two weeks later, in 1965 Guevara dropped out of public life and then vanished altogether. His whereabouts were a great mystery in Cuba, as he was generally regarded as second in power to Castro himself. His disappearance was variously attributed to the failure of the industrialization scheme he had advocated while minister of industry, to pressure exerted on Castro by Soviet officials disapproving of Guevara's pro-Chinese Communist stance on the Sino-Soviet split, and to serious differences between Guevara and the pragmatic Castro regarding Cuba's economic development and ideological line. Castro had grown increasingly wary of Guevara's popularity and considered him a potential threat. Castro's critics sometimes say his explanations for Guevara's disappearance have always been suspect. Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China and also the worlds largest political party. ... The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. ...

The coincidence of Guevara's views with those expounded by the Chinese Communist leadership was increasingly problematic for Cuba as the nation's economy became more and more dependent on the Soviet Union. Since the early days of the Cuban revolution, Guevara had been considered by many an advocate of Maoist strategy in Latin America and the originator of a plan for the rapid industrialization of Cuba which was frequently compared to China's "Great Leap Forward". According to Western observers of the Cuban situation, the fact that Guevara was opposed to Soviet conditions and recommendations that Castro pragmatically saw as necessary, may have been the reason for his disappearance. However, both Guevara and Castro were supportive publicly on the idea of a united front. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Great Leap Forward (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1960 which aimed to use Chinas vast population to rapidly transform mainland China from a primarily agrarian economy dominated by peasant farmers...

Following the Cuban Missile Crisis and what Guevara perceived as a Soviet betrayal when Khrushchev withdrew the missiles from Cuban territory, Guevara had grown more skeptical of the Soviet Union. As revealed in his last speech in Algiers, he had come to view the Northern Hemisphere, led by the U.S. in the West and the Soviet Union in the East, as the exploiter of the Southern Hemisphere. He strongly supported Communist North Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and urged the peoples of other developing countries to take up arms and create "many Vietnams".^[40] Nikita Khrushchev in 1962 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв) (nih-KEE-tah khroo-SHCHYOFF) (April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... The Communist Party of Vietnam (Đảng Cá»™ng sản Việt Nam) is the currently ruling, as well as the only legal political party in Vietnam. ... Anthem Tiến Quân Ca (Army March) Location of North Vietnam Capital Hanoi Language(s) Vietnamese Government Socialist republic First president Ho Chi Minh Historical era Cold War  - Independence proclaimed (from Japan) September 2, 1945  - Recognized 1954  - Disestablished July 2, 1976 Area 157,880 km² Population  -  est. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

Pressed by international speculation regarding Guevara's fate, Castro stated on June 16, 1965 that the people would be informed about Guevara when Guevara himself wished to let them know. Numerous rumors about his disappearance spread both inside and outside Cuba. On October 3 of that year, Castro revealed an undated letter purportedly written to him by Guevara some months earlier, in it Guevara reaffirmed his enduring solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, but declared his intention to leave Cuba to fight abroad for the revolutionary cause. Additionally, he resigned from all his positions in the government and party, while renouncing his honorary Cuban citizenship.^[41] Guevara's movements continued to be a closely held secret for the next two years. is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Listening to a Zenith Trans-Oceanic shortwave receiver are (seated from the left) Rogelio Oliva, José María Martínez Tamayo (known as "Mbili" in the Congo and "Ricardo" in Bolivia), and Guevara. Standing behind them is Roberto Sánchez ("Lawton" in Cuba and "Changa" in the Congo).

Image File history File links Cheguevaracongo. ... Image File history File links Cheguevaracongo. ... The Trans-Oceanic was the name given to a series of portable radios produced from 1942 to 1981 by Zenith Radio. ...

Congo

With his whereabouts unknown, in 1965 Guevara decided to venture to Africa and offer his knowledge and experience as a guerrilla to the ongoing war in the Congo. According to Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella, Guevara thought that Africa was imperialism's weak link and therefore had enormous revolutionary potential.^[42][43] Guevara led the Cuban operation into the Congo in support of the Marxist Simba movement in the Congo-Kinshasa (currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Guevara, his second-in-command Victor Dreke, and twelve other Cuban expeditionaries arrived in the Congo on April 24, 1965 with a contingent of approximately 100 Afro-Cubans joining them soon afterward.^[44][45] They collaborated for a time with guerrilla leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who had previously helped supporters of the slain Patrice Lumumba lead an unsuccessful revolt months earlier. Disillusioned with the discipline of Kabila's troops, Guevara would dismiss him, stating "nothing leads me to believe he is the man of the hour."^[46]