REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana - Death of Che

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

In 1967, the CIA and Bolivian army joined forces to hunt down revolutionary leader Che Guevara through the Andes mountains. After leaving Cuba, Guevara and a small guerrilla force secretly entered Bolivia, aiming to spark a communist revolution across South America. But as his health failed and local support crumbled, Guevara's final mission — and death — would transform him into a legend.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterFollow Redacted: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/redacted/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to redacted, declassified mysteries early and ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. This episode contains depictions of violence and is not suitable for everyone. Please be advised. In late September 1967, the famous revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara crouched behind a tree on a rugged hillside high in the mountains of Bolivia. His comrades were nearby, cowering behind other trees and watching him anxiously. From his hiding spot, Guevara could see a Bolivian soldier halfway down the hill. One wrong move and their lives would be over. And so would their revolution. A decade earlier, Guevara helped lead the Cuban revolution that carried Fidel Castro to power.

Guevara had come to Bolivia ten months ago to start a communist uprising there, too. to Bolivia ten months ago to start a communist uprising there, too. But the mission hadn't gone as he'd hoped. And now he'd heard on the radio that the Bolivian army had 1800 soldiers searching for him and his few remaining men. Down the hill the soldier spoke to a peasant woman, and as they were talking he seemed to point at the very tree where Gavar was hiding. Gavar's chest tightened and his lungs fought for air. It wasn't just anxiety. A month ago, the Bolivian army had found his cache of asthma medication and confiscated it. Gavar struggled without his inhaler and his breathing only got worse as he and his men

climbed to higher and higher altitudes. At times he could barely walk, so they were forced to travel by mule. The soldier stared right at Guevara's tree for a long, tense moment. Then he abruptly turned and walked down the hill, away from where Guevara and his men were hiding. Guevara let out a sigh. He was supposed to be leading a revolution throughout South America, but they were still just in their very first country and already surrounded. They'd escaped for the time being, but Guevara had a feeling that the end was near. Maybe not today, but soon the Bolivian army was going to capture him. I'm Fy Hersch.

I'm Peter Frankenberg. And in our podcast Legacy, we explore the lives of some of the biggest characters in history. This season Chinggis Khan, best known for his brutal campaigns, he was accused of causing millions of deaths. But he also gave his followers religious freedom and education. So is there more to his story than violence and bloodshed? I suspect that there might be, Peter. And since violence and bloodshed is basically

all I ever learned about Genghis Khan growing up, I'm actually really curious to find out what lies behind the legend. I can promise you are in for a treat because the Mongols were capable of exceptional acts of brutality, but all the stuff in the positive column either is never talked about or gets brushed to one side. So I'm really grateful to have the chance to speak up for Mongol history. Follow Legacy now wherever you get your podcasts. Or binge entire seasons early and ad free on Wondery Plus. Every episode, I bring on a friend and have a real conversation. And I don't mean just friends, I mean the likes of Amy Poehler,

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And where are my headphones? Cause it's time to get into it. Holla at your girl! From Ballin Studios in Wondery, I'm Luke Lamanna. And this is Redacted, Declassified Mysteries. Where each week we shine a light on the shadowy corners of espionage, covert operations, and misinformation to reveal the dark secrets our governments try to hide.

This week's episode is called The Death of Che Guevara Che Guevara has one of the most famous faces in the world. His portrait appears on t-shirts, coffee mugs and posters. His signature black beret is almost instantly recognizable and his deep-set eyes seem to peer into the future. He's come to symbolize youthful idealism and fierce rebellion. And he's viewed as the eternal underdog and a martyr for his cause.

Having seen Che Guevara's face everywhere, I had been given the impression that he was clearly some kind of pop culture icon. Maybe at one point I thought he was in a band. It wasn't until I took an interest in military and political history that I began to understand who he actually was. As one of the architects of the Cuban revolution, Guevara was once an arch enemy to the United States, and the Central Intelligence Agency viewed his capture as crucial to stopping the spread of communism. To the CIA, Guevara was a terrorist intent on destabilizing Latin America and threatening the entire free world. The agency first opened a file on Guevara in 1954,

not long after the Cuban Revolution began. Over the years, it became one of the CIA's largest records as the agency worked to track him down around the globe. Guevara's popularity in the West may be unique for a communist revolutionary. After all, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, is still largely seen as a dictator and serial human rights abuser. Meanwhile, Guevara is considered a legend,

even though he too killed in the name of communism and oversaw the execution of 500 prisoners at a famous Cuban jail. So how did Guevara transform himself into a pop culture icon while preaching global revolution? And what role did the CIA play in creating the modern Che Guevara brand? Is it possible that Che has his enemies to thank for his current popularity? In November 1966, Che Guevara sat at a table at a secret training camp in the Viñales

region of Cuba. The table was overflowing with roasted pig and red wine. Guevara savored every bite. In a few hours he would be getting on a plane to Bolivia where he was going to lead the next revolution. Following a similar playbook as he had used in Cuba, he planned to unite the peasants of the country against their oppressors. He would rally them under one rebel banner and lead them in attacking the Bolivian army until the government collapsed. An advanced team was already in Bolivia making contact with the local communist party and finding a secure location for their base of operations.

Now, it was time for Guevara to join them. Guevara had dreamed of spreading the revolution through South America since he was a young man. But as he looked around the table, part of him became sad that this was the end of an era for him. At the head of the table was Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Guevara's longtime friend. He was holding court, telling stories about how he and Guevara had conquered Cuba. The table laughed as Castro explained how he'd once had to yell at Guevara for leaving his rifle behind during a fight and fleeing into the hills. Guevara felt a wave of warmth wash over him.

He and Castro had had their ups and downs over the years. They had disagreed on the best way to run Cuba's economy and maintain its relationship with the Soviet Union and China. But right now, none of that mattered. Castro was Guevara's best friend, his brother-in-arms, his ideological debate partner. And Guevara didn't know when he would see him again. His dream was that revolution in Bolivia would be the spark that ignited communist uprisings across the continent, including in Guevara's native Argentina. Such a massive revolution could take years, but only if his plan actually worked this time.

The previous year, he had tried to start a revolution in the Congo, but the mission had ended in disaster and he was back in Cuba in a matter of months. As Castro wrapped up another story, Guevara rubbed his hand over the top of his head. He still wasn't used to feeling the smoothness of his scalp. As part of his disguise, a specialist from Cuba's intelligence services had personally plucked hairs one by one from Guevara's scalp. International intelligence agencies, including the CIA, were desperate to know where Guevara was, so he was traveling to Bolivia undercover as a middle-aged businessman with a receding

hairline. Between the thinning hair and the thick black glasses he wore, he was unrecognizable. Even his own daughters had been fooled by his appearance. Guevara checked his watch and leapt from the table. He'd gotten so wrapped up in all the tales of his glory days with Castro, he'd lost track of the time. He needed to go to the airport now or he would miss his flight. Castro stood up and the two men hugged. Then they just looked at each other until Guevara couldn't bear it any longer. Overwhelmed by sadness, he broke Castro's gaze and hurried into a car that was waiting

for him. Once inside, he barked at the driver to hurry. It was time to lead the next revolution. A month later, in December 1966, Guevara was in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in southeastern Bolivia training 24 men committed to overthrowing the government. Their secret base camp was stocked with food and ammunition, and a network of comrades in the capital of La Paz were carrying messages to and from Guevara. Guevara had concerns about his rebel army.

Of the 24 men under him, only 9 were from Bolivia. This was supposed to be a Bolivian uprising, but there were more Cuban rebels in their small group. Guevara knew he needed more, at least 20 Bolivians. So in late December, he prepared to meet Bolivia's Communist Party leader, Mario Monje. With Monje's support, Guevara hoped he could recruit the remaining fighters he needed. When Monje arrived at their camp, Guevara led him to the forest to talk privately. He pitched his vision that a Bolivian uprising was the first shot needed in a revolution that would bring down United States dominance over the continent forever.

To Guevara, everything was riding on success in Bolivia. And that success was riding on Manje's support. But Manje had several demands. Guevara thought Manje should serve as the political leader of the movement, while Guevara would lead the military operations. But Manje wanted to be the military leader too. Guevara would lead the military operations, but Monge wanted to be the military leader too. Guevara would not agree to that. They also argued over whether to work with Monge's rival political party, the Maoist

Communist Party. Guevara thought they should, but Monge again disagreed. And he said that Bolivia wasn't ready for an armed revolution yet. The men debated for hours but got nowhere. And the next day, before Manje left, he told the nine Bolivians under Guevara that they should also leave the camp. He warned that if they stayed, they would be expelled from the Bolivian Communist Party and their families would stop receiving stipends.

The Bolivians decided to stay, but they were discouraged and Guevara knew it. He couldn't let Manje's defeatist talk derail their plan. So Guevara did what he did best. He rallied the troops. He told them that even without the support of the local Communist Party, they would still unite with all Bolivians who wanted to make the revolution happen and end American imperialism. Guevara was not going to let this setback stop him or his vision. Four months later, in March 1967, Guevara's armed rebellion had begun.

It hadn't started off exactly as he had planned it though. In early February, Guevara had taken most of his men on a training march, but they'd gotten lost and didn't return to camp for 48 days, a month longer than planned. By the time he returned, the camp was in an uproar and Guevara learned that two new recruits had deserted. They were recaptured, but Bolivian army planes were also circling overhead, and some of Guevara's scouts had spotted government soldiers nearby, which made all the revolutionaries nervous. Then, the day after Guevara's return, one of his sentries killed a Bolivian soldier who had gotten too close to the rebel camp. The revolution was on. Guevara quickly abandoned the camp and led his

men along a river until they came to a group of unsuspecting Bolivian soldiers. Gavar decided to ambush them and sent five of his men ahead to create a diversion. At 8 a.m. the next morning, one of the rebels from the ambush team sprinted into Gavar's new camp with news that the plan had worked. The soldiers had walked right into their trap. The guerrillas killed seven of them while capturing 21 more. They also seized weapons, including mortars and machine guns. Even better, they had found strategy notes that showed another unit of Bolivian soldiers was headed toward them.

Now Guevara's men could ambush them too. Guevara still had major concerns about the future of the rebellion. He needed more men and food, and more time for training. And he was concerned about the distrust between the Cuban and Bolivian factions of his rebel army. But in their first real skirmish, the revolutionaries had come out the victor. Guevara was starting to think that it was possible they could pull off this rebellion after all. In the summer of 1967, CIA operative Felix Rodriguez walked into the CIA field station

in Miami, Florida. He'd received a call from his supervisor asking him to come in for a meeting, and he didn't know what it was about, but he hoped it had something to do with Bolivia. Guerrilla fighters had been ambushing the Bolivian army, seemingly at will for the past few months. The United States had been helping the Bolivians defeat the guerrilla uprising by sending green berets to help with training, but Rodriguez hoped the CIA was preparing to take an even more active role.

Rodriguez was born in Cuba. His uncle had been a minister in the government, but when Castro had taken control, Rodriguez and his entire family had fled the country. Rodriguez was 18 years old at the time and already involved in military training. He had vowed to spend the rest of his life stopping the Cuban revolution from spreading any further. In the field station, Rodriguez was led to a back office where he was introduced to a CIA division chief. The chief told Rodriguez what he was about to say wasn't to leave the room.

The CIA had reason to believe that Che Guevara was in Bolivia. Rodriguez was shocked. For years, many suspected Guevara had died in the failed Congo Uprising, but now it appeared that wasn't the case. The division chief said that if the communists took over Bolivia, they might be able to spread their ideology throughout the region, including Argentina and Brazil. The CIA had also heard that Cuba wanted to start several guerrilla wars in Latin America, similar to the one currently raging in Vietnam.

By forcing the United States to engage in multiple conflicts, they'd strain its military and intelligence resources. The revolution in Bolivia needed to be stopped before it got any bigger and even more dangerous. The division chief asked Rodriguez if he would be willing to go to Bolivia to find Guevara. He would pose as Felix Ramos, a member of the Bolivian army. Rodriguez didn't need to think about it. He immediately said yes. This was the mission he'd been waiting for since he was 18. In late August 1967, Rodriguez paced in a makeshift interrogation room in Valle Grande, Bolivia. In front of him a guerrilla who went by the name Paco slumped in a chair, his hands tied behind his back.

The young rebel was filthy. His long beard was matted with knots. Rodriguez growled at Paco. He demanded information about the rebel forces. Paco hissed back that he'd never talk. Rodriguez smiled. He'd see about that. Since he had arrived in the country a month ago, Rodriguez had been posing as a Bolivian army captain. He'd been embedded with an elite unit of Bolivian soldiers who were trained by the United States Army. Their mission was to stop the guerrillas, who had killed 30 Bolivian soldiers so far.

And earlier that day, Rodriguez's unit finally had a big break. Tipped off by a local farmer, they'd ambushed a group of 10 guerrillas. Rodriguez's unit had cornered the unsuspecting group at a river crossing and opened fire at close range. Paco was one of the only survivors of the attack. One of the officers in Rodriguez's unit wanted to execute Paco, but Rodriguez had stopped him. He believed that Paco could provide intel that would help them find Guevara, and now

he was determined to extract that information. Rodriguez dragged a chair in front of Paco and took a seat. It was time to try a different approach. He kept his voice calm and reasonable. He told Paco that he just wanted to know about his life as a gorilla. He asked him to tell him about the men who had been in his group. Where were they from? What were they like? Paco looked up. This seemed to soften him.

After a moment, he began to talk about one of the men. He was a medical student who had trained in Cuba. It wasn't especially helpful information, but at least Paco was talking. Rodriguez was determined to keep wearing him down. The more he knew about life in Guevara's rebellion, the better he'd be able to hone in on the man himself and make good on his vow to bring him down. Hey True Crime fans! Ever dreamt of solving cases and pouring over evidence with top podcasters, criminal experts, and your fellow true crime enthusiasts? Join us for Wondry's exhibit-see inaugural True Crime

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podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Scam Factory, early and ad-free, right now by joining Wondery Plus. On a late summer night in 1967, Guevara huddled against a rock on a hillside trying to sleep. A sharp wind blew against him. He fought to take a breath, but his chest wheezed and it felt like no air was making it in. He forced himself not to panic. He'd been dealing with asthma attacks since he was a boy. He could deal with this one.

But he was worried. His cache of medicine had recently been discovered and seized by the army. It was just the latest blow over the last long few months. In the spring he and his men had launched a string of successful ambushes against the Bolivian army. They killed several soldiers and stolen supplies. But their attempts to grow the movement had stalled. In Cuba, Guevara had been able to recruit the local population to his side.

Locals had provided shelter, food, information, and taken up arms, but that wasn't happening in Bolivia. It probably should not have been a surprise. For one, the region Guevara was in was sparsely populated, so there weren't many people to recruit. And the people were so far from the capital, La Paz, that they didn't have much contact with the government. In fact, Guevara's guerrillas seemed just as foreign to the locals as the Bolivian ruling

party. So they had little interest in risking everything to help Guevara overthrow it. And as the months had dragged on, morale fell. Some of Guevara's men deserted, others were captured, and Guevara had reason to believe that some of them had talked because the soldiers seemed to keep finding the guerrillas' equipment stashes, and overall the Bolivian soldiers seemed to be getting more aggressive in their fight against the guerrillas. Guevara was desperately trying to get word back to Cuba that they needed more fighters,

but his radio had broken and he had no way to transmit a message. Meanwhile their food was dwindling fast, the terrain was rough and the weather was extreme. Sometimes it was brutally hot, other times the wind was so sharp it felt like it was cutting through their skin. And it was only getting worse. Guevara felt their only escape from the soldiers was to go higher up into the mountains, but the altitude made Guevara's asthma worse. The attacks were so intense they kept him awake at night.

As he huddled against the rock trying to sleep, he heard two of his men break out into a fight a few yards below him. One insulted the other's mother, and the two were soon yelling and shoving. This was the last thing Guevara needed. He knew he should go and break up the fight, but he couldn't work up the energy. Guevara had turned 39 a few months ago. He'd written in his diary that at his age, he was starting to wonder just how much longer he could keep fighting. But as the shouting between his men grew louder, he saw one man raise his fist to punch the other one. Finally, Guevara lumbered to his feet and yelled down for the guys to knock it off.

His voice was reedy and thin, but Guevara was still their leader. The men listened and stopped fighting. Two months later, on October 7th, 1967, Che Guevara was lying in a potato patch in a narrow ravine high in the Andes. His ear was pressed to his radio. He was listening to a report saying that the Bolivian army had encircled the guerrillas. By this point, he had just 17 people left in his group, down from the initial 24. The Bolivian army had continued to close in on them, and a small group of guerrilla fighters had been caught in several gun battles, barely managing to escape each time.

By early the next morning, Guevara's men spotted the soldiers on the ridges of the ravine on either side of them. There was no way to escape. Their only way out was to fight. Guevara split his small group of men into three squadrons, assigning them positions along the narrow ravine. For hours there was a tense standoff. Both sides had their guns trained on the other, but neither fired. Then, as two of Guevara's men ran to new positions, the Bolivian soldiers started

shooting. They killed one of Guevara's men. Guevara hid behind a boulder at the bottom of the ravine and shot up at the soldiers with the rest of his men. But not long into the battle, a soldier's bullet ricocheted off Guevara's gun and destroyed it, leaving him unarmed. Then, Guevara got hit. One bullet struck his left calf, while another pierced his hat, barely missing his head. Unarmed and wounded, Guevara had to escape. With the help of one of his men, he tried to climb out of the ravine and up a nearby embankment. They hoped that the soldiers would be distracted by the battle and not shoot at them. But Guevara, leading on his comrade for support, made it only a few feet before a Bolivian

soldier burst out from the brush, the gun pointed directly at them. The soldier yelled that he had captured two guerrillas. A moment later, a captain in the army approached. He asked Guevara his name. Guevara didn't lie. He told him the truth. He was Ernesto Che Guevara his name. Guevara didn't lie. He told him the truth. He was Ernesto Che Guevara. The captain reached into his pocket and pulled out a hand-drawn portrait. He held the portrait next to Guevara's face and checked for a scar behind his ear. A smirk

came over the captain's face. Without another word, he whipped off his belt and bound Guevara's hands. Then he radioed his superiors that Che Guevara had been captured. The battle raged on around them, gunfire still echoing off the ravine walls. But for Guevara, it was over. Later that evening, Lieutenant Colonel Andres Celiche paced the dirt floor of a schoolhouse in the nearby village of La Higuera. Che Guevara lay on the floor in front of him, bloody and wounded, his hands and feet bound, and next to him were the dead bodies of two of his comrades. Another man was being held alive in a separate room. Silech had immediately gotten on a helicopter and flown to La Higuera when he heard the soldiers were holding Guevara. His orders were to keep Guevara in custody until it could be decided

if he should live or die. It wasn't an easy decision, so Silech knew he could be there for a while. There was no death penalty in Bolivia, but there also wasn't a prison with strong enough security to hold Guevara if his friends tried to break him out. Killing Guevara would be the most efficient, but Silech knew the Americans might not like that. He was more valuable alive than dead. But Guevara's fate was above Silech's pay grade. For now, Silech was determined to wrest as much information as possible from Guevara's fate was above Solich's pay grade. For now, Solich was determined to wrest as much information as possible from Guevara

about his plans for Bolivia. Solich leaned down and demanded to know why Guevara had targeted Bolivia for his revolution. Why hadn't he gone to his own country of Argentina? Guevara didn't explain, though he acknowledged that maybe Argentina would have been better. But whichever country he started with, Guevara argued that communism was the best form of government for Latin America. Celiche cut him off. He didn't want to hear Guevara's political rubbish.

He argued that Guevara's revolution was doomed and that Bolivians had no desire to fight for communism. He noted that the majority of Guevara's guerrillas were foreigners. Then he asked Guevara his nationality. Was he Cuban or was he Argentine? Guevara answered that he was Cuban, Argentine, Bolivian, Peruvian, Ecuadorian and so on, naming one Latin American nationality after another. Sileach kept pushing. He asked for information on other guerrillas still on the run, but Guevara only gave evasive answers.

Salich wasn't deterred, he was going to keep up this interrogation until he got what he wanted. The next morning, on October 9, 1967, CIA operative Felix Rodriguez was standing outside the schoolhouse where Guevara was being held. His mind was reeling. He'd arrived early with a group of high-ranking Bolivian military officials. When they landed, Rodriguez had gotten straight to work photographing documents that had been

captured with Guevara. This was invaluable information on how the revolutionary leader thought and operated. It would be essential in combating other insurgencies. But moments ago, Colonel Centeno Anagia, the ranking officer on site, had received word that the Bolivian government was ordering Guevara to be executed. This was not what the United States wanted. The U.S. government felt that it would advance their cause further if Guevara was shown

captured and weak, and they still hoped Guevara would reveal more information under interrogation. But Colonel Anagia was preparing to leave and bring the weapons and documents that had been captured to military command. Rodriguez knew that unless Anagia said something to contradict the order, Guevara would soon be executed and turned into a martyr. Rodriguez rushed over to Anaja. He urgently informed him that the United States wanted to keep Guevara alive no matter what. He told the Colonel there were U.S. aircraft standing by.

They could evacuate Guevara to Panama and continue to interrogate him. He would be out of Bolivia's hands so they wouldn't have to worry about his escape. It was a win-win. Rodriguez studied Anaja's face. He knew that many in the Bolivian army agreed that it would be better to keep Guevara alive. Maybe the Colonel thought so too. But after a moment, Anaja shook his head no. He told Rodriguez that he couldn't disobey an order that had come directly from the President of Bolivia and his Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Anaja looked Rodriguez in the eye and told him that he would leave for 90 minutes and he expected Che Guevara to be dead by the time he returned. As Anaja flew away in his helicopter, Rodriguez debated his options. He could disregard the orders and get Guevara out on a US aircraft. Who knew what kind of information the United States would obtain if they were able to properly interrogate Guevara? This could be invaluable information to stop the spread of communism. But whisking Guevara out of the country would risk starting a major international incident

with Bolivia. The Bolivian government despised Guevara for all the soldiers he killed, and they wanted vengeance. Ultimately, Rodriguez decided he couldn't risk defying Inaja. For better or worse, he had to leave this decision in the hands of the Bolivians. They had made their choice that Guevara must die, no matter how much Rodriguez and the American government disagreed. Shortly after the Colonel left, Rodriguez took a deep breath and went back inside the schoolhouse. He might have been proud at one point to kill the Communist revolutionary, but now he looked

at the wounded man and told him he was sorry. He told Guevara he had done everything he could, but orders had come from the highest levels of the Bolivian government. He didn't need to explain what those orders were. Guevara knew. He looked shocked for a moment, but then he nodded. He told Rodriguez it was better this way.

He shouldn't have been captured alive. Guevara asked Rodriguez to pass messages on to Fidel Castro and to his wife. Rodriguez agreed. He was surprised at how emotional he felt. He'd spent much of his adult life hating Guevara at everything he represented. He'd spent months tracking him down through the Bolivian mountains. But seeing an emaciated and wounded Guevara in front of him stirred him. Guevara was facing imminent death and he was handling himself with courage and grace.

Rodriguez found himself almost admiring him. Rodriguez hugged Guevara and stepped outside the schoolhouse where a sergeant named Mario Teran was waiting. He told Rodriguez he was volunteering to be the executioner. His unit had engaged in a firefight with Guevara's men the previous day, and Teran had lost three friends. Teran was here to avenge their deaths. Rodriguez shoved aside any lingering emotions he was feeling. He told Teran that he could only shoot Guevara from the neck down, no shots to the face.

It was imperative that it look like Guevara had been shot in combat, not executed. Teran nodded and entered the schoolhouse. Rodriguez walked up a hill. Moments later he heard a barrage of gunfire ring out. He checked his watch. Che Guevara was killed at 1 10 p.m. on October 9, 1967. At 24, I lost my narrative, or rather it was stolen from me, and the Monica Lewinsky that my friends and family knew was usurped by false narratives, callous jokes, and politics.

I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. So I think listeners can expect me to be chatting with folks, both recognizable and unrecognizable names about the way that people have navigated roads to triumph. My hope is that people will finish an episode of Reclaiming and feel like they filled their tank up. They connected with the people that I'm talking to and leave with maybe some nuggets that help them feel a little more hopeful. Follow Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Reclaiming early and ad-free

right now by joining Wond was back in the United States. Inside CIA headquarters, he laid a Rolex watch on the desk of his superior, who was one of Guevara's, a souvenir of Rodriguez's time in Bolivia. Rodriguez then debriefed his bosses about what had happened after Guevara was executed. He told them how he had flown with Guevara's body on the helicopter to Vallagrande, the closest city. Guevara's corpse was taken to a hospital, where an autopsy was performed. The biggest debate had been what to do with the body.

Bolivian army policy was to disappear the bodies of any guerrillas killed and bury them in unmarked locations. Cuba and Guevara's family doubted the Bolivian reports that Guevara had been killed, so the military wanted to prove that he really was dead. One colonel suggested decapitating Guevara and preserving his head as proof, but Rodriguez had argued that was too barbaric. He advocated that they remove only one finger. The fingerprint could be used to prove it belonged to Guevara. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, and they removed his hands. A pair of Argentine forensic experts compared the fingerprints from the severed hands to

the fingerprints they had on file for Guevara. It was a positive match. Finally, Cuba, Che's family in Argentina, and the rest of the world knew Guevara really was dead. Rodriguez and his colleagues at the CIA held their breath as they waited to see how the world would react. Nine days after Che Guevara's death, his brother-in-arms, Fidel Castro, stood in Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion. He eulogized the dead revolutionary in front of close to a million people who gathered

to mourn. Castro couldn't hide his emotion. This wasn't the Cuban leader, the dictator. This was a man who lost someone important to him. Castro described Guevara as a model human being, the type of person revolutionaries and their children should aspire to be. Castro hailed him as the human embodiment of the revolutionary spirit. Any disagreements they had about the best approach to revolution were irrelevant.

Behind him hung a huge banner with Guevara's portrait. Guevara was bearded with long scraggly hair and a black beret perched on his head. His large brown eyes conveyed his purpose and determination. Castro swore that his fight would go on. Almost immediately after Guevara's death, questions arose about how exactly he had died. Bolivian officials made inconsistent statements to the press about when Guevara had been killed and what kind of wounds he had suffered at the time of his capture.

Very quickly the cover story that Guevara had died in combat was shot full of holes. But the Bolivian government doubled down. On October 16, 1967, a week after Guevara was executed, the armed forces released a report. It officially confirmed that Guevara had died in combat, but it redacted the exact time on both the death certificate and the autopsy report, fueling suspicions that the Bolivian military was hiding the truth. People quickly jumped to the theory that the United States was involved.

Five days after Guevara's death, students at the Central University of Venezuela organized protests at the U.S. Embassy. During the height of the Cold War, it was easy for people to believe that the United States had executed Che Guevara in cold blood. The country's foreign policy was laser-focused on stopping the spread of communism, and Che Guevara was one of its most famous proponents. In the wake of his death and the unanswered questions about it, his armed struggle in Bolivia took on mythic proportions in media accounts and eventually

books. It became a David vs. Goliath story. Guevara was a small idealist going up against the giant of the United States. The truth remained classified for years. It wasn't until the CIA's files were released in the 1990s that many people were surprised by how small a role the United States actually played in Guevara's death. The U.S. hadn't executed him.

They hadn't even wanted it. They left the decision to the Bolivian government. But the U.S. was still involved. The soldier that captured Guevara had been trained by the United States Army, and CIA operatives helped track him down. And in the end, the CIA operative on the scene advised Guevara's executioner about where to shoot him. Guevara had misread the situation in Bolivia. There was no broad support for an armed insurgency, and his ranks never grew beyond 120 people. By the time he was captured, Guevara's mission was largely a failure.

Perhaps the U.S. could have let Guevara's rebellion run its course until it fizzled out, just like his attempted revolution in Africa. If they had, Guevara's name might have only been known to the most ardent students of the Cuban revolution. But instead, Rodriguez was right. Killing Guevara turned him into a martyr. Follow Redacted, declassified mysteries on the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to every episode of Redacted early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. at Wondery.com slash survey. From Ballant Studios in Wondery, this is Redacted, Declassified Mysteries, hosted by me, Luke

Lamanna. A quick note about our stories. We do a lot of research, but some details and scenes are dramatized. We used many different sources for our show, but we especially recommend the books Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life by John Lee Anderson and The Fall of Che by Henry Butterfield Ryan. This episode was written by Austin Raklis, sound design by Andre Plews, our producers are Christopher B. Dunn and John Reed. Ines Renique is our associate producer and researcher, fact checking by Sheila Patterson.

For Ballen Studios, our head of production is Zach Levitt. Script editing by Scott Allen. Our coordinating producer is Samantha Collins. Production support by Avery Siegel. Produced by me, Luke Lamanna. Executive producers are Mr. Ballen and Nick Witters. For Wondery, our senior producers are Loredana Palavota, Dave Schilling, and Rachel Engelman. Senior managing producer is Nick Ryan.

Managing producer is Olivia Fonte. Executive producers are Aaron O'Flaherty and Marshall Louie. For Wondery.