Later Life & Death
Guevara first took the role of President of the National Bank of Cuba and later became the Minister of Industry. He traveled the globe as an ambassador for Cuba and was known for his strong opposition to the United States. Guevara arguably made a significant error by guiding Castro and Cuba towards alignment with the USSR. The result was heavy American sanctions, and the Cuban economy suffered terribly. By now, he was unpopular with many Cuban leaders and he spoke of his desire to spread revolution around the world.
He left Cuba in 1965 and traveled to Africa. After a failed attempt to teach guerrilla warfare tactics to men in the Congo, Guevara returned to Cuba in 1966. However, his lust for revolution took him to Bolivia in December 1966, where he arrived under an assumed name and with a new look. He shaved off his beard and most of his hair in an attempt to pass as a middle-aged businessman from Uruguay. Guevara led Bolivian rebels against the government, but he did not anticipate the intervention of the United States. As a result, government troops were better armed and trained than expected, and Guevara was captured near the village of La Higuera on October 8, 1967. The famed revolutionary was executed the following day in the village.
Legacy
Che Guevara’s legacy depends entirely on how you view the revolutionary in the first place. Certainly, it isn’t a case of black or white; there are many shades of gray when analyzing his life and career. The likes of Nelson Mandela and Jean-Paul Sartre praised him as a lover of freedom, an intellectual, and an inspiration. Novelist Graham Greene viewed him as someone who represented gallantry and chivalry, while various journalists and public figures see him as a role model.
The government he helped overthrow in Cuba was oppressive; as was the Bolivian government that he tried and failed to defeat. His desire to help the poor and oppressed peoples of Central and South America was undeniably genuine, and he believed their freedom should come by any means necessary.
Yet it would be incorrect to overlook his many flaws. There are relatively few books available that openly criticize Guevara. He was equally at home firing a gun as he was administering medicine. Critics suggest that Cubans were even worse off under Castro than during the reign of Batista. Guevara even admitted that it was necessary to become a ‘cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.’ After the Cuban Revolution, Guevara oversaw the purge of Batista’s men as hundreds of people were executed. He is also accused of executing dozens of people without trial.
Ultimately, Che Guevara remains as an icon to some and a murderer to others. After all, one person’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist.