End Of Che Guevara's Life Without Hands And Tombstones In Today's History, October 8, 1967

Che Guevara (Fred Alborta / Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - On October 8, 1967, the Bolivian guerrilla forces led by the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara lost a skirmish with a special detachment of the Bolivian army. Guevara was injured, captured and executed the next day. He was killed without trial, the soldiers then cut off his hand as proof of his death.

Since his death, Guevara has become a legendary political figure. His name is synonymous with rebellion, revolution and socialism. But on the other hand, many people consider him cruel and carry out the execution of prisoners without trial in Cuba.

Guevara believes that people who act can revolutionize a nation. He played a key role in the Cuban Revolution of 1956-1959 and encouraged Cuban President Fidel Castro to pursue an anti-American communist agenda.

Citing Biography, Guevara was born into a middle-class family on June 14, 1928 in Rosario, Argentina. He had asthma in his youth but managed to become an athlete.

Guevara absorbed the left-leaning political views of his family and friends. By his teenage years, he had become politically active. Guevara joined a group that opposed Juan Perón's government.

After graduating from high school with honors, Guevara studied medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. But in 1951 he left school to travel around South America with a friend.

Che Guevara (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The poor living conditions he witnessed during his nine-month journey had a profound effect on Guevara. He then returned to medical school, intending to provide care for the needy. He graduated from medical school in 1953.

However, Guevara decided to leave medicine as his interest in Marxism grew. He believed that only revolution could bring justice to the people of South America. In 1953, he traveled to Guatemala, where he witnessed the overthrow of the CIA-backed leftist government. This deepened his belief.

In 1955, Guevara married and lived in Mexico, where he met Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl, who were plotting to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. Their small army landed in Cuba on December 2, 1956. Over the next few years, Guevara became Fidel Castro's main adviser and led a growing guerrilla force in attacks against the overthrown Batista regime.

Che big role

Castro succeeded in taking over Cuba in January 1959, placing Guevara in charge of La Cabaña prison, where hundreds of people were executed on Guevara's extra-judicial orders. Guevara was later appointed president of the national bank and minister of industry. He also did a lot to help the country's transformation into a communist state.

In the early 1960s, Guevara served as ambassador to Cuba, traveling the world establishing relations with other countries, most notably the Soviet Union. Guevara was also a key player during the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also wrote a directive manual on guerrilla warfare. In 1964, Guevara delivered a speech at the United Nations in which he condemned the foreign policy of the United States (US) and apartheid in South Africa.

Che Guevara (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In 1965, Guevara left office to export his revolutionary ideology to other parts of the world. At that time, Cuba's economy was in disarray. He made his first trip to the Congo to train troops in guerrilla warfare in support of a revolution there but failed.

After returning briefly to Cuba, Guevara left for Bolivia with a small force of rebels to instigate a revolution there. But his efforts failed. He was captured by the Bolivian army and eventually executed. Citing a biography entitled 'Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life,' Guevara gave the last words to the soldiers who were ordered to execute him.

"I know you came to kill me," he said. "Shoot, you just killed a man."

Before being secretly buried in a mass grave, Bolivian soldiers laid his emaciated body and displayed it for the media in the village of Vallegrande, Bolivia. His body was placed in a hospital laundry sink and his photos were published internationally.

*Read other information about TODAY's HISTORY or read other interesting articles from Putri Ainur Islam.

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