The Bolivian Diary Read online

  Bigotes got his jeep out with the help of Algarañaz and went to buy a few things, such as pigs and chickens.

  I was thinking of writing down the latest developments, but I will leave that for next week, when we expect the second group to arrive.

  November 9

  An uneventful day. With Tumaini, we explored the area following the course of the Ñacahuazú River (in reality, a creek),6 but we did not find its source. It runs through a steep gully that is apparently mostly deserted. With appropriate discipline, we could be there for some time.

  In the afternoon, heavy rain forced us to leave the undergrowth and head toward the house. I removed six ticks from my body.

  November 10

  Pachungo and Pombo went off exploring the area with one of the Bolivian compañeros, Serafín. They went a bit farther than we had and found the fork in the creek, in a little gully that seems to be good. When they returned, they hung around the house and Algarañaz’s driver saw them when he brought back the men and the purchases they had made. I blew my top, and we decided to move to the undergrowth tomorrow, where we will make a permanent camp. Tumaini can be seen, because they already know him and they will think he is just another farmhand. Everything is deteriorating rapidly; we have to see if we can at least get our men here. I will be more relaxed when they are here.

  November 11

  We spent an uneventful day at the new camp, on the other side of the house where we sleep.

  The insect plague is a torment, and we have to shelter in our hammocks with mosquito nets (which only I have).

  Tumaini went to visit Algarañaz and bought some things from him: chickens and turkeys. It seems he does not have too many suspicions yet.

  November 12

  A day with nothing new. We explored the area briefly to prepare the land where we will set up our camp when the six from the second group arrive. The place chosen is 100 meters from the clearing, on a rise and close to a hollow where we could dig caves to store food and other things. By now, the first of the three groups from the two divisions of the party should be arriving. At the end of the coming week, they should make it to the farm. My hair is growing, although very sparsely, and the gray hairs are turning blond and beginning to disappear; my beard is returning. In a few months, I will be myself again.

  November 13

  Sunday. Some hunters went past our place—farmhands working for Algarañaz. They are backwoodsmen, young, single, and ideal recruits, who have an intense hatred for their boss. They told us that by the river eight leagues away, there are houses and some ravines with water. Nothing else of note.

  November 14

  A week at the camp. Pachungo is unhappy and finding it hard to adapt, but he should get over it soon. Today we began to dig a tunnel to hide anything that might be compromising. We will cover it with sticks and grass to keep it as dry as possible. First, we dug a hole one and a half meters deep, and from there began digging the tunnel.

  November 15

  We are still working on the tunnel: in the morning Pombo and Pachungo, and in the afternoon Tumaini and me. By the time we stopped working at 6:00, we had already dug two meters. We think we will finish it tomorrow and be able to place everything compromising in there. During the night, the rain forced me out of my hammock, which got wet because the nylon cover is too small. Nothing else worth mentioning.

  November 16

  The tunnel is finished and camouflaged; now we only have to conceal the path; we will move things to our little house and tomorrow store them away, covering the opening with branches and mud. The diagram of the tunnel, known as No. 1, is in Document I.7 The rest was uneventful; from tomorrow it is reasonable to expect news from La Paz.

  November 17

  The tunnel is filled with the articles that could be compromising for those staying in the house, along with some canned food; it is quite well hidden.

  Nothing new from La Paz. The lads from the house spoke with Algarañaz, from whom they bought some supplies, and he insisted again that he be included in the cocaine factory.

  November 18

  No news from La Paz. Pachungo and Pombo went back to explore the creek, but are not convinced that this would be the best place for the camp. On Monday, we will explore the area with Tumaini. Algarañaz came to repair the track used to carry rocks up from the river; he spent quite some time doing this. It seems he is not suspicious about our presence here. Everything continues monotonously; the mosquito and tick bites are getting infected and turning into bothersome sores. It is starting to get a little chilly in the early morning.

  November 19

  No news from La Paz. No news here; we spent Saturday lying low, as it is the day the hunters are around.

  November 20

  Marcos and Rolando arrived at noon. Now we are six. Immediately, they began to tell us stories from their trip; they were late because they received our message a week ago. They still came faster than anyone else, via São Paulo. We do not expect the other four to arrive before next week.

  Rodolfo came too and made a good impression on me. Apparently he is even more willing than Bigotes to break completely from everything. Papi had told both him and Coco that I was here, violating instructions; it seems to have been a case of jealousy of authority. I wrote to Manila8 with some recommendations (Documents I and II), and to Papi, answering his questions. Rodolfo went back at dawn.

  November 21

  First day of the expanded group. It rained heavily, and we were drenched as we moved to our new location. We are now settled. The tent turned out to be a canvas tarp used for trucks; it leaks, but gives some protection. We have hammocks with nylon covers. More weapons have arrived; Marcos has a Garand, and Rolando will be given an M-1 from the cache. Jorge stayed with us, but in the house; he is directing the work there to improve the farm. I asked Rodolfo for an agronomist who can be trusted. We will try to keep up this front for as long as possible.

  November 22

  Tuma, Jorge, and I walked along the river (Ñacahuazú) to inspect the creek we had discovered. The river was unrecognizable after the rain from the day before, and it took a lot of effort to get to where we wanted—a little rivulet that is concealed just where it meets the river. With proper preparation, it could be a permanent camp. We returned just after 9:00. Nothing new here.

  November 23

  We set up a lookout from where we can watch the little house at the farm so that we will be alerted if there is an inspection or some unwelcome visitor. As two men left to scout the area, the rest of us did three hours’ sentry duty. Pombo and Marcos explored the terrain extending from our camp to the creek, which is still flooded.

  November 24

  Pacho and Rolando left to explore the creek; they should be back tomorrow.

  At night, two of Algarañaz’s farmhands stopped by while “taking a walk.” It was an unusual visit. Nothing strange happened, but Antonio was still out exploring, as was Tuma, who officially lives at the house. Reason given: hunting.

  Aliucha’s9 birthday.

  November 25

  News came from the lookout that a jeep with two or three passengers was approaching. They turned out to be part of an antimalaria campaign and left immediately after taking blood samples. Pacho and Rolando came back very late at night. They had found the creek that was on the map; they had also followed the river until they found some abandoned fields.

  November 26

  Because it was Saturday, we all stayed in our quarters. I asked Jorge to explore the riverbed on horseback to see how far it went; the horse was not around, so he went on foot to ask Don Remberto10 for one of his (20 to 25 kilometers away). By nightfall he had still not returned. No news from La Paz.

  November 27

  Jorge still has not returned. I gave the order to maintain a watch all night, but at 9:00 the first jeep arrived from La Paz. Coco brought Joaquín, Urbano, and Ernesto, a Bolivian medical student who will stay with us. Coco left and returned later with Ricardo, Braulio,
and Miguel, and another Bolivian, Inti, who also will stay. There are now 12 insurgents, with Jorge acting as owner; Coco and Rodolfo will be in charge of making contacts. Ricardo brought an unfortunate message: Chino is in Bolivia and wants to send 20 men and come to see me. This is inadvisable because it would internationalize the struggle before we can count on Estanislao’s support. We agreed that Chino could go to Santa Cruz where Coco would pick him up to bring him here. Coco left at dawn with Ricardo, who took the other jeep to carry on to La Paz. Coco will go by Remberto’s place to see what happened with Jorge. During my first conversation with Inti, he told me he did not think that Estanislao would join the struggle, but Inti himself seemed determined to cut ties.

  November 28

  In the morning Jorge had still not shown up, and Coco had not come back either. Later they returned; all that had happened was that he had stayed with Remberto.

  Rather irresponsible. In the afternoon, I met with the Bolivian group to discuss the Peruvian offer to send 20 men; everyone agreed they should be sent, but after the action had begun.

  November 29

  We went to check out the river and to explore the creek that will be the site of our next camp. Tumaini, Urbano, Inti, and I made up the group. The creek is quite safe, but very muddy. We will try to look for another one that is an hour away. Tumaini had a fall and apparently fractured his ankle. We reached the camp at night, after taking some measurements at the river. No news here; Coco left for Santa Cruz to wait for Chino.

  November 30

  Marcos, Pacho, Miguel, and Pombo set off with instructions to explore a creek farther away; they should be gone for two days. Heavy rains. Nothing new at the house.

  Analysis of the month

  Everything has gone quite well; my arrival was without incident; half the troops have arrived, also without incident, although they were somewhat delayed; Ricardo’s main collaborators are joining the struggle, come what may. The general outlook seems good in this remote region and everything indicates that we could be here for practically as long as necessary. The plans are: to wait for the rest of the troops, increase the number of Bolivians to at least 20, and then commence operations. We still need to see how Monje reacts and how Guevara’s people conduct themselves.

  1.Ciro Algarañaz Leigue was the owner of the Pincal farm, the nearest farm to the area used as the first guerrilla base.

  2.This refers to Apolinar Aquino Quispe (Apolinario, Apolinar, or Polo); Serapio Aquino Tudela (Serapio or Serafín); and Antonio Domínguez Flores (Antonio or León).

  3.Small insect, similar to a gnat.

  4.Insect smaller than a mosquito, but with a more irritating bite.

  5.A yellow insect with large wings.

  6.Known also as the Ñacaguazu, which has various spellings throughout the diary, including Ñacahuasi, Ñacahuasu, Ñacahuazú, Ñancahuazu, and Ñancahuazú, Ñacahuasú, Ñancahuasú, and Ñacahuaso.

  7.Not all documents referred to in the diary are included here.

  8.Code used to refer to Cuba.

  9.Aleida Guevara March, his second daughter.

  10.Don Remberto Villa, owner of the Ñacahuazú farm, who sold it to Roberto Peredo (Coco).

  DECEMBER 1966

  December 1

  The day passed uneventfully. Marcos and his compañeros returned at night, their trip having lasted longer than it should have, roaming around the hills. At 2:00, I was told that Coco arrived with a compañero;1 I will leave it for tomorrow.

  December 2

  Chino arrived early, quite effusive. We spent the day chatting. The substance is: he will go to Cuba to inform them in person of the situation, and that five Peruvians can join us in two months, after we see some action. Two will come now to stay for a while: a radio technician and a doctor. Chino asked for weapons and I agreed to give him a BZ, some Mausers, and grenades; and I will purchase an M-1 for them. I also decided to assist them in sending five Peruvians, who would establish the necessary connections for sending arms to a region near Puno, on the other side of the Titicaca. He told me about his troubles in Peru, including a daring plan to free Calixto,2 which seems unrealistic to me. He thinks that some survivors of the guerrilla movement are active in that area, but he is not certain because no one has been able to make it there to see.

  The rest of the conversation was anecdotes. He said goodbye with the same enthusiasm he had when he arrived; he took some of our photos with him to La Paz. Coco has been instructed to organize the contacts with Sánchez3 (whom I will see later) and to contact the head of the president’s information office, who is Inti’s brother-in-law and who has offered to help. The network is still in its infancy.

  December 3

  Uneventful. There were no scouting expeditions because it is Saturday. The three farmhands went to Lagunillas to run errands.

  December 4

  Uneventful. Everyone is quiet since it is Sunday. I give a little talk about our approach to the Bolivians who will be coming and about the war.

  December 5

  Uneventful. We were thinking of going out, but the day was a washout. There was a minor false alarm when Loro fired a few shots without warning.

  December 6

  We set out to begin work on the second cave at the first creek. This was Apolinar, Inti, Urbano, Miguel, and me. Miguel came to replace Tuma, who has still not recovered from his fall. Apolinar has requested to join the guerrilla unit, but first he wants to straighten out some things in La Paz; I told him it was ok, but that he should wait a while. Around 11:00 we got to the creek, we made a camouflaged path, and searched for a suitable place for the cave; but it is all rock and the creek dries up at one point, continuing through steep banks of solid rock. We gave up the exploration until tomorrow; Inti and Urbano went off to hunt deer because our food supply is very limited and has to last until Friday.

  December 7

  Miguel and Apolinar found a suitable place and devoted themselves to digging the tunnel, but the tools are inadequate. Inti and Urbano returned empty-handed, but at nightfall Urbano shot a turkey with an M-1. As we already had food prepared, we have left it for tomorrow’s breakfast. Today, in fact, completes our first month here, but for the sake of convenience I will give the summaries at the end of each month.

  December 8

  With Inti, we went to a ridge that overlooks the creek. Miguel and Urbano continued digging the shaft. In the afternoon, Apolinar relieved Miguel. Nightfall brought Marcos, Pombo, and Pacho, who was falling behind and very tired. Marcos asked me if I could remove him from the vanguard if he did not improve. I marked down the path to the cave that is drawn in Diagram No. 2. I left them with the most important tasks to perform during their stay. Miguel will stay with them and we will return tomorrow.

  December 9

  We came back slowly in the morning, arriving close to 12:00. Pacho was given orders to stay behind when the group returns. We tried to make contact with Camp 2, but failed. There is no other news.

  December 10

  The day passed uneventfully, except for the first batch of bread baked in the house. I spoke with Jorge and Inti about some urgent tasks. No news from La Paz.

  December 11

  The day passed uneventfully, but at night Coco turned up with Papi. He brought Alejandro, Arturo, and Carlos, a Bolivian. As usual, the other jeep remained on the road. Later they brought the doctor, Moro; Benigno; and two Bolivians, both Cambas4 from the Caranavi farm.5 We spent the night engaged in the usual conversation about the trip and talked about the absence of Antonio and Félix, who should have been here by now. A discussion with Papi led to the decision that he should make two more trips to bring Renán and Tania. We will dispose of the [safe] houses and empty the caches to give $1,000 to Sánchez, who will keep the van. We will sell a jeep to Tania and keep the other one. We need to make an arms run; I gave the order that everything be transported in one jeep to avoid switching from one to another and being spotted doing so. Chino left for Cuba, apparently very enthusiastic,
and wants to return here when he comes back. Coco stayed to get food in Camiri, and Papi left for La Paz. A dangerous incident occurred: the Vallegrandino,6 a hunter, discovered some footprints; he saw our tracks, apparently spotted one of us, and found a glove Pombo had dropped. This changes our plans and we should be more careful. The Vallegrandino will go off tomorrow with Antonio to show him where he sets his traps to catch tapirs. Inti let me know his reservations about the student Carlos, who began to talk about Cuba’s participation as soon as he arrived, and he had already said he would not take up arms if the party did not participate. Inti said that Rodolfo had sent him here, but that there had been a misunderstanding.

  December 12

  I spoke to the whole group, taking them to task about the reality of war. I emphasized the importance of a united command and discipline, and I warned the Bolivians of the responsibility they would bear in violating the discipline of the party’s line by adopting another one. I made the following assignments: Joaquín as military second in command; Rolando and Inti as political commissars; Alejandro as head of operations; Pombo, services; Inti, finances; Ñato, provisions and armaments; and Moro, medical services, for the moment.