LAPAZ REPORT CONFIRMS DEATH OF 'CHE' GUEVARA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP69B00369R000200270028-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: October 10, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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Approved For Release 2003/0IUQZ: B 69B00369R000200270028-5
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By JEREMIAH O'LEARY
Latin America Writer of The Star' li
1 Ernesto "Che" Guevara has
l been killed by the Bolivian
;Army, it was announced today
in Las Paz.
! The death of Fidel Castro's
longtime guerrilla leader was
reported to officials in La Paz
late yesterday by Col. Joaquin
Zenteno Anaya, commander of
the Bolivian Army's 8th Divi-
Sion.
Zenteno said the body of one of
seven guerrillas shot and killed
in a battle Sunday has been
identified as that of Guevara.
The army chief of staff, Col.
Marcos Vasquez Sempertegui,
said, "Official reports from Val-
legrande affirm Guevara was
killed and that his body is now
with the Bolivian army." But
he said this was not conclusive
proof.
An erred fgrggg _ ?llllllllFii ug
iron La Paz confirmed today
Guevara has been killed by
rillas were slain with him. Of
the seven, three were Cubans,
one a Bolivian and. two were
unidentified.
The battle was in mountainous
country near Higueras, about
300 miles southeast of La Paz.
The guerrillas' bodies were tak-
en to Vallegrande.
Gen. Alfredo Ovando Candia,
chief of the Bolivian armed
forces, left the Bolivian capital
last night for Valegrande to
check the report. The Army in
vited reporters to fly to Val-
legrande today, presumably to
view the body.
Two Bolivian newsmen were.
quoted this morning in Valle
grande as saying they had "no
doubt" the corpse was that of
Guevara. There was no indi-
cation on what they based their
identification.
The newsmen said they had
?epll the- ~sdy in the morsgltg
and that it bOi'd bullet Wounds
in the throat and body, and that
"positive"
U.S.-trained Bolivian army although they were
forces. It said six other guer-;the body was that of Guevara,
he appeared to have lost weight
since his last pictures. Guevara
reportedly had been suffering
from both asthma and arthritis.
Officials here said they were
awaiting positive identification
.-comparing fingerprints with
the known prints of Guevara.
There have been a number of
recent reports that Guevara was
dead, but U.S. officials put a lot
more stock in yesterday's. Part
of their reasoning is that the
Bolivians have learned a lot
about the guerrilla force, and
that Bolivia would suffer a major
propaganda setback if the death
report is later proved false.
Guevara, a 39-year-old Argen-
tine, disappeared about two
years ago. His death could be a
major blow to Castro-style guer-
rillas throughout Latin America.
The Battle
men. At this session, Barrientos,
revealed first details of the,
encounter and mentioned the
possibilty that Guevara might
have been captured or slain.
Later in the day, Gen. Ovando'
strenghtened the report, telling
reporters, "the Reds lost five :'j
men among whom, presumably,
is Ernesto Che Guevara ... I
hope to God it's true."
Before leaving La Paz for the
scene last night, Ovando said the :.
Army is on the track of a second
guerrilla group which tried to be i
a decoy to pull government'.
troops away from the unit pre-
sumably led by Guevara. It was
Ovando who announced on Sept.
24 that the 4th and 8th Army'
Divisions were closing in on the.'
guerrilla group led by Com-
mandante Ramon, the pseud-
onym Guevara was reported
using in Bolivia. .
Bolivian Foreign Minister
Walter Guevara Arze, at a
meeting of the Organization of
American States here ? last-,
month, released a group of plio-
tographs, documents and fin-
gerprints which he -said had
been found in caves used by the
guerrillas near Camiri and
established Guevara's presence
among them.
It was generally believed that
Guevara was dead, perhaps as a
result of a dispute with Castro,
when he first vanished, in Ha-
vana in mid-1965. Subsequently,
he was reported in a score 0!
knowledge of his whereabouts.
The guerrilla casualties oc-
curred during a four-hour fire
fight with Bolivian soldiers Sun-
day about four miles northwest
of Higueras, in the general area
of Camiri, where the insurgents
were first discovered last
spring
One Bolivian military source
.said Guevara was mortally
wounded in the battle and talked
with his captors before he died.
First word that Guevara may
have met a violent end began to
seep out of the Boliviaann,capitol Approved For Release " e ro's"hci
background meeting with news