Fearless Defender of Justice

  January 05, 2022   Read time 1 min
Fearless Defender of Justice
Guevara arrived in November 1966, entering the country clean shaven, almost entirely bald, and traveling on phony documents provided with Tania's help. By the end of January, all was prepared.

"Now is when the actual guerrilla period begins," he said; "we shall test the troops, and time will tell the results and what the prospects of the Bolivian Revolution are." In March, Debray and Bustos arrived in camp to plan ways to help create and spread the South American rebellion. Debray was to serve as a courier to Cuba on his way back to France and then to encourage support in Europe. Bustos was to help organize support and insurrection in Argentina, just as the Peruvian Juan Pablo Chang Navarro, code-named El Chino, was to do in Peru.

Castro suggested that Debray actually join the band; the Frenchman said he wanted to comply but Guevara needed his services elsewhere. Guevara's diary, however, casts doubt on the strength of Debray's ambition to be a guerrilla. As Guevara noted, with the discovery of Tania's jeep, departure became very difficult. Then he added wryly, "I received the impression that Danton [Debray] was not the least bit pleased when I told him so." The next day, Guevara again made Debray the subject of his ironic turn of phrase, saying, "El Frances was too vehement when he mentioned how useful he could be outside." Meanwhile, no one had ever suggested that Bustos stay, least of all Bustos himself.

Debray remained with the guerrillas a few weeks until the band could get him out. Guevara decided to move toward Muyupampa and if possible send Debray and Bustos off from there toward Sucre and Cocha bamba. Unfortunately for them all, on the night of April 16 one of the Bolivians in the group disappeared, and Guevara feared that he intended to betray the band. Still, he said, "it was decided to depart in spite of everything so as to get El Frances and Carlos [Bustos] out once and for all."


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