The Bolivian Diary (13 page)

In the early hours of yesterday I heard Marcos telling a compañero to go to hell, and saying it again to someone else during the day. He needs to be spoken to.

Ernestico's birthday: 2.
¹³

An arduous and unproductive day. Very little progress was made, without water because the creek we are following is dry. At 12:00, the
macheteros
were relieved because they were exhausted. At 2:00 in the afternoon it rained a bit and we filled the canteens; a little later we found a small pool of water, and at 5:00 we camped on a ledge beside the water. Marcos and Urbano continued to explore and Marcos returned with the news that the river is only a few kilometers away, but the path by the creek is very bad because it turns into a swamp.

Altitude = 680 meters.

Bad day. We made very little progress and, to make matters worse, Marcos went the wrong way and we lost the whole morning; he had gone off with Miguel and Loro. At 12:00, he communicated this to us, asking for a replacement and a radio, so Braulio, Tuma, and Pacho went. After two hours, Pacho returned saying that Marcos had sent him back because the radio reception was poor. At 4:30 I sent Benigno to tell Marcos that if he had not found the river by 6:00, he should return; after Benigno left, Pacho called me over to tell me that he had had an argument with Marcos, who he said had been domineering while giving orders, threatening him with a machete and hitting him with the handle in the face; when Pacho had come back and told him that he could not go any farther, Marcos
again threatened him with a machete, pushed him around, and ripped his clothes.

Given the seriousness of the incident, I called over Inti and Rolando, who confirmed the bad atmosphere existing in the vanguard because of Marcos's personality, and also reported some insolence on Pacho's part.

I spoke with Marcos and Pacho in the morning, asking for an explanation, and I became convinced that Marcos had insulted and mistreated Pacho, and might have threatened him with the machete, but had not hit him. Pacho, for his part, is prone to insulting others and has an innate tendency to bravado, which has been demonstrated at other times.

I waited until everyone was assembled and talked about the importance of our effort to get to the Rosita; I explained these kinds of deprivations were an introduction to what was in store for us and that because of an inability to adapt to our new circumstances some shameful incidents had arisen, such as had occurred between the two Cubans. I criticized Marcos for his attitude and made it clear to Pacho that another incident like the last would lead to his dishonorable discharge from the guerrilla force. Pacho had first refused to continue with the radio and then had returned without telling me about the incident, and later he had probably lied when he said Marcos had hit him.

I told the Bolivians that if anyone felt unable to continue, they should refrain from using deceitful methods to be discharged; they should come to me and then they could leave the guerrilla force in peace.

We continued walking, trying to reach the Río Grande and then follow its course; we made it and were able to walk along it for just over a kilometer, but then we had to climb away from it because we could not get past a rocky cliff. Benjamín had fallen behind, having difficulties with his backpack and was physically exhausted; when he caught up, I ordered him to continue, which he did for 50 meters; but then he lost the trail on the climb and went on to a ledge to locate it. When I ordered Urbano to help him find the way, he made a sudden movement and fell into the water. He did not know how to swim. The current was so strong he was dragged away as he tried to gain his footing; we ran to save him, but as we were taking off our clothes, he disappeared under the water. Rolando swam toward him and tried to dive under, but the current carried him away. After five minutes we gave up hope. He was a weak lad, not cut out for this at all, but he had a great determination to succeed. The test was beyond him, his physique did not match his will. Now we have had our baptism of death on the banks of the Río Grande, in such an absurd way. We camped at 5:00 in the afternoon without finding the Rosita. We ate the last ration of beans.

After another exhausting day, marching along the riverbank and climbing rocky cliffs, we reached the Rosita River. It is bigger than the Ñacahuazú and smaller than the Masicuri, and its waters are of a reddish hue. We ate the last of our reserve rations and have not seen any signs of life nearby, despite our close proximity to populated areas and roads.

Altitude = 600 meters.

Partial rest day. After breakfast (tea) I gave a brief talk, analyzing the death of Benjamín and telling some stories from the Sierra Maestra. Then the scouts set off to explore: Miguel, Inti, and Loro went up the Rosita, with instructions to walk for three and a half hours, which was what I believed was required to reach the Abapocito River, but this was not the case because there was no path. They found no recent signs of life. Joaquín and Pedro climbed up to the woods ahead of us, but they saw nothing—no path, not even a trace of a path. Alejandro and Rubio crossed the river but did not find a path either, although their search was superficial. Marcos directed the construction of a raft, which, as soon as it was finished, was used to cross at a bend in the river into which the Rosita flows. Five men's backpacks were taken across, but they took Miguel's and left Benigno's, and did the opposite thing with the men themselves. To make matters worse, Benigno left his shoes behind.

The raft could not be recovered and the second one is not finished, so we will wait to cross tomorrow.

Although I have no news of what is happening at the camp, everything is going reasonably well, with some exceptions, fatal in one instance.

From the outside, there is no news of the two men who should have arrived to complete the group; the Frenchman should be in La Paz by now and should come to the camp any day. I have no news of the Argentines or Chino. Messages are being communicated well in both directions. The party's position remains vacillating and two-faced, to say the very least,
although when I speak with the new delegation and hear the latest explanation, this will be clearer.

The march has been going well enough, although it has been seriously affected by the accident that cost Benjamín his life. The men are still weak and not all of the Bolivians are able to hold up; the last few days of hunger have dampened their enthusiasm, which was already obvious after the group was divided.

Of the Cubans, two of those with little experience, Pacho and Rubio, have not responded well. Alejandro has done extremely well; of the old timers, Marcos is a constant headache and Ricardo is not up to speed. The rest are doing well. The next phase will be combat, and that will be decisive.

1
.
A tributary of the Ñacahuazú River.

2
.
Abarcas
are sandals made from hide.

3
.
Honorato Rojas.

4
.
A typical Bolivian meal made of baby corn, similar to tamales.

5
.
A drink made from hot milk, sugar, and liquor.

6
.
Birthday of his father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch.

7
.
Evaristo Caballero was the mayor of Arenales.

8
.
Refers to Humberto Ramírez, a leader in the Bolivian Communist Party. The meeting never took place because military action was triggered and afterward all contact was lost.

9
.
Jules Régis Debray.

10
.
Juan Lechín Oquendo, key leader of the Bolivian Workers Confederation.

11
.
Birthday of his oldest daughter, Hilda Guevara Gadea.

12
.
Birthday of his wife, the revolutionary combatant Aleida March de la Torre.

13
.
Birthday of Ernesto Guevara March, the youngest of his children.

It began to rain at 6:00 in the morning. We postponed crossing the river until it stopped, but the rain got heavier and continued until 3:00 in the afternoon, by which time the river was flooded and we did not think it prudent to try to cross. Now the river is very high, with no sign of ebbing soon. I moved into an abandoned
tapera
¹
to escape the rain and set up a new camp there. Joaquín stayed where he was. At night I was told that Polo finished off his can of milk, and Eusebio had had his milk and sardines, so now, as punishment, they will not eat when the others get their rations. A bad sign.

It was rainy at daybreak and the troops were restless, especially me. The river rose higher still. We decided to leave the camp as soon as the rain stopped and to continue parallel to the river, taking the same trail that had brought us here. We left at 12:00, bringing along a good provision of palm hearts. At 4:30 we stopped, having left our path to follow an old one, which we then lost. No news of the vanguard.

We set off with enthusiasm, walking well, but the hours took their toll and our pace slackened; we had to change paths and walk along higher ground because I was afraid of another accident in the area where Benjamín had fallen. It took us four hours to travel the same distance that had taken less than a half an hour lower down. At 6:00 we reached the bank of the creek where we set up camp; with only two palm hearts left, Miguel and Urbano, and later Braulio, went off to look for some more farther away, returning at 9:00 at night. We ate around midnight; palm hearts and fruit from the
corojo
palm (called
totai
in Bolivia) are saving the day.

Altitude = 600 meters.

Miguel and Urbano left in the morning and cleared the path with machetes all day, returning at 6:00 in the afternoon having progressed about five kilometers and seen a plain we would be able to walk across; but there is no place to camp, so we decided to stay here until the trail can be lengthened. The hunters caught two little monkeys, one parrot, and one pigeon—this was our meal, along with the palm hearts that are abundant by this creek.

Troop morale is low and our physical strength is deteriorating day by day; I am showing signs of edema in my legs.

Joaquín and Braulio went with the
macheteros
in the rain, but they are both weak and did not make much progress. Twelve palm hearts were collected and some small birds were caught,
which allowed us to save the canned food for one more day and to keep the palm hearts for two more days.

A day of intermittent hiking until 5:00 in the afternoon. Miguel, Urbano, and Tuma were the
macheteros.
Some progress was made and in the distance we can see some terrain that might be near the Ñacahuazú. Only a little parrot was caught and this was given to the rear guard. Today we ate palm hearts with meat. We have three very basic meals left.

Altitude = 600 meters.

Four months. The troops are more discouraged with each passing day, seeing the end of our provisions but not of our journey. Today we advanced between four and five kilometers along the riverbank, and finally we found a promising trail. Our meal: three and a half small birds and the rest of the palm hearts. Tomorrow and the next day, it will be canned food alone, one-third per head; after that, milk will be it.

We will need two or three more days to reach the Ñacahuazú.

Altitude = 610 meters.

Day of little walking, full of surprise and tension. At 10:00 in the morning we left the camp without waiting for Rolando, who was hunting. We had only walked an hour and a half when we met up with the
macheteros
(Urbano, Miguel, and Tuma) and the hunters (El Médico [Moro] and Chinchu), who
had caught a whole bunch of parrots, but then saw a water tank across the river and stopped. I went to check out the place after giving the order to set up camp; it appeared to be an oil pumping station. Inti and Ricardo, pretending to be hunters, jumped into the water to have a look. They were fully dressed and tried to make it in two stages, but Inti ran into problems and almost drowned; Ricardo saved him, and finally they made it to the bank, attracting a lot of attention. They failed to make the warning before they disappeared. They had begun to cross at noon, and when I left at 15:15 there was no sign of them. The whole afternoon passed without their return. The last one on guard duty came back at 21:00 and had still not seen any sign of them.