The Bolivian Diary (14 page)

I was very concerned at having two valuable compañeros at risk and no one knew what had happened. We decided that our best swimmers, Alejandro and Rolando, would go over tomorrow to find out.

We ate better than we did other days—despite the lack of palm hearts—because there was an abundance of parrots and the two little monkeys Rolando had killed.

We began preparing for the crossing early, but it was necessary to make a raft, which delayed us considerably. At 8:30 the sentries announced that they had seen half-naked people on the other side, so we postponed the crossing. A little path had been made that led to the other side, but it went through a clearing where we could be seen; we had to cross during the early morning, taking advantage of the fog over the river. Close to 16:00, after an exasperating watch that for me had
lasted since 10:30, our providers (Inti and Chinchu) jumped into the river, ending up far downstream. They brought back pork, bread, rice, sugar, coffee, some canned food, ripe corn, etc. We treated ourselves to a little feast of coffee and bread and authorized the consumption of a can of condensed milk that we had been keeping in reserve. They explained they had shown themselves every hour so that we could see them, but to no avail. Marcos and his people had passed by three days ago and Marcos apparently behaved in his usual manner, showing off his weapons. The engineers at the oil plant did not know exactly how far away the Ñacahuazú is, but they guessed it is about a five-day walk; if that is true then our provisions will be sufficient. The oil pump is part of a pumping installation they are constructing.

We set out at 6:30, walking 45 minutes until we caught up with the
macheteros.
At 8:00 it began to rain, which continued until 11:00. Effectively, we walked three hours, making camp at 5:00. Some hills can be seen that might be the Ñacahuazú. Braulio went scouting and returned with the news that there is a path and the river runs straight to the west.

Altitude = 600 meters.

The day began auspiciously. We walked more than an hour on a perfect trail, but then it suddenly disappeared. Braulio took a machete and struggled onward until he reached a sandy area. We gave him and Urbano some time to clear the way and when we were about to follow them, without warning, rising water
blocked our way as the river rose one or two meters.

We were thus separated from the
macheteros
and forced to clear a path through the woods. We stopped at 13:30 and I sent Miguel and Tuma to find the vanguard and to give them the order to return if they could not get to the Ñacahuazú or another good site.

They returned at 18:00, having walked about three kilometers, until reaching a steep rocky cliff. Apparently, we are close, but these last days will be very difficult if the river does not go down, and this is unlikely. We walked four to five kilometers.

A disagreeable incident arose because the rear guard's sugar supply has run low and the suspicion is that either less was distributed or Braulio has been taking certain liberties. I must talk to him.

Altitude = 610 meters.

We walked the stretch that had been cleared yesterday in an hour and 10 minutes. On catching up to Miguel and Tuma, who had left first, they were already searching for a way around a steep cliff. This took all day; our only activity was to catch four small birds that we ate with rice and mussels. We have two meals left. Miguel stayed on the other side and it seems he has found a way to the Ñacahuazú.

We walked some three to four kilometers.

From 6:30 to noon we scaled the infernal cliffs, following the trail that Miguel had made in a heroic effort. We thought that
we had found the Ñacahuazú when we ran into some bad stretches and made very little progress in five hours. We set up camp in a downpour at 17:00. The men are very tired and a bit demoralized once again. There is only one meal left. We walked some six kilometers but very little of it was worthwhile.

Almost without realizing it, we reached the Ñacahuazú. (I was—am—exhausted, as if a boulder had fallen on me.) The river is rough and no one really wants to try to cross it, but Rolando volunteered and got across easily. He began his trip back to base at exactly 15:20. I expect it will take him two days.

We ate our last meal:
mote
²
with meat, so now we are dependent on what we hunt. At this moment, we have one small bird and have heard three shots. El Médico [Moro] and Inti are out hunting.

Altitude = 600 meters.

We heard parts of Fidel's speech in which he makes blunt criticisms of the Venezuelan communists and harshly attacks the position of the Soviet Union on Latin American puppets.

The center group crossed the river, bringing along Rubio and El Médico [Ernesto] to help us. We thought we could get to the mouth of the Ñacahuazú but we have three men among us who do not know how to swim, and a heavy load. The current
dragged us nearly a kilometer and the raft could not be used to cross again, as was our intention. Eleven of us are now on this side, and tomorrow El Médico [Ernesto] and Rubio will go back across. We caught four sparrow hawks, which was our meal—not as bad as expected. Everything got wet and the skies remain full of rain. The men's morale is low; Miguel has swollen feet and several others have a similar condition.

Altitude = 580 meters.

We decided to eat the horse because swollen feet is now an alarming problem. Miguel, Inti, Urbano, and Alejandro all have various symptoms; I am extremely weak. We made an error in our calculations thinking that Joaquín would cross over here, but he did not. El Médico [Ernesto] and Rubio tried to cross over to help them and were swept downstream and out of sight; Joaquín asked for authorization to cross and I agreed; then his group, too, was lost downstream. I sent Pombo and Tuma to go after them, but they did not find them, returning at night. Since 17:00 we have gorged ourselves with the horsemeat. Tomorrow we will probably suffer the consequences. I estimate that today Rolando should be arriving at the camp.

Message 32 has been completely decoded, reporting the arrival of a Bolivian who will join us, with another load of Glucantine, an antiparasitic medication for leishmania. Up to now we have had no cases.

Another tragedy before our first test in combat. Joaquín turned up mid-morning; Miguel and Tuma had gone to find
him, carrying large pieces of meat. It was a real odyssey: they said they could not control the raft and it was carried down the Ñacahuazú until it struck a whirlpool and overturned several times. The final outcome was that several backpacks were lost, as was almost all the ammunition, six rifles, and one man: Carlos. Carlos was thrown into the whirlpool along with Braulio but they met different fates: Braulio made it to the bank and could see Carlos being dragged under, unable to resist. Joaquín had already reached the shore farther downstream, and did not see him being swept away. Up to now, Carlos was considered the best man of the Bolivians in the rear guard, for his seriousness, discipline, and enthusiasm.

The lost weapons are: a Brno, belonging to Braulio; two M-1s, (Carlos's and Pedro's); three Mausers, (Abel's, Eusebio's, and Polo's). Joaquín informed me that he had seen Rubio and El Médico [Ernesto] on the other side and had ordered them to build a little raft and to return. At 14:00 they showed up with a long tale about their trials and tribulations; they were naked and Rubio was barefoot. Their raft had broken apart in the first whirlpool; they made it to the bank almost at the same place that we had.

Our departure is set for early tomorrow and Joaquín will leave at midday. I hope to have more news tomorrow during the course of the day. The morale of Joaquín's troops seems good.

We took off early, leaving Joaquín to finish digesting his food and to cure his half of the horsemeat; he had instructions to leave when they felt strong enough.

I had a struggle to maintain a certain reserve of meat against the wishes of those who wanted to finish it off. By mid-morning, Ricardo, Inti, and Urbano had fallen behind and we had to wait for them, although I had intended to rest only when we reached the camp from where we had begun. In any event, we are not traveling very well.

At 14:30 Urbano showed up with a
urina
³
Ricardo caught, which gave us some comfort and a reserve of horse ribs. At 16:30 we arrived at what should have been the halfway point, and we slept there. Several men are lagging behind and in bad moods: Chinchu, Urbano, and Alejandro.

In the morning those of us in the lead made headway; we stopped at 11:00 as agreed, but once again Ricardo and Urbano, and this time Alejandro, too, fell behind. They arrived at 13:00 with another
urina
also caught by Ricardo; Joaquín was with them. There was an incident in which words were exchanged between Joaquín and Rubio, and I had to be harsh with Rubio without being certain he was guilty.

I decided to proceed to the creek in any case, but a small plane was circling overhead, which was hardly a good sign; furthermore, I was worried about the lack of news coming from the base camp. I thought that the stretch would take longer, but despite the low energy of the troops, we arrived at 17:30. We were received there by the Peruvian doctor, Negro,
⁴
who had come with Chino and the telegraph operator.
⁵
He told us that
Benigno was waiting for us with food, that two of Guevara's men had deserted,
⁶
and that the police had raided the farm. Benigno explained he had left to meet us with the food and had crossed paths with Rolando three days ago. Benigno spent two days at this place but did not want to go farther because the army could be advancing down the river, as the small plane had been circling for three days. Negro had witnessed the attack on the farm by six men. Neither Antonio nor Coco were there: Coco had gone to Camiri to find another group of Guevara's men and Antonio had left immediately afterwards to warn him about the desertion. I received a long report from Marcos (D. VIII) in which he explains his actions in his own way; he had gone to the farm against my express orders. There were also two reports from Antonio explaining the situation. (D. IX and X.)

At the base camp now are the Frenchman, Chino, his compañeros, Pelado, Tania, and Guevara with the first part of his group. After eating a sumptuous dinner of rice, beans, and
urina,
Miguel went to look for Joaquín, who has not yet turned up, and to find Chinchu, who is lagging yet again. Miguel returned with Ricardo, and Joaquín showed up at dawn; now we are all together here.

We started out at 10:00, making good time; Benigno and Negro went ahead with a message for Marcos putting him in charge of defense and to leave administrative matters to Antonio.
Joaquín left after having concealed our tracks leading to the creek, but he took his time; he brought back three barefoot men. We were taking a long break at 13:00 when Pacho appeared with a message from Marcos. This message expanded on information in the first one from Benigno, but was now more complicated, because apparently the guards, 60 of them, had come along Vallegrandino's path and had seized one of our messengers, Salustio, one of Guevara's men. They took one mule and we lost the jeep. There was no news from Loro, who had been watching the little house. We decided to continue on, in any case, to Oso Camp [Bear Camp], so named because a bear had been killed there. We sent Miguel and Urbano to prepare food for the hungry troops and we ourselves arrived at nightfall. Dantón, Pelao, and Chino were at the camp, along with Tania and a group of Bolivians who used the
góndola
to bring food and then left. Rolando had been sent to organize the withdrawal of everything; a climate of defeat prevailed. A little later a Bolivian doctor who had recently joined us arrived with a message for Rolando, stating that Marcos and Antonio were at the water hole, and that he should go there to talk to them. I sent the same messenger back to tell them that war is won by bullets, and that they should return immediately to the camp and wait for me there. Everything gives the impression of utter chaos; no one knows what to do.

I had an initial talk with Chino. He asked for $5,000 every month for 10 months; in Havana they had told him to come and discuss it with me. He brought a message that Arturo could not decode because it was very long. I told him I agreed in principle, provided that in six months they take up arms. He thinks he will need 15 men, with him as leader in the Ayacucho
area. We agreed, furthermore, that he would get five men now and 15 more after a period of time, and they would be sent with weapons after having been trained in combat. He should send me a pair of medium-range transmitters (40 miles) and we will work out a code to use for keeping in permanent contact. He seems very enthusiastic.

He also brought several reports from Rodolfo that are already out-of-date. We heard that Loro was back, saying he had killed a soldier.

I spent the day in talks and discussions with Chino, going over some points, and with the Frenchman, Pelao, and Tania. The Frenchman brought news we had already heard about Monje, Kolle, Simón Reyes, etc. He came to stay, but I asked him to go back and organize a support network in France, stopping first in Cuba, which coincides with his desire to get married and to have a child with his compañera. I must write letters to Sartre
⁷
and B. Russell
⁸
so they can organize international support for the Bolivian liberation movement. He should also talk to a friend who will organize all channels of support, fundamentally financial, medical, and electronic—the latter in the form of an electrical engineer and equipment.

Pelao, of course, is ready to receive my orders and I proposed to him that he act as a kind of a coordinator, working for now only with the groups led by Jozami, Gelman, and Stamponi,
and sending me five men to begin training. He is to send my greetings to María Rosa Oliver
⁹
and the old man.
¹⁰
I will give him 500 pesos to send off and 1,000 to get around with. If they accept, they should begin exploratory activities in northern Argentina and send me a report.