Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Ernesto Che Guevara de la Serna was born on June 14, 1928, in the city of Rosario, Argentina. He studied medicine in Buenos Aires and, after obtaining his degree, traveled extensively throughout Latin America. While living in Guatemala in 1954, under the elected government of Jacobo Árbenz, he became involved in political action and witnessed the CIA-organized operation to overthrow this government. He was forced to leave Guatemala because his life was threatened and moved to Mexico. In mid-1955, he met Fidel Castro and joined the group of rebels Castro was organizing to fight the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. In December 1956, Guevara participated in the mission that left for Cuba on the yacht "Granma," aiming to start the armed struggle in the Sierra Maestra. Initially serving as a doctor for the troops, Guevara became one of the commanders of the Revolutionary Army in July 1957. In 1958, Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos led guerrilla battalions and managed to expand the operations of the Revolutionary Army on Cuban soil. At the end of 1958, Guevara led the revolutionary forces to victory in the Battle of Santa Clara, one of the most decisive battles of the war. After Batista's fall on January 1, 1959, Guevara assumed significant positions in the revolutionary government. He became one of Cuba's primary representatives abroad and, as the head of delegations, spoke many times at the United Nations and other international organizations. In April 1965, Guevara left Cuba to directly participate in other revolutionary struggles. He spent several months in the Congo and secretly returned to Cuba in December of the same year. In November 1966, he arrived in Bolivia, where he led a group of guerrillas in the fight against the country's military dictatorship. He was wounded and captured on October 8, 1967, by the Bolivian army, which had been trained and supported by Washington. Guevara was killed the following day.