Che Guevara's Final Adventure The Guerilla in Bolivia, 1967

Che Guevara’s Final Adventure: The Guerrilla in Bolivia 1967 is a detailed military history of the final campaign of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, as he commanded the Ejércitode Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army, ELN) of Bolivia in a doomed campaign against the US-backed military regime headed by Air Force General René Barrientos.

Following a failed campaign to bring his brand of revolution to Africa, and acting with the blessing of Fidel Castro (possibly to distance Castro from Guevara), in 1966 and 1967 Argentine-born Ernesto Guevara – known around the world as ‘Che’ – would lead the Cuban-backed National Liberation Army in the Ñancahuazú region of Bolivia, in what was known as the Ñancahuazú Guerrilla. Believing that Bolivia was ripe for revolution following the overthrow of former president Víctor Paz Estenssoro in November 1964, Guevara thought that the US would not move to support President Barrientos.

Guevara’s guerrillas obtained some initial success early in their campaign before the Bolivian army and security forces, having now received training and support from the US Special Forces, began a relentless pursuit, supported by aircraft of the Bolivian air force. In a campaign typical of the brutal guerilla wars fought in South America in this era, the guerillas were hemmed in and killed in action, or often summarily executed following capture, interrogation and torture. In October 1967, Guevara shared this latter fate.

Che Guevara’s Final Adventure: The Guerrilla in Bolivia 1967 provides a detailed military history of the last campaign of a figure who even today remains an instantly recognisable, if divisive, icon of the left-wing revolutionary movements of the Cold War era. This work is illustrated throughout with original photographs and includes specially commissioned colour artworks.