The soldier who captured Che Guevara in Bolivia dies of health complications

Gary Prado Salmón, the soldier who captured Argentine-Cuban guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara in October 1967, has died this Saturday in the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz due to health complications at the age of 84.

“The Lord has just called my father Grail Div SP Gary August Prado Salmon to his Kingdom. He left with his wife and children. He leaves us a legacy of love, honesty and courage. He was an extraordinary person,” his son Gary Prado Araúz posted on social media.

He also thanked all the people who supported his family “in this moment of his agony”, and ended his message with the words “God bless you”.

In statements to Efe, Prado Araúz pointed out that a few months ago his father had “a recurrent infection, due to his disability, (which) was complicated by pneumonia and later (a) kidney failure”, but stressed that “he fought all until the end ».

The character of General Gary Prado Salmon was transcended when, on October 8, 1967, he commanded a patrol that crossed the Churro Gorge in southwestern Bolivia and captured Guevara, who was wounded, and later handed him over to his superiors.

A day later, the Bolivian military acted as instructed to execute Che.

In 1981, the soldier’s life was marked again when an inadvertent shot by a comrade hit his spine.which is why he has been using a wheelchair for movement ever since.

“For him, capturing Che was not the most important thing he did in his life. The most important thing for him was to contribute to the Armed Forces being a democratic institution that respects the Constitution and laws,” said his son.

General Prado was a university professor, ambassador and adviser to former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993), among other positions he held.

Prado Araúz pointed out that his father «He knew prison, exile (and) secrecy fighting for his democratic principles“, he even faced what he considers a “shameful trial” when He had to serve 11 years under house arrest on terrorism charges during the government of Evo Morales (2006-2019).

It was called a “terrorism” case that broke out on April 16, 2009, when police commandos carried out an operation in a hotel in Santa Cruz that resulted in the killing of three foreigners and the arrest of two others, accused of being part of a terrorist cell that allegedly wanted the region to secede. Santa Cruz and the attack on Morales.

Prado Araúz told Efe that his father “left an unfinished memoir” missing the “last chapter” that should describe what he considered an “unfair trial” that ended in 2020 with the acquittal of 12 defendants.

In recent times, the military retiree has devoted himself mainly to writing and conveying his ideas in works such as Sacrificed guerrillawhere he maintains the thesis that the Communist Party of Cuba “sent Che Guevara to die” in Bolivia because they could no longer stand him.

Gary Prado Salmón “was a general of extraordinary temper, nothing broke him, no one deceived him”, concluded his son.