Che Guevara Executed: Bolivia Ends a Revolutionary
Bolivian soldiers captured Ernesto 'Che' Guevara on October 8, 1967, after his guerrilla column was ambushed in a ravine near La Higuera. He was held overnight in a one-room schoolhouse. The next morning, Sergeant Mario Teran was ordered to execute him. Guevara reportedly told him 'Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.' Teran fired nine shots. The Bolivian government displayed Guevara's body to journalists, and a photograph by Freddy Alborta became one of the most reproduced images of the twentieth century. His hands were amputated and preserved as proof of identity. Guevara's guerrilla campaign in Bolivia had been a failure: he recruited fewer than 50 fighters, received no support from local communities or the Bolivian Communist Party, and was isolated from resupply for months.
October 9, 1967
59 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 9
Pepin the Short died in 768 and split his kingdom between his two sons. Carloman got the center. Charlemagne got a crescent of territory wrapping around it — ha…
Leif Erikson sailed west from Greenland around 1000 AD and established a Norse settlement at a place he called Vinland. The sagas describe three areas he explor…
James I of Aragon captured the city of Valencia from the Almohad Caliphate, ending five centuries of Islamic rule in the region. By establishing the Kingdom of …
Alfonso X of Castile captured the strategic city of Jerez, ending over five centuries of Muslim rule in the region. This victory dismantled a key stronghold of …
The Prague astronomical clock was first mentioned in 1410, making it the oldest working clock of its kind. It displays Babylonian time, Old Czech time, German t…
King Sejong published hangul, an alphabet designed from scratch for Korean. The writing system before that was Chinese characters, which took years to master an…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.