The Bolivian Diary (9 page)

Loro did not leave me the maps that the scout had made, so I was left without knowing what type of road there is to Yuqui. We started out in the morning and made our way without any setbacks. We will try to have everyone here for the 24th, the day we plan to have a party.

We crossed paths with Pacho, Miguel, Benigno, and Camba who were in charge of carrying the equipment. At 5:00 in the afternoon, Pacho and Camba returned without the equipment, which they had left hidden in the woods because it was so heavy. Five men from here will go tomorrow to retrieve it. The supply cave has been completed; tomorrow we will start one for the radio.

We started work on the cave for the radio operator. At first, we had a lot of success with loose dirt, but then we hit a slab of rock we could not break through.

They brought the equipment, which is very heavy, but we have not been able to try it yet because we have no gasoline. Loro said that he had not sent maps as the report had been verbal, but he will come tomorrow to present it.

We left with Pombo and Alejandro to explore terrain to the left. We have to clear it, but it gives the impression of being an easy walk. Joaquín arrived with two compañeros, explaining that Loro did not come because a pig had escaped and he went to find it.

There is no news of the Lagunillero's
¹⁰
trip.

In the afternoon, the pig arrived, quite a large one, but we still need to organize the drinks. Loro is incapable of even managing these things; he seems very disorganized.

The day was devoted to the Christmas Eve celebration. There were people who had to take two trips and arrived late, but at last we were all together and had a good time, with some people getting a bit drunk. Loro told me that the Lagunillero's trip was not fruitful and resulted in only a few minor notes that were very imprecise.

Back at work; there were no trips to the first camp, which has been baptized C26 at the suggestion of the Bolivian doctor. Marcos, Benigno, and Camba set off to make a path along the ridge to our right. They returned in the afternoon with the news that they had sighted a sort of barren pampa a two-hour walk away; tomorrow they will take a closer look. Camba came back with a fever. Miguel and Pacho made some diversionary
paths on the left bank and an access track to the radio cave. Inti, Antonio, Tuma, and I continued working on the radio cave, but it is very difficult because we keep running into solid rock. The rear guard is in charge of setting up the camp and finding a lookout point to observe access areas on both sides of the river; the location is very good.

Inti and Carlos went off to explore up to the point called Yuqui on the map; the trip should take two days. Rolando, Alejandro, and Pombo are still working on the cave, which is extremely difficult. Pacho and I left to inspect the paths cleared by Miguel, as it is useless to continue with the one on the ridge. The access path to the cave is very good and difficult to find. Two snakes were killed, plus another one yesterday; apparently there are quite a lot. Tuma, Arturo, Rubio, and Antonio went hunting while Braulio and Ñato did guard duty at the other camp. They came back with the news that Loro had flipped the jeep over; they also had a note announcing the arrival of Monje. Marcos, Miguel, and Benigno went to work on the path on the ridge, but did not return all night.

We set off with Tuma to try to find Marcos; walking for two and a half hours before reaching the edge of a ravine that descended to the west on the left side. We followed his tracks from there, climbing down steep rocky slopes. I thought we could get back to the camp this way, but hours passed and it was still not in sight. After five in the afternoon, we reached the Ñacahuazú, about five kilometers below Camp 1; at 7:00 we
got to the camp. There we found out that Marcos had spent last night there. I did not send any messenger as I presumed that Marcos would have told them about my possible route. We saw the jeep, quite a wreck. Loro had gone to Camiri to get some spare parts. According to Ñato, he fell asleep at the wheel.

Just as we were leaving for the camp, Urbano and Antonio arrived looking for me. Marcos had gone with Miguel to clear a path along the ridges to the camp and had not yet returned; Benigno and Pombo had gone looking for me on the same track we had taken. When I got to the camp, I found Marcos and Miguel, who had slept on the ridge as they could not make it to the camp. The former complained about the way I had been treated. Apparently, the complaint was about Joaquín, Alejandro, and El Médico [Moro]. Inti and Carlos had returned without finding any inhabited houses, only an abandoned one that presumably is not the point marked as Yaki on the map.

With Marcos, Miguel, and Alejandro, we went to the barren hill to get a better idea of the situation. It seems to be where the Pampa del Tigre begins, a range of barren hills of the same height, located at an altitude of about 1,500 meters. We should forget about the terrain to the left because it arcs toward the Ñacahuazú. We climbed down and reached the camp within an hour and 20 minutes. Eight men were sent to get supplies, but they could not carry everything back. Rubio and El Médico [Ernesto] relieved Braulio and Ñato. Braulio had cleared a new path before he came back; the track leads from the river along
some rocks and enters the woods on the other side through some other rocks, so no footprints are left. No work was done on the cave. Loro left for Camiri.

Despite the rainfall that had caused the river to rise, four men went to clear out everything from Camp 1, which is now empty. There is no news from the outside. Six men went to the cave and in two trips stored away everything that belongs there.

The oven could not be finished because the clay is too soft.

At 7:30 El Médico [Ernesto] arrived with the news that Monje was there. I went to meet him with Inti, Tuma, Urbano, and Arturo. The reception was cordial, but tense; the obvious question, what are you here for? hung in the air. He was accompanied by Pan Divino, the new recruit, Tania, who came to receive instructions, and Ricardo, who will now stay with us.

The conversation with Monje began with generalities but came down to his fundamental position, summarized by three basic conditions:

I responded, saying that the first point was up to him, as secretary of the party, although I considered his position to be a grave error.

It was vacillating and compromising and protected those who should be condemned by history for abandoning their principles. Time will prove me right.

Concerning the third point, I had no objections to his attempting this, but it was doomed to fail. To ask Codovila to support Douglas Bravo was like asking him to condone an uprising in his own party. Time will be the judge here too.

On the second point, there was no way I could accept his proposal. I had to be military chief and would not accept any ambiguity on this. Here the discussion got stuck and went around and around in a vicious circle.

We left it that Monje would think it over and talk to his Bolivian compañeros. We moved on to the new camp and there he spoke with everyone, presenting the ultimatum that they could either stay or support the party; everyone opted to stay, which he seemed to take quite hard.

At 12:00, we made a toast, pointing out the historical importance of this date. I replied, taking advantage of his words and marking this moment as the new Cry of Murillo
¹¹
of the revolution on this continent, saying that our lives meant nothing when faced with the fact of the revolution.

Fidel sent me the attached messages.

The team of Cubans has been successfully completed; morale is good and there are only minor problems. The Bolivians are doing well, although few in number. Monje's attitude can delay the development on the one hand, but on the other, can free me from political constraints. Apart from waiting for more Bolivians, the next steps are to speak with Guevara and with the Argentines Mauricio and Jozami (Masetti and the dissident party).

1
.
Aniceto Reinaga Gordillo (Aniceto).

2
.
A reference to Héctor Béjar Rivera, the leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Peru who had been arrested and imprisoned.

3
.
A reference to Peruvian journalist Julio Dagnino Pacheco who served in La Paz as a liaison for the National Liberation Army of Peru.

4
.
Orlando Jiménez Bazán (Camba) and Julio Méndez Korne (Ñato). The term
Cambas
refers to the indigenous people of the eastern region of Bolivia.

5
.
The farm belonged to the guerrillas and was located in the Caranavi area of the Nor Yungas province, state of La Paz.

6
.
Tomás Rosales, from Vallegrande, Bolivia.

7
.
Clear brandy made from grapes.

8
.
Although this appears indistinctly with Arabic and Roman numerals, it refers to the same camp.

9
.
Freddy Maymura Hurtado (Ernesto).

10
.
Mario Chávez.

11
.
Pedro Domingo Murillo was a Bolivian patriot who led the first struggle for independence from Spain in 1809.

In the morning, with no further discussion, Monje informed me that he was leaving and would present his resignation to the party leadership on January 8. According to him, his mission was over. He left looking like he was being led away to the gallows. My impression was that when Coco told him that I would not budge on strategic matters, he held onto this point to force the break, because his arguments are inconsistent.

In the afternoon, I brought everyone together to explain Monje's position and to announce that we would unite with all those who want to make the revolution happen. I predicted difficult times ahead and days of moral anguish for the Bolivians, and that we would try to solve problems through collective discussions or through the commissars.

I worked out the details of Tania's trip to Argentina to speak with Mauricio and Jozami and to bring them back. I worked out Sánchez's tasks with him and resolved to leave Rodolfo, Loyola, and Humberto in La Paz for now. Loyola's sister
¹
will stay in Camiri and Calvimonte
²
in Santa Cruz. Mito
³
will
travel through the Sucre region to see where he might establish himself. Loyola will take charge of the finances and has been sent 80,000 pesos, 20,000 of which will go toward a truck that Calvimonte will buy. Sánchez will contact Guevara to have a meeting with him. Coco will go to Santa Cruz to meet with Carlos's brother
⁴
and put him in charge of receiving the three who will come from Havana. I wrote Fidel the message that is in Document CZO II.

We spent the morning encoding the letter. The others (Sánchez, Coco, and Tania) left in the afternoon when Fidel's speech was over. He talked about us in a way that makes us feel even more committed, if that is possible.

In the camp we worked only on the cave. The rest went to retrieve things from the first camp. Marcos, Miguel, and Benigno left to scout out the north; Inti and Carlos went to explore the Ñacahuazú until they ran into people (presumably in Yuqui); Joaquín and El Médico [Moro] will scout the Yaqui River up to its source or until they encounter people. They all have a maximum of five days.