Che Guevara

Che (born in 1928 and murdered in 1967) was an Argentine doctor and a Marxist revolutionary. He dedicated his life and energy to fighting exploitation, deeply held ideals of hating injustice, and to struggling for the liberation of not only the oppressed and exploitated of Latin America but oppressed masses throughout the world.

In 1951, Che set off from his home town of Córdoba on a motorcycle tour of Central and South America. The poverty he observed during this trip led him to intensify his study of Marxist ideologies.

In 1954, Che met Fidel Castro when Castro was in Mexico after having being released from prison in Cuba. Che joined the 26th of July Movement dedicated to the overthrow of Cuban Dictator Fulgencio Batista. Che was a guerrilla leader in the 1956-59 Cuban Revolution. Che served as president of Cuba's national bank and as Cuba's minister of industry immediately following the Cuban Revolution.

Major Ernesto Che Guevara

But after a period in the new Cuban government leadership, Che aimed to spark revolutionary activity internationally, believing that the only way to preserve social, economic and political rights on a local level was through global action. In 1965, he left Cuba to set up revolutionary forces in the Congo and then later in Bolivia. He traveled to Bolivia to support a popular uprising there, believing in the responsibility of revolutionaries to contribute to the global defeat of colonialism and imperialism.

After the U.S. government learned of his location, CIA operatives were sent into Bolivia to destroy the liberation efforts against the dictatorship, and to bolster Bolivia's government troops.

Che was captured by the CIA and Bolivian Army and executed on October 9, 1967.