The Bolivian Diary (11 page)

During the evening I met with the whole group and read [Monje's] document to them, pointing out inaccuracies in his points (a) and (b), along with a little tirade of my own. They
seemed to respond well. Of the three new arrivals, two seem to be solid and aware; the youngest is an Aymará peasant who seems to be very sound.

A
góndola
of 13 people, plus Braulio and Wálter, went to relieve Pedro and Rubio, returning in the afternoon without having brought the full load. Everything is quiet over there. On the way back, Rubio had a dramatic fall but was not seriously hurt.

I wrote to Fidel (#3) to explain the situation and to test the mail drop. I should send it to La Paz with Guevara if he comes to Camiri for the meeting on the 25th.

I wrote instructions for the urban cadres (Document III).
¹²
Due to the
góndola,
there is no activity in the camp. Miguel is getting better, but Carlos now has a high fever.

A tuberculin test was administered today. Two turkeys were caught; a small animal was trapped, but its foot was severed and it was able to escape.

We split up the tasks, some working within the camp and some exploring. Inti, Rolando, and Arturo went to look for a place for a possible hideout for the doctor and any wounded. Marcos, Urbano, and I went to explore the hill in front to find a place from which Algarañaz's house could be watched; we found one and can see it quite well.

Carlos still is running a fever, typical of malaria.

The
góndola
left with seven men, returning early with the whole load and some corn; this time it was Joaquín who took a bath in the river, losing his Garand, but then finding it again. Loro is coming back and is now in hiding; Coco and Antonio are still away—they should return tomorrow or the next day with Guevara.

One of the paths was improved so that, in case we need to defend these positions, we can surround the soldiers. At night, we reviewed the other day's drill, correcting some of our errors.

We set off with Marcos to explore the path that, in case of attack, would lead us to the enemy's rear guard; it took almost an hour to get there, but the location is very good.

Aniceto and Benjamín went to try to transmit from the hill overlooking Algarañaz's house, but they got lost and were not able to communicate; we need to repeat this exercise. Work began on another cave for our personal gear. Loro came back and joined the vanguard. He spoke with Algarañaz and told him what I had said. Algarañaz admitted that he had sent the Vallegrandino to spy but denied turning us in. Coco had scared the man away from the house, since he had been sent by Algarañaz to spy. Manila sent a message reporting that everything had been received and that Kolle will go to where Simón Reyes is already waiting. Fidel said he would hear them out, but will be hard on them.

We had barely started on the new cave when word came that Guevara was on his way with Loyola; we set off for the little house at the intermediate camp and they arrived at 12:00.

I set out my conditions to Guevara: the dissolution of the group, no ranks for anyone, no political organization at this point, and the avoidance of polemics over differences on international and national policy. He accepted everything with great humility, and so after a frosty start, relations with the Bolivians have become friendly.

Loyola made a very good impression on me; she is very young and softly spoken, but one can tell she is very determined. She is about to be expelled from the [Communist Party] youth group, but they are trying to get her to resign first. I gave her the instructions for the [urban] cadres and another document, and I repaid the money we had already spent, which was almost 70,000 pesos. We are going to be short of money soon.

Dr. Pareja
¹³
was named head of the urban network, and Rodolfo
¹⁴
will come to join us within two weeks.

I sent a letter with instructions to Iván (D. VI).

I ordered Coco to sell the jeep, but to stay in contact with the farm.

At around 7:00, as night was falling, we said good-bye. They will leave tomorrow night and Guevara will come again with the first group between the 4th and the 14th of February; he said that he could not come sooner because of communication
problems and because the men are taking time off to enjoy the carnivals.

More powerful radio transmitters are on the way.

A strong
góndola
was sent that brought back nearly everything, but there is still a load left. At night, Coco and the visitors left; they will stay in Camiri, and Coco will go on to Santa Cruz to arrange the sale of the jeep, some time after the 15th.

We are still working on the cave. A
tatú
¹⁵
was caught in the traps. We are finishing preparing the supplies for the trip; the plan is to leave when Coco returns.

The
góndola
has cleaned out the old camp and brought the news that the Vallegrandino had been caught hanging around the cornfield, but he escaped. Everything indicates it is time for a decision about the farm.

Now the supplies are ready for a 10-day march, and we have settled on a date: one or two days after Coco returns on February 2.

A day of absolute idleness, except for the cooks, hunters, and sentries.

Coco came back in the afternoon, having gone to Camiri and not Santa Cruz. He dropped off Loyola, who will continue on to
La Paz by plane, and Moisés, who will go to Sucre by
góndola.
They set Sunday as the day to make contact.

February 1 will be our departure date.

The
góndola
of 12 men carried the majority of the supplies; there is still a load for five men. The hunters returned empty-handed.

The cave for our personal items is finished; it did not turn out so well.

Last day at camp. The
góndola
cleaned out the old camp and the sentries were withdrawn. Antonio, Ñato, Camba, and Arturo will remain; their instructions are: to make contact at least every three days; as long as there are four of them, two will be armed; sentry duty must not be neglected at any time; the new recruits will be instructed in our general rules, but should not know more than is absolutely necessary; all the personal items will be removed from the camp and the weapons hidden in the woods, covered by a tarp. The cash reserve will remain in the camp permanently, on someone's person. They will keep watch over the paths already made and the neighboring creeks. In case they have to withdraw suddenly, two will go to Arturo's cave: Antonio and Arturo himself; Ñato and Camba will withdraw to the creek and one of them will run to leave a warning at a site we will choose tomorrow. If there are more than four men, one group will take care of the supply cave.

I spoke to the troops, giving them final instructions for the march. I also gave final instructions to Coco (D. VII).

As I expected, Monje's position was at first evasive and then treacherous.

The party has taken up arms against us and I do not know where this will lead, but it will not stop us and maybe, in the end, it will be to our advantage (I am almost certain of this). The most honest and militant people will be with us, although they are going through a more or less severe crisis of conscience.

Up to now, Guevara has responded well; we will see how he and his people act in the future.

Tania departed, but the Argentines have shown no sign of life and neither has she. Now the real guerrilla phase begins and we will test the troops; time will tell what they can do and what the prospects for the Bolivian revolution are.

Of everything that was envisioned, the slowest has been the incorporation of Bolivian combatants.

1
.
Vicenta Guzmán Lara.

2
.
This refers to a member of the Bolivian Communist Party.

3
.
A Peruvian revolutionary whose identity has not been revealed.

4
.
Olga Vaca Marchetti, Carlos's sister.

5
.
The term
góndola
is often used in Bolivia for buses and other means of public transportation. The guerrilla movement used the term to refer to trips on which provisions were brought back to the camps.

6
.
Humberto Rhea Clavijo, a Bolivian doctor who collaborated with the guerrillas.

7
.
Quechua is the native language widely spoken in Bolivia, especially in the territory of the ancient Inca empire.

8
.
A fly that deposits its larva under the skin when it bites.

9
.
Choclos
are baby corn.

10
.
Carlos Fernández González, a Bolivian police officer.

11
.
The
gringo
was Cristian Reese, a Bolivian of German descent who lived in Lagunillas.

12
.
“Instructions to Urban Cadres.” See
Appendices
.

13
.
Wálter Pareja Fernández. In practice, Pareja did not head the urban network, but he did collaborate with it.

14
.
Rodolfo Saldaña was never able to join the guerrilla movement.

15
.
Tatú
is an armadillo.

The first phase was carried out. The men arrived somewhat tired, but in general, did well. Antonio and Ñato came up to work out the passwords and to bring my backpack and that of Moro, who is recovering from malaria.

We established a system to alert each other by putting messages in a bottle under a bush close to the path.

Joaquín, in the rear guard, is struggling with his load, and this is holding up the whole group.

A slow, arduous day. El Médico [Moro] delayed the march a bit, but in general the pace is slow. At 4:00 we came to the last site with water and camped there. The vanguard was ordered to march to the river (presumably the Frías) but they too failed to maintain a good pace.

It rained during the night.

It was raining at daybreak, so our departure was delayed until 8:00. Just as we were heading off, Aniceto arrived with some rope to help us through the difficult passes; shortly afterwards,
the rain started again. We reached the creek at 10:00, drenched, and decided not to continue any further today. The creek cannot be the Frías; it is simply not indicated on the map.

Tomorrow the vanguard will set out, led by Pacho, and we will communicate every hour.

We walked from the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, with a two-hour break at noon to eat some soup. The path follows the Ñacahuazú; it is relatively good but so rough on our shoes that several compañeros are already almost barefoot.

The troops are fatigued but they have responded very well. I was relieved of nearly 15 pounds and can walk with ease, although the pain in my shoulders becomes unbearable at times.

We have not encountered any recent signs of people along the river, but we should come across populated areas any time now, according to the map.

Unexpectedly, after walking five hours in the morning (12 to 14 kilometers), the vanguard notified us that they had encountered animals (a mare and her foal). We halted and ordered a scouting expedition so we could avoid an area that might be populated. We debated over whether we had reached the Iripití
¹
or at the junction with the Saladillo, marked on the map. Pacho returned with the news that there was a river many times larger than the Ñacahuazú and that it was impassable. We went there and
found ourselves facing the real Río Grande; moreover, it was overflowing. There are signs of life but they are rather old and the tracks lead to dense undergrowth where there are no signs of traffic.