Che Wants to See You
The Untold Story of Che Guevara
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
For the first time, Ciro Bustos, Che’s right-hand man in the struggle for Argentina, tells his story. As a young man inspired by the example of Cuba, Bustos was determined to bring revolution to the home country he shared with his hero. After a failed attempt to liberate Argentina, it was not until 1966 that he was contacted by the Cubans once again and told, “Che wants to see you.”
Under false papers, Bustos crossed the border into Bolivia, where Che was in hiding with his guerrilla forces; and here, for the first time, Che shared his plans for a continental revolution. In this fascinating memoir, Ciro Bustos tells us a story only he is able to recount: what really happened in Bolivia in 1967 and why he did not betray Che.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After 40 years of keeping his tale largely private, Bustos, a crucial member of Che's operation to launch an Argentine revolution, delivers a seamless memoir that relates his role and Che's plans for South America before the latter's 1967 execution by the CIA in Bolivia. Bustos left Buenos Aires for Cuba soon after Castro's revolution he'd heard a radio broadcast from Cuba in which Che had placed the Cuban struggle in the context of achieving Latin American self-determination. In Havana's suspicious atmosphere his loyalty and identity were questioned, which continued across a decade of reconnaissance for Che throughout South America and Europe. He narrates with nuance his devotion to Che as well as doubts about their enterprise's feasibility. In one absurdist drama, Bustos answers a mysterious invitation to China, refuses to repudiate Castro, and is promptly sent home. Castro eventually abandons the Argentine project: "Havana had taken off its earphones and pulled down its antennae." In prison, Bustos denies all guerilla activity and is eventually granted asylum in Sweden. Bustos's powers of observation and critical commentary make this required reading for both historians of revolution and future world-changers.
