FIDEL [IN SPANISH ON TV]: He who merits,
through qualification and virtue, the highest ranks
is, however, not counted
among the members of our Central Committee.
And so
we only can explain it by reading this letter
from the hand and word
of Comrade Ernesto Guevara.
A self-explanatory letter.
It says the following:
"Havana, Year of Agriculture.
Fidel, at this moment I remember many things:
When I met you at María Antonia's house,
when you proposed that I come along,
all the tension involved in the preparations.
One day they came by asking who to notify in case of death,
and the real possibility of it struck us all.
Later we knew it was true
that in a real revolution, one either wins or dies.
I feel that I have completed the part of my duty
that tied me to the Cuban revolution in its territory,
and I say farewell to you,
to the comrades, to your people, who now are mine.
I formally resign my positions
in the leadership of the party,
my post as minister, my rank of comandante,
and my Cuban citizenship.
Other nations of the world summon my modest efforts of assistance.
I can do what is denied to you by your responsibility as Cuba's leader,
and the time has come for us to part.
If my last hour arrives beneath other skies,
my last thought will be for this people,
and especially for you."
FIDEL: Let me see you without the hat.
You're the living portrait of your father.
You have the money?
Yes.
We could wait until things settle down.
If we don't do it now, we'll have to wait another 50 years.
CHE: One more.
One, two,
three.
[BABY CRYING]
ALEIDA: Aleidita, remember Mom and Dad sit at the head of the table.
But since Dad's not here, we'll give his friend Ramón the seat.
Here it is. Four and five.
[IMITATING AIRPLANE]
GIRL: What is he doing?
CHE: I don't know. Go see what your brother is doing.
MAN: Special representative from the OAS?
Yes, the Organization of American States.
Just a second, please.
There's a man who is a special OAS representative.
Organization of American States? Yes, let him in.
MAN: Please, come in. - Thank you.
BOY: Mister, may I help you with your suitcase?
No need.
No. No.
[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]
[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[WATER RUNNING]
[CHATTERING]
MAN: I'm worried about Monje.
Why?
When I asked him about the 20 men he promised,
he said, "Which men?" as if I had never talked to him.
It's okay.
Apolinar.
Serapio.
CHE: How old are you, Serapio? - Sixteen.
At 16, a man already knows what he wants.
Hello. I'm Camba.
Ramón.
Do you know who that man is?
He came with you.
The man you just shook hands with
is Che Guevara.
[CHUCKLING]
CAMBA: Are you sure? - Yes.
CAMBA: Could I shake his hand again?
[LAUGHS]
[CHATTERING]
MAN 1: Ramón. - Ricardo.
- This is Coco, Inti's brother. - I know, I know.
RICARDO: The farm is under his name. - Braulio.
- How are you doing, bro? - How are you?
MAN 2: Miguel! MAN 3: What's up?
- Urbano, how was the trip? - Quite tough.
[CHATTERING AND LAUGHING]
CHE: Rolando.
You're Inti?
- It's an honor to meet you. CHE: The honor is mine. I'm Ramón.
This is Dr. Ernesto Maymura.
He's in the Bolivian Communist Party and studied medicine in Havana.
CHE: Where did you do your residency? - At Calixto García.
[CHATTERING]
And so we fell asleep.
Do you know where we woke up?
- In the United States. - In New York.
We went right in with our Panamanian passports.
Everything was going smoothly
until we almost screwed it up because we were so hungry!
Braulio says, "Let's go over there, they have hot dogs."
So we got there and, of course, the vendor was Dominican.
The first thing he says is, "Oh, but you're Cuban."
Braulio just looks at him.
[LAUGHING]
He served us the hot dogs without another word.
I made a mistake and took the wrong flight.
CHE: You didn't make a mistake, you discovered something.
What did we discover?
If you dress an elephant as a man, it would still make it into Bolivia.
[LAUGHING]
Good one!
To Bolivia or anywhere else!
RICARDO: Brother!
Let's go.
Hello.
- Eustaquio. CHE: Welcome, Eustaquio. I'm Ramón.
- Salustio. CHE: Ramón.
- I'm Pedro. CHE: Ramón.
Paco.
- Aniceto. CHE: Tuma, this is Aniceto.
CARLOS: Carlos.
Tuma.
- Willy. - I'm Chapaco.
TUMA: I'll need a few days to learn all your names.
[SOLDIER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
In the last conversation I had with Monje,
I made it clear that if we really want to change this society,
we are the ones most capable of doing it.
That's why the party has to support the guerrilla.
Monje expressed his doubts about the armed struggle.
He began to talk about his love for his family.
And here people also have children and women that they have left behind.
That is why, with all due respect, Ramón,
I don't think the party will support an armed struggle,
much less Mario Monje.
So I want to ask for permission to go back to La Paz
and recruit the best people from the party
to join the group.
CHE: First we have to meet Mario Monje as we agreed to.
Not doing so would be inappropriate.
Conditions are not right for the kind of struggle you propose.
Mario, anywhere in the world where men are being exploited by men,
conditions are right.
When children work in mines
and 50 percent of miners don't reach 30 years of age...
When these same miners go on strike
to improve their wages,
and they are massacred by the army, are those conditions right or not?
If infant mortality rates
are the highest in Latin America
because of lack of hospitals and medical care,
the situation is right for me.
If we learned something in Cuba,
it's that a popular uprising that isn't backed by armed struggle
has no chance of taking power.
MONJE: When people learn that this movement is led by a foreigner,
they will turn their backs on you.
You will die heroically,
but you have no hope of achieving victory.
Then let's change the name of Bolivia.
After all, Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan, right?
Comrade Monje,
your job and the party's job is to make it clear to the people that Che,
that Ramón, is a revolutionary from the continent, not a foreigner.
It's true. Ramón is like Simón Bolívar.
MONJE: The party does not endorse armed struggle.
You are free to abandon it.
And you will have our support if you do.
If you stay, the party will no longer pay your stipends.
As the head of the Communist Party here, I advise you to leave with me.
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
With a mojito, you cannot grind up the leaves.
I know about mojitos.
FIDEL: So you know you can't grind them up.
You cannot grind the leaves.
How are you?
Come over. Just a second, I'm finishing here.
Then you have to cover it.
Half an hour in the oven with the correct temperature.
No, I forgot something. On top of the cream, put cheese.
WOMAN: Cheese.
Excuse us for a second. We need to talk.
WOMAN: Go ahead.
- Everything good? RÉGIS: Yes, good.
Why did Che change the location of the camp?
I think he wanted to be closer to Argentina.
RÉGIS: He had contacts waiting for him in Alto Beni.
The mines are there. Miners are more politicized.
They support us.
Che needed somewhere to train for six months
where he wouldn't be bothered.
How is that Ñancahuazú region?
It's a very remote place. Life is hard there.
In fact, the few peasants who live there
don't trust foreigners.
The Soviets won't allow Monje to make a deal.
No.
We have some money that we want you to take to Bolivia.
And we need to find out if there's anything else that we need to send.
We also found a cave which could be useful.
Good morning.
I told the men that I'm going back to La Paz today.
I'm resigning from the party.
My mission is over.
- Okay. - The jeep arrives this afternoon.
CHE: Why don't you stay in the camp until the jeep arrives?
I would like to be alone.
I'll wait at the zinc house.
Fine.
I'll return on January 10th, with my decision made.
Okay. Monje, we'll be here.
Coco, find Moisés Guevara.
Tell him I want to talk to him.
We're leaving in a few days on a training march
for about 20, 25 days.
I'll go to the mines.
I'll be back between the 4th and 14th of February.
I'd like to come back earlier, but it's Carnival season,
La Diablada in Oruro.
My men will be all spread out, it'll be difficult to gather them.
You are our primary connection to the outside.
Your cover needs to remain intact.
You can't come back to the camp.
There may be a strike at Siglo XX.
And your husband?
How are things? Did you get the trip straightened out?
I arranged everything so that he could go study in Bulgaria.
What about Barrientos? What happened there?
We've been in contact.
- What happened? - I think he likes me.
I know he likes me.
- Should I try to see him again? - Yes.
Tania, when this thing heats up,
your job will make the difference.
MAN 1: Here are provisions: Sugar, eggs, flour, what's needed.
The new employee, is he Bolivian?
MAN 2: Yes.
- How much do I owe you? MAN 1: No, keep your money.
MAN 1: No, keep it. MAN 2: We are neighbors now.
- Take it. MAN 1: I'm not doing this for the money.
I want to take part in your project.
I have relatives in transportation. You can rely on me for everything.
Okay?
Go with Tuma to see our neighbor
[COUGHS]
and tell him we need his help. Involve him without offering much.
Tell him that we'll pay for what he carries in the jeep
and nothing else.
Tumaini.
Put a little fear in him.
And explain to him that if he betrays us he'll pay with his life.
You can drive back and forth to town in your jeep
so you can buy the food we need, and we'll pay you well.
Yes, sure, whatever you want.
- Good. TUMA: I have to tell you something.
In private, because it's something I would only say to a friend.
Okay, fine.
[COCKS GUN]
You want some more?
[CHUCKLES]
There were two little birds who lived in a tree.
One was quiet, the other liked to fluff his feathers and sing and sing.
One day a hunter came by.
He heard him sing, then put him in his sights and shot.
But the other bird, the quiet one, nothing happened to him.
He saved his own life.
It's a nice story.
- It's good. - It's good. I liked it.
I really liked it. I know what you mean.
You junkie son of a bitch.
We'll see.
[CAR APPROACHING]
MAN: Good morning.
- How are you? - Good morning.
MAN: This looks beautiful!
I see the factory is doing well.
- Good morning. - Come with me.
Can we come in? Show me the house.
I see you are really busy.
CHE: Soon.
I don't know when, but soon we will confront the enemy.
Our contact with the outside will be limited.
Some of us will die, and it's sad to see your comrades die
because you can't help them with your limited resources.
Food will be scarce.
Sometimes we won't have anything to eat.
And if all of this weren't enough,
we'll have to endure the harsh weather.
By the end,
we will have become human waste.
That's all I can promise you.
Think it over.
You still have time to go back home.
Afterwards it will be too late.
In closing,
I would like to repeat
what I said to Monje.
Me? I'm already here.
They would have to kill me to get me out of here.
I will be at the side of those who stay, until victory.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
[LAUGHING AND CHATTERING]
SOLDIER: How much corn can you sell us right now?
There's not even enough for us, sir.
At least sell us a pig.
They're piglets, just little ones. How am I going to sell them?
Besides, they belong to the missus.
How much is your pig, madam?
I can't sell them, they're only sucklings.
I'll pay you 30,000 bolivianos.
I'm not sure.
How about 40,000?
Should we sell or not?
Make it 50,000, okay?
Okay.
CHE: What conditions do they live in?
Very bad.
Do they have children?
They have six kids. Barefoot, all full of ticks.
One of the little boys has a badly infected eye.
How old is the peasant?
About 40, 50 years old.
I think he's a bit older, you know?
And when you offered the money, how did he react?
His eyes sparkled when he saw the money.
SOLDIER: Hello.
Good day, Honorato.
[CHATTERING]
Come, I want to talk to you.
We want there to be schools for your children,
and hospitals to take care of them,
and roads to be built
so trucks can reach here, and you can sell your products.
Don't you want all these things?
Well, yes, that would be nice.
But in order to do this, we need your help.
CHE: Two and three.
Look.
You are a big man.
May God repay you.
CHE: It's all right. - May God repay you.
CHE: Okay.
- See you. SOLDIER: Bye, madam.
- Goodbye. - May God repay you.
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
What are you doing?
That's communal food.
No one helps themselves without being given permission to do so.
Understood?
I'll let you off this one time because you don't know the rules yet.
- Everything belongs to the group. - But we're hungry.
SOLDIER: We're all hungry, Darío. But one can feeds six for breakfast.
There's one missing.
I have no radio coverage with the main camp, so I'm going back.
No, big guy. You're not going anywhere.
Stay with us until 6, then you can tell Ramón how far we've gone.
No, I'm going now while it's still light out.
Hey, I'm giving you an order!
Stay here until 6.
- I'm leaving now. - You're not leaving, can't you hear?
You listen to me, I'm fucking going!
You'll have to go through my machete first!
- Hey! SOLDIER: What's wrong with you?
Hey, Miguel!
What's going on here?
Listen, listen!
Miguel, look at me!
Hey, you're comrades.
- For what? He has to follow orders! - That's enough!
CHE: Miguel, you have to control yourself
and give orders with respect
like a boss.
You cannot threaten or hit anyone here.
That's not permitted by the guerrilla.
And you know that better than anyone.
And you
lied.
Miguel never hit you with the machete handle. He didn't even touch you.
The one thing I won't tolerate here
is a liar.
One more incident like that, Pacho,
and I'll send you back to Cuba with a dishonorable discharge.
Incidents like this destroy group morale and our readiness for combat,
not only of you or you,
but of the entire group.
If anyone feels weak or discouraged,
he shouldn't resort to such methods,
but should speak to the political commissaries,
to Inti or Rolando or to me,
and we will peacefully discharge him from the group.
[GRUNTING]
I didn't come here to work. We should have a rifle.
Listen to me.
Ramón could be back now in Cuba with his family,
with many cars, enjoying comfort everywhere he goes.
But he is here because he wants you to have a better life,
so your kids can learn to read and write.
I'm just a baker, I've been a slave all my life,
but someday I'll be free.
Rest, because we'll be leaving at sunrise.
MAN: We're not staying here? - No, we need to be patient.
We are taking you to another camp where you'll be safer.
Have you had any problems?
There's a neighbor that thinks we're making cocaine.
[CHUCKLING]
The police have been here twice already.
When's the last time you heard from Ramón?
Over a week ago.
We lost contact with the whole group.
Moisés, hello!
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
ARTURO: Who did you bring?
Contacts from Argentina and France. Chino is from Perú.
ARTURO: Are you going back to Camiri?
I need to talk to Ramón first.
Monje and the party are interfering with everything.
They even convinced the last Bolivians that were trained in Cuba
not to come here and join us.
[CHATTERING]
Hey, listen.
Hey. Everyone keep away from her hammock.
Whoever touches her will be severely punished.
Listen to me, Arturo.
They are Bolivian, and they have come to fight.
You must not disrespect them.
I need two volunteers to go hunt, and I thought about you.
Bring something good because supplies are running low.
Hey, what the hell are you doing? We'll get money for this!
[AIRCRAFT DRONING]
Hey, that sounds like a plane.
SOLDIER: Airplane!
Come on, Ramón.
Get down, Ramón.
SOLDIER: They caught two of Moisés' men who deserted,
and they talked like parrots.
Soldiers went into the zinc house.
They seized Tania's jeep and a mule.
- Who gave orders to move camp? - Antonio did.
Tell him we'll win the war with bullets.
- Bring back all to the camp. - Okay.
Rolando.
Prepare an ambush.
Was there anything in the jeep?
I had some recordings of Fidel's speeches.
They're going to search the jeep which will lead them to the hotel,
and the hotel will lead them to your apartment,
and your apartment will lead them to everything.
I couldn't trust anyone.
Every time I called they hung up the phone on me.
- That's why I decided to bring-- - You had strict orders not to return.
That's five years of lost work.
Tania, five!
Give me your rifle.
You and the visitors will leave as soon as we prepare your trip.
[GUNFIRE]
MAN: Hold your fire!
We surrender! We surrender!
My superiors are cowards and don't tell us anything.
I didn't want to be here. I swear.
SOLDIER: Calm down.
- Please don't kill me, please. SOLDIER: Calm down.
[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]
I suffer from rheumatism, I swear.
SOLDIER: No one is going to hurt you. - And I have a bad heart.
Don't believe a word Major Plata says. He's a liar and he's abusive.
He sells our food to the stores and keeps the money for himself.
He hits people. Look how he's crying. He's a coward.
SOLDIER: So, what should we do with him?
Kill him.
Yes, kill him.
CHE: Put him on his side.
[PLATA GROANING]
- Did you give him a painkiller? - Not yet.
CHE: Give him some morphine.
SOLDIER 1: We have committed ourselves to a struggle in which,
whether we like it or not, we may have to kill
or be killed,
because we are fighting for Bolivia's freedom.
You can do it now.
I won't be returning. I'm quitting the army.
SOLDIER 2: We hope to see you soon.
Because we could use more of your ammunitions and weapons.
SOLDIER 1: Long live a free Bolivia!
SOLDIER 2: Long live the National Liberation Army!
[MAN SHOUTS IN SPANISH]
No one wanted to stay.
That takes time.
[IN ENGLISH] This is a national emergency.
Is the United States going to sit back
and let Castro create another Communist revolution in Bolivia,
in the heart of South America?
MAN 1: Mr. President, the threat has three components.
One, the actions of the guerillas themselves.
Two, the lack of anti-guerilla capability at all levels in the field,
including your high command.
Three, the potential for the various elements in the population
to become indifferent to the situation.
That's my point.
What if Che Guevara is here?
I can't have that information made public.
Mr. President, our latest intelligence
indicates Guevara did not get out of the Congo.
Guevara is irrelevant if you're controlling the press
and winning the hearts of the peasants. They're your source of information.
If anyone's going to know where the guerrillas are, it's them.
MAN 2: We believe you should train a small, specially equipped force
to deal directly with the existing threat.
These men should be recruited from existing Bolivian forces
and their area of operation should be restricted to the combat zone.
BARRIENTOS: And who is going to train these men?
We have men supervising similar operations in Vietnam.
They can work with your people.
CHE [IN SPANISH]: No, if you leave now you could be arrested.
I think you should wait until we start our march northward.
- You're going north? - Yes.
Then we can let you off on the Cochabamba road.
No, I don't think that's right. That could take two or three months.
Ciro, we're at war.
Give me a guide.
Give me a guide, and I'll make the arrangements.
I can't break up the group under these circumstances.
I'll think about an alternative.
But any move we make will be made with the group as a whole.
Ramón, your books are soaked.
CHE: Put them on those rocks to dry.
Arturo.
ARTURO: Water got in the radio, everything is rusted.
What are you saying, that it doesn't work?
ARTURO: It still receives, but it doesn't send.
Shit. Now we're really screwed.
Not quite. We still have the visitors to relay messages.
MAN: The army says that you are here to practice Communism.
That you have no God, that you all work for the state.
That you rape women and destroy families.
You kill those who refuse to serve you and want to make us slaves.
And what kind of freedom do you have?
MAN: The kind where I can do whatever I want.
Listen to me. None of what they said is true.
We haven't come to harm anybody.
We just want to buy some food from you, that's all.
But I have nothing, only this.
SOLDIER: How much do you want for this?
Whatever you have. Take it.
I'll stay if you need me.
What I need now are peasants.
It's better if you go to France and make a network to promote our cause,
so they can send us money, medicine and radios.
I'd also need you to take some messages to Cuba.
I'll write Sartre and Bertrand Russell
to organize a worldwide fund
on behalf of the Bolivian revolution.
CHE: Don't worry.
We'll take you out of here when you recover.
I'm not worried.
Tumaini.
Here, it's yours.
To protect you.
I'll move southward with the vanguard and take the visitors out by Muyupampa.
I want you to stay with the sick until we come back.
SOLDIER: How long will you be gone?
CHE: About three days.
CHE: Rolando.
Go with Loro to replace Benigno and Miguel.
Ramón.
There's no one in the house.
So leave the money with a note.
[MEN CHATTERING]
[MACHINE GUN FIRING IN DISTANCE]
Pick up everything, we're leaving.
Ramón.
There's no sign of Loro.
HONORATO: That's what they've given me, captain.
What good is this for?
Are there any shops here?
They took my pigs and my corn.
You helped them, and they gave you money.
Now you are going to help us eliminate them, otherwise...
And now you are stealing my chickens, captain.
Listen to me closely, smartass, really pay attention.
Let me know immediately if the guerrillas come back again.
You have a good heart.
[CHICKEN SQUAWKING]
You'll do it.
MAN 1 [IN ENGLISH]: Alejandro. MAN 2: Hey.
MAN 1: This is Captain Mitchell, in charge of training.
Nice to meet you.
MITCHELL: By the time we're through, we'll turn the Bolivians
- into U.S.-grade special forces. - We'll train them in the following areas:
Weapons, communications, demolition and intelligence.
Also educate them politically,
so they understand the moral component of the operation.
We also have one of the best chopper pilots in Nam.
- So how much time do you need? - Five months.
[WHISTLES]
[IN SPANISH] Good morning.
I'm just here to write an article on the guerrilla movement in Bolivia.
Trying to confirm the Bolivian army's rumors
that Che Guevara is the leader of the group,
and there is a woman with him.
This guy is a Trojan horse.
I don't want any Cubans talking to him.
- What's up, Darío? - Food is ready.
CHE: Start serving. Children first.
Are you from Paraguay?
Paraguay? No way, I'm from Oruro.
Okay, kids.
Once you are done you have to leave, right?
We can't leave, because that gringo owes us money.
CHE: How much does he owe you?
BOYS [IN UNISON]: Fifty pesos.
[MEN LAUGHING]
CIRO: I spoke with the Englishman about the way out.
He says the army knows him in Camiri.
We could get out that way.
You are the ones to make that decision.
We could use our papers to pass as reporters, no problem.
Inti will take you up the road to Camiri.
Try not to go through Muyupampa.
Don't get yourselves captured.
If that happens, remember to always deny my presence
and the presence of all Cubans here at each moment and at all costs.
DARIO: Do you have a cigarette? - No, I don't.
DARIO: Goddamn it!
Why don't you smoke? Smoking's great.
- But I do have some tobacco. DARIO: Oh.
Thanks, brother.
Where are the Cubans?
DARIO: Well, they should be-- - Darío, come here!
I told you not to talk to that guy. What did he say?
He didn't say anything, brother. I asked him for a cigarette.
You're going to the back.
MAN 1: Freeze! Stop right there!
MAN 2: Drop your backpacks and show us your papers, shitheads!
MAN 3: Throw them on the ground.
MAN: The Frenchman's name is Régis Debray.
Masquerades as a radical author, a Marxist journalist.
Spends a lot of time in Cuba, and is a good friend of Fidel Castro.
The Argentine's name is Ciro Bustos. A painter and also a writer.
This character collected money in 1963
for a local guerrilla movement led by Jorge Massetti.
Massetti was killed by the police in Argentina in 1964.
[AIRCRAFT DRONING]
MAN [ON RADIO]: Two mercenaries, a Frenchman and an Argentine, were killed
when confronted by the army in the area known as Vaca Guzmán.
The Guzmán region, that's in Muyupampa.
If that's true, those bastards are going to pay for it, bigtime.
The three of them were arrested. They were taken to Camiri.
Who told you that?
We stopped a van that came from Muyupampa
with a German priest and a man. They gave all the information.
They want to talk to the boss. They gave us some sweets and stuff.
- Inti, have those people seen you? - No.
SCHWARTZ: Many of your men are not Bolivian.
That's why no one trusts you.
But they trust you.
MAN: They asked us to talk to you.
Then tell them that our army is open to anyone who wants to fight.
They should be here with us.
No, they reject everything that has to do with violence.
INTI: So people in power can use violence to oppress us,
but we can't use it to free ourselves?
SCHWARTZ: They don't want to join you, and they don't want you here.
You don't have the right to ruin their lives.
You are going to have peace today in Muyupampa
on the condition that you bring us a truck of food and medical goods
by 6 p.m. on this watch.
We'll meet at Nemesio's farm. We'll pay for everything.
Then we'll go, you have my word.
Okay.
[MOANING]
Open your mouth.
They will torture Bustos and Debray.
They'll learn everything.
Ramón.
I think you should change your name.
CHE: That's not a bad idea.
[AIRCRAFT DRONING]
Plane! Get everyone out of the house.
- Run! SOLDIER 1: Cover yourselves!
SOLDIER 2: Quickly, under the tree!
Get out of here!
Most of these men are Cubans. Don't be mistaken.