Mario Teran Salazar, who claims to be the one who claims to be the executioner of famed revolutionary guerrilla Ernesto “Che” Guevara, died on Thursday at age 80. Salazar’s family and friends reportedly announced his demise.
General Gary Prado, an official of the Bolivian army, said that Mario Teran “simply complied with his duty as a sergeant of the army” while speaking about the killing of Guevara. Salazar and General led the group that captured Guevara in 1967 after a months-long pursuit.
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General Prado said that Teran died after a long illness. He is survived by his wife and two children, according to reports from Associated Press. “The family and comrades from the armed forces told me because he was being treated in the military hospital”, he said.
“It was the worst moment of my life,” Salazar said told reporters after executing Guevara. “I saw Che large, very large. His eyes shone intensely. I felt him coming over me and when he fixed his gaze on me, it made me dizzy.”
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“’Calm yourself,’ he told me, ‘and aim well! You are going to kill a man!’ Then I took a step back toward the door, close my eyes and fired.”
Biographers of Guevara’s life say that Salazar missed a few shots aimed at the chest, but eventually hit.
Guevara, an Argentine physician, achieved mythic status as a leading figure in the Cuban revolution that won power in 1959 under Fidel Castro by toppling dictator Fulgencio Batista.
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After serving as a senior official in Cuba’s government for several years, he set off to try to lead other insurrections — with far less success — in Africa and then in South America.
His small band was finally tracked down by Bolivian soldiers in 1967. Teran was chosen to kill him after orders to execute the already wounded Guevara, then 39, arrived from the capital.