Mario Terán, Bolivian soldier who became known as ‘the man who shot Che Guevara’ – obituary

Mario Terán, who has died aged 80, was a warrant officer in the Bolivian army who earned a notorious place in history as the man who shot Ernesto “Che” Guevara in 1967.

The Argentine revolutionary had been right-hand man to Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution, and El Presidente subsequently sent him to foment Left-wing uprisings abroad, though without conspicuous success.

He and his followers were eventually tracked down and captured after a shoot-out in a ravine by a group led by General Gary Prado, who was intending to deliver Guevara to a court martial. But orders came down from the Bolivian government – apparently to satisfy the CIA – to terminate Guevara, who was then 39 (the phrase “Hello dad” was the codeword to proceed with the killing).

Guevara had told his captors that he was worth more to them alive than dead, but Terán was deputed to carry out the deed. Guevara, who had been wounded during the shoot-out that led to his capture, was being kept in a hut, which the young officer entered carrying his M2 carbine rifle.

“It was the worst moment of my life,” Terán said later. “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 ...

“ ‘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.”

Terán’s first shots hit Guevara in the leg, but, he recalled, “I recovered my spirits and fired the second burst, which hit him in the arm, in the shoulder and in the heart.”

The revolutionary’s body was strapped to the landing skids of a helicopter and taken to Vallegrande, where it was paraded before the public. The Guardian journalist Richard Gott was there. He wrote: “Ernesto Che Guevara will forever remain in history as the greatest continental figure since Bolivar. He was, perhaps, the only person able to lead radical forces all over the world in a campaign against the United States. Now he’s dead, but it’s hard to imagine that his ideas will die with him.”

Mario Terán Salazar was born on April 9 1941 (some sources say 1942) in Cochabamba, a city in the Andes; his father was a merchant. He joined the army while still in his teens, graduating from a military academy into a special forces regiment that was sent to root out Guevara. He remained in the army after Guevara’s death, retiring as a senior warrant officer after 30 years’ service.

In 1997 Guevara’s body was found in a mass grave in Vallegrande, minus his hands, which had been amputated as trophies. His remains were taken to Cuba, where they were buried with full state honours.

Terán lived the rest of his life under an assumed name in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city, mostly working as a lorry driver. In an ironic twist, in 2007 he travelled to Havana to have cataract surgery under the auspices of Operation Miracle, a programme funded by Venezuelan oil money and run by Cuban doctors, which offered free eye treatment to poor people across Latin America.

Granma, the official newspaper of the country’s Communist party, enjoyed the moment: “Four decades after Mario Terán attempted to destroy a dream and an idea, Che returns to win yet another battle. Now an old man, Terán can once again appreciate the colours of the sky and the forest, enjoy the smiles of his grandchildren and watch football matches.”

Mario Terán married, in 1965, Julia Peralta Sala. They had four daughters and two sons.

Mario Terán, born April 9 1941, died March 10 2022