“The Untold Story Of Che Guevara” Revealed At The Argentine Embassy:
Who betrayed Che to the CIA? Was it Ciro Bustos, his Argentine compatriot and “one of his most trusted collaborators”? Or the French intellectual, Regis Debray? Or neither. As the “Independent” pointed out on 23rd June, both were arrested (& eventually released) by the Bolivian military. Debray “emerged as a hero” but Bustos was “consigned to obscurity under a shadow”.
Four & half decades later – “frustrated at the lurking conspiracy theories about his role in Guevara’s final days.”– Bustos has written “a vivid account” of his side of the story: “Che Wants To See You”. Published by Verso Books, it was launched on Wednesday 26th June to a packed audience at the Argentine Embassy in Belgrave Square SW1. The occasion was introduced by Ambassador Alicia Castro, who was accompanied on the platform by the left-wing authors Richard Gott & Tariq Ali and by Ciro Bustos himself – “the last survivor” (as Gott noted) of Che’s attempt to “liberate Argentina”.
After the opening speeches, Bustos was asked what most impressed him about Che when they first met: It was, he said, “Che’s way of speaking: Not at all grandiose”. As regards the situation today: “Each generation has its own expectations, which have to be correlated to the context”.
His “fascinating memoir” (declare Verso) is also an account of “an extraordinary period in contemporary history in which thousands of young men & women across the Western hemisphere, inspired by Che Guevara and his Cuban comrades, believed they could change the world through armed revolution”. The evening ended with a book-signing session by the author.