Diary of a Combatant Read online

  20

  The vanguard went off to explore when Martínez arrived with Marciano. The man hadn’t proved to be a good guide and had become lost. Marciano turned out to be a good friend of the cause and had protected various compañeros, among them Raúl Díaz and Sotolongo, whom he recognized right away. He told us that this area was far from any means of communication and advised us to go to his house, which we did in three hours, with me suffering bad asthma. We arrived at the hut situated on a ridge high in the Sierra Maestra and went down to a gully with water where we camped. At night an expedition of about 40 men set out to bring back supplies, and another merchant appeared and sold us a cow for $90.

  21

  The men arrived with the supplies in the morning. The part that came on a mule had to be left semi-hidden because it couldn’t be brought all the way up; this caused a lot of inconvenience because it was discovered by a snitch, whom we thought had been neutralized. The cow was killed and divvied up, and we all ate sumptuously. At night we got word that six people, two of them women and two gringos, were coming along the trail, brought by Lalo. They were expected the following day as [they] were going to sleep in Lalo’s coffee plantation. A large number of peasants came to gawk.

  The most important thing was that we had word of Armando’s machine gun, which he had left in the home of someone called Cubrías. A man called Leal,13 who had been a guerrilla fighter in the time of Machado under [Juan] Hernández’s command, went to look for it. Two men from Manzanillo joined us after having searched for us for a month. They were incorporated into the group, along with two of Peña’s uncles. We bought 10 quintals14 of malanga from a couple of locals.

  22

  The reporters should have come tonight or during the early morning hours, so we changed our position to a slope near water. The transfer was done at sundown, but I took two or three times as long [as the others] due to my asthma. The general staff was set up at the highest point for the dual purpose of being better protected and to impress the reporters. Peña was sent with the new people to buy certain things to take there, such as rice and canned goods. At 11:00 p.m. the general staff received word that the people couldn’t come because 10 soldiers had surrounded Lalo’s house, according to what Peña learned from the woman; it seems they were betrayed by the “shoe man.” Marciano took his family to Niquero and he joined our group. Guillermo was sent to look for the peasants who had snitched, and Camilo was to go with his people to look for the reporters, and rescue them if necessary.

  23

  The reporters hadn’t been taken prisoner and they are on their way, according to information from Vitalio, who had been sent by Camilo, having left the lower road on their own. The soldiers had withdrawn after being in Lucas Castillo’s house, and it seems like it was all a false alarm. Guillermo brought as prisoners two sons of the peasant who was presumed to be a snitch; according to them, the father and another son had gone to Estrada Palma on horseback. Ciro explored the ridge above us to see if it would be possible to go that way and found it viable. The father of the captured young men appeared and said that his son was the snitch. It was considered necessary to give him a good scare and he was held prisoner. In the late afternoon the reporters arrived with two Cuban youths: Marcos, in charge of actions in Santiago, and Marcelo, the translator.15 Celia and Haydée came with two gringo journalists, Bob, a reporter, and Wendell, the cameraman.16 They spent the whole night talking and the gringos left with a good impression of us.

  24

  The next day the interview [with US journalist Robert Taber]17 began with views of the camp and the three young gringos, who responded very well to the questions. The whole day was spent in that hectic activity. The old man and his sons were released.

  25

  We received news that a large number of soldiers were approaching. We added four new recruits. One of them came by following our trail; he said that, in any case, he would follow our trail wherever we went; another from Victoria de las Tunas had been looking for us for two months; and two diminutive Camagüeyans, who also had been following us for some time, and who seem to be a pair of adventurers.18

  We set out for Turquino on the slopes of the Sierra Maestra, making a good day’s journey, but we were caught by the rain on the way, and took shelter in the house of a peasant, who had three sons, where we ate some flour, dried our clothes and slept.

  26

  Marcos left for Santiago charged with bringing back 10 machine guns, 11 Johnson rifles and six muskets; he’s being led by a guide called Molineros, who knows the entire Sierra, thanks to his work distributing marijuana.19 I’m traveling slowly, after everyone else because of persistent asthma. Wendell, the cameraman, is amazingly cowardly. The peasant who gave us shelter committed an indiscretion because he knew of our arrival and he told some neighbors, who preferred to leave the hut. After learning that some of our people had become lost, he guessed that the neighbors had betrayed them to the army, which then ambushed our men. He thought they were going to kill him and he fled, but he ran into Molineros on the way, and he convinced him to return to talk with the commander, which he did, clarifying everything because the men were only lost.

  We walked along the side of Turquino Peak until we were at 1,300 meters, the highest point we have reached so far. Three others joined us: two peasants brought by Corría, who seems very talkative, and Julio Guerrero, who finally found us. Guerrero told us that they had also offered him a certain amount of money to kill Fidel, but only a modest amount: $300 and a milking cow. We were caught in a fierce thunderstorm that forced us to make camp for the night before reaching water.

  27

  In the morning, while we were preparing to leave, there was the sound of a muffled shot, and in a moment Almeida arrived with the news that someone had been wounded; it was Vázquez from the vanguard; he had put his hand on the barrel of a shotgun and it had fired when he made a false move. The entry wound was small but the exit had destroyed his left hand: two tendons were completely torn out and the bone was exposed. I cleaned the wound as best I could and, after bandaging it, I sent him to Manzanillo with Peña. We continued in the direction of a waterhole, where we were supposed to rest when Lalo Sardiñas caught up with us with the news that he was bringing el Gallego Morán, but that he couldn’t make it with his wounded leg. Some people went to get the supplies and el Gallego’s backpack, and he reached us when we got to La Aguada on the slopes of Joaquín Hill. El Gallego immediately proposed a tremendous plan he had, but said that was super-secret. I was still suffering from asthma, but I was willing to climb Turquino the next day.

  28

  The climb was started early with a large group of men; it was voluntary, but almost everyone decided to go. At the top of Turquino (1,850 meters) the interview was filmed in English for television, they did target practice there with all the weapons, but discovered that the Johnson machine gun was jammed. I arrived two or three hours later than the others, and when I tried out my Thompson I missed the can twice, taking a cartridge case for the gun with me later. We started the climb down with Ramiro and me at the rear, arriving at about 8:00 at night. I had taken about 12 hours going up and down. Joaquín Hill is 1,550 meters.

  29

  Today was a day of rest after the exertion of the previous day. Wendell left with Cubrías [Corrías] for Manzanillo. Marciano left for Santiago with the rolls of film. Some new volunteers came, among them Escalona, with his father, and three of those who were accepted were sent to get supplies from Lalo Sardiñas’s store. At night we talked with Fidel; he had heard el Gallego’s [Morán’s] plan and had accepted it in part: he would send el Gallego to Mexico to bring another expedition with the rest of the men and weapons, and then he would go to the United States to raise funds and do some publicity. Everything I said about how dangerous it was to send a man like el Gallego, a confessed deserter, with a very low moral level, a schemer and charlatan, and an outright liar, was in vain. Fidel argued that it is better to send el Gallego to do
something and not let him go to the United States feeling resentful, as what el Gallego really wants is to go to the United States and abandon all this. In that we were in agreement.

  30

  We awoke with the news that Escalona, who had joined the day before, had been captured by the Rural Guards and had told them everything he knew, including where we were. We had to break camp immediately. I gave myself a little ACTH and left last, except for the vanguard. Climbing Joaquín Hill with difficulty I met up with Guillermo, who was going with his squadron to shoot it out with the soldiers; I had to give him my machine gun. Arriving at the summit of Joaquín, I started to head down and I noticed that my asthma had eased; shortly I was able to join up with the column, finding that they had taken a prisoner called Restituto, who claimed he had come to join us. We reached a point that the guys recognized as the way down to the home of Angelito, a cripple who was said to be sympathetic to us. We went down and the old man was there and offered us malanga and a pig, which we roasted on a spit. We slept in the old man’s little house until well into the morning.

  Che in El Hombrito, 1957.

  Fidel and Che, Sierra Maestra, 1957.

  Che in Caney de las Mercedes, 1958.

  Combatants and peasants in the Sierra Maestra.

  Fidel and Che in a meeting with local peasants in the Sierra Maestra, 1957.

  Che and Oni Zaldívar and the B-26 weapon he devised.

  Che testing the B-26.

  Che and Olivia Miranda, a teacher in the guerrilla zone.

  Che and Universo Sánchez, 1957.

  Che in the Sierra Maestra, 1957.

  Che in the foreground with his maté, Fidel and a group of combatants in the background.

  Che being interviewed by Jean Daniel and the photographer Guayo.

  Che and other combatants in front of the banner at El Hombrito, December 1957.

  Fidel planning a tactical manuever with combatants Che, Calixto García, Ramiro Valdés and Juan Almeida, Sierra Maestra, 1957.

  Che during the first months of the war in the Sierra Maestra.

  Che, Sierra Maestra, 1957.

  Che and his mule in Pata de la Mesa, 1957.

  Fidel with combatants Guillermo García, Che, Universo Sánchez, Raúl Castro, Crescencio Pérez, Jorge Sotús and Juan Almeida, Sierra Maestra, 1957.

  Fidel talking with Che and Captain Evelio Laferté in La Mesa, early 1958.

  Che and Celia Sánchez, 1957.

  Che and Camilo Cienfuegos in the Sierra Maestra.

  Che with a group of combatants, including Leonardo Tamayo (standing).

  Che with the members of his Column 4, including Ciro Redondo and Ramiro Valdés.

  1. Colonel Pedro A. Barrera was in charge of the Batista army’s operations in the Sierra Maestra.

  2. Pérez Serantes, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, was known for his role as mediator during the events following the attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953 and he later collaborated with the revolutionaries.

  3. A reference to Las Vegas de Jibacoa, although it is usually referred to simply as “Las Vegas.”

  4. Juan Amador Rodríguez was a radio commentator.

  5. Manuel Bisbé was a distinguished member of the Orthodox Party and a faithful collaborator with the revolution.

  6. This appears to be false information because there is no record of an action of any significance during this time.

  7. See the chapter, “Tempering the Troops” in Che’s Reminiscences…

  8. CMQ was one of the original radio and TV stations in Cuba.

  9. Alonso Pujol was vice-president in Carlos Prío Socarrás’s Authentic Party government, which was overthrown by Batista on March 10, 1952.

  10. A reference to the victorious battle at El Arroyo del Infierno on January 22, 1957.

  11. Ángel Cofiño was a labor leader tied to the interests of whatever government was in power.

  12. See Armando Hart’s (Jacinto) foreword to this book.

  13. Mario Leal was associated with Juan Hernández, a revolutionary assassinated in 1933.

  14. A quintal can be 100 base units of either pounds or kilograms.

  15. Carlos Iglesias (Marcos or Nicaragua) was in charge of the action groups in Santiago de Cuba. Marcelo Fernández Font was a member of the July 26 Movement.

  16. The US journalists were Robert Taber and Wendell Hoffman of CBS.

  17. See the chapter, “A Famous Interview,” in Che’s Reminiscences…

  18. One of those “adventurers” turned out to be one of the most valiant combatants of Che’s troop, Roberto Rodríguez, nicknamed “el Vaquerito” (Little Cowboy) because of his small stature. He died fighting during the battle of Santa Clara.

  19. Marijuana used to be a subsistence crop for some peasants from the area. The Rebel Army persuaded them to abandon the practice and, in many cases, these peasants became active collaborators with the guerrilla movement.

  May 1957

  1

  Although from early morning I was feeling very well thanks to the ACTH, I was assigned to accompany the young gringo Vic in the rearguard as he had complained that he couldn’t walk because of stomach pains; what he has is a mixture of cowardice and homesickness. I even had to carry his backpack. Three soldiers left us: el Gallego Morán, Chao (who was discharged with full honors) and a student1 from Santiago, who has a huge hernia. They left under the command of el Gallego, who will then go on to fulfill the missions he’s been entrusted with. We arrived at nightfall in the middle of a heavy rainstorm at the home of a couple from Villa Clara, who were new to this area; they received us very well, and we ate and slept in their house.

  2

  We left early, worried that Guillermo hadn’t returned. At noon we stopped to listen to a discussion about national conciliation on the radio; the only real concession offered is to bring forward the date of the elections. At that moment Guillermo arrived, along with Lalo [Sardiñas] and [Enrique] Escalona, as well as a bank employee from Manzanillo, who came to join us and who became indignant when I asked him why he hadn’t come with at least $10,000. They also brought the gringo’s camera to do a report for Life—a camera that had been requested repeatedly without getting an answer—and the news that another North American reporter was on the way. When the gringo [Bob Taber] heard this, he asked that the other reporter be delayed a few days so that he could get an exclusive on the story. Fidel agreed and gave the order to detain the other guy in the home of Rolando, from Villa Clara.

  Lalo returned to his warehouse. Guillermo completed his mission by firing some shots in the Sierra Maestra and throwing a few of the old Brazilian grenades; the result was that the force of about 100 men withdrew. Later Molineros, who had taken Mario [Marcos] to Santiago, reached us and he came with another muleteer and his wife, who wanted to meet Fidel; he brought a lot of nylon and some messages and money.

  At nightfall we came to a hut where we ate three hens that Molineros had brought. Our people had taken possession of another place and Fidel had given orders to get up at 1:30 a.m., but so that we could sleep a little longer, we allowed them to get up at 3:15. I offered to go and left with that message; I had to take a trail and pass by two others on the left, pass a ranch and end up at the second one. But unfortunately I couldn’t find the second ranch, and after getting turned around a lot, I lay down to sleep hoping the others would come that way.

  3

  When I awoke it was already daylight, and at 5:30 with no sign of the men I headed north toward the scrublands. I walked slowly across some almost impenetrable fields of sweet potatoes. I expected to find the men at any moment, but I saw no sign of them. At dusk I went down to a saw mill, where I found two laborers whom I tried to convince I was from the Rural Guard; but they weren’t fooled. I learned that the place was called California and there was a road that connected it to other villages, where there were always some guardsmen stationed. I climbed back up the hill where once again I had to struggle through the sweet potato fields; when night fell I
went to sleep right there. I had my first encounter with a wild dog, which fled when I chambered the machine gun.

  4

  I got up late and in a bad mood. I made my way down through the scrubland with difficulty until I reached the clearing. From there you could see several houses. I kept going down cautiously until I reached one of the houses that turned out to be abandoned. Then I went down to another one where my appearance frightened the people inside, but later they looked after me well, although they had very little. I waited until the afternoon passed and, after eating another little bit, I headed toward another house where they indicated the route I should follow when night fell. I did that but I couldn’t reach the point where I’d become lost by nightfall—which was my intention—because I couldn’t see anything. I slept in the heights of the Sierra Maestra in an abandoned ranch.

  5

  I went down early but I had to avoid houses. Finally I made it to the side of a road where I waited for several hours in an abandoned ranch house, waiting for nightfall to follow the river up to the house I’d left from the night I got lost. The owner of the hacienda came out to get some food and saw me, so I went to meet him, asking for some food. At first the old man acted like he didn’t know anything, but then he opened up. Two young men happened to pass by on the main road, and one of them called Reinaldo was going to join us. I went along with them and we set out on the road to find the rest of the group on our own along the main road. The guide told me they had been looking for me all over the area.

  At dusk we reached the camp where the second North American reporter [Andrew St. George], who had been detained by the rearguard, was. Everyone welcomed me back with spontaneous applause. When I arrived I found that Bob [Taber] had just left. I was greeted with great affection. They told me that they had eliminated a snitch called Nápoles and set free two others who weren’t guilty. Everyone was relaxed and we stayed up talking and cooking until late at night.2