Bolivian Campaign

Bolivian Campaign
Part of the Cold War
Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967.
Date 3 November 1966 – 9 October 1967 (11 months and 6 days) Dissident Insurgency phase: 9 October 1967 - November 1967 Location Bolivia Result Bolivian government victory Che Guevara executed
Belligerents
ELN  Cuba	Bolivia  United States Supported by: Brazil
Commanders and leaders
Che Guevara  Tania Bunke † Harry Villegas Fidel Castro	René Barrientos Hugo Banzer Félix Rodríguez Ralph Shelton[1] Castelo Branco
Strength
29 Bolivians 25 Cubans 3 Peruvians 1 Argentine-Cuban (Che) 1 Argentine-German (Tania)	600 Bolivian Rangers 24 Americans
Casualties and losses
Main Phase: 55 killed or captured Dissident Insurgency Phase: 11+ killed	Main Phase: Unknown Dissident Insurgency Phase: 9+ killed, 4+ injured
20+ civilians killed, 72+ injured (San Juan massacre) Unknown total

The Ñancahuazú Guerrilla or Ejército de Liberación Nacional de Bolivia (National Liberation Army of Bolivia; ELN) was a group of mainly Bolivian and Cuban guerrillas led by the guerrilla leader Che Guevara which was active in the Cordillera Province of Bolivia from 1966 to 1967. The group established its base camp on a farm across the Ñancahuazú River, a seasonal tributary of the Rio Grande, 250 kilometers southwest of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The guerrillas intended to work as a foco, a point of armed resistance to be used as a first step to overthrow the Bolivian government and create a socialist state. The guerrillas defeated several Bolivian patrols before they were beaten and Guevara was captured and executed. Only five guerrillas managed to survive, including Harry Villegas, and fled to Chile.