Mario Terán

Mario Terán Salazar (9 April 1942 – 10 March 2022) was a Bolivian Army warrant officer who executed Che Guevara as a young sergeant in 1967. Guevara, a Marxist revolutionary from Argentina, had played a major role in the Cuban Revolution, in which the 26th of July Movement, led by Fidel Castro, ousted U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista and replaced his government with a revolutionary socialist state.

Early life Terán was born to Vicente Terán and Candelaria Salazar on 9 April 1942 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His father, a merchant, was 46 years old when he was born; his mother was 45. At this time he dropped off the radar and his whereabouts remained unknown until early 1967. At that time, Bolivian communist youth organizer Loyola Guzmán received a tip locating him in a remote small town near the Paraguay border. Guevara reportedly told Guzmán that he hoped to turn Bolivia into a beachhead for socialist revolutions in neighboring countries. In March of that year, intermittent fighting broke out between Bolivian armed forces and a mysterious group of guerrilla fighters. Rumors that the group was led by Guevara began to spread, and Bolivian army leaders resolved to capture him. During summer, local officials provided tips that helped Bolivian armed forces narrow down his position. Finally, on 8 October, Guevara surrendered to Commander Gary Prado Salmón after a shootout with Bolivian soldiers.