On june 26th, Ché's column is surprised by an ambush which had been organized through information provided by the liberated informers. |
June 30 - What matters the most is Ovando's official declaration that I am here. In addition, he stated that the army is confronting perfectly trained guerrillas, including Viet Cong commanders who have defeated the best U.S. regiments. Ovando's declaration is based on the statements made by Debray. It appears the latter said more than was necessary, although we cannot know the implications this may have, nor the circumstances in which he said what he did. It is also rumored that Loro was murdered. |
July 6 - The guerrillas seize the town of Samaipata, on the highway from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz, in an unexpected and spectacular action. |
July 6 - At 20:30 hrs. they turned up in Peña Colorada and Cuevas; from that location, using motor vehicles, they hit Samaipata, catching a lieutenant and 40 soldiers by surprise and killing one of them. The others were unable to react when they found out that the officer had been captured. |
"On July 7th the guerrillas blocked off the road between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, in a place called Las Cuevas. They cut the telephone lines and seized a passenger bus. With this vehicle they rode into the town of Samaipata. The occupation of this town lasted barely over an hour." p. 211 |
July 8 - George Roth, Anglo-Chilean journalist,
is released after the judge finds no evidence to support the charges against
him. “Ñacahuasu,” José Luis Alcázar |
July 9 - Joaquín's group is engaged in two clashes with the army. Serapio dies in an ambush. |
July 10 - . . . the statements by Debray and Pelado are not good. Above all they have made a confession concerning the intercontinental aims of the guerrilla struggle, something they did not have to do. |
The massacre of San Juan provokes a crisis, which comes to a boil on July 14, and the two parties forming a coalition along with the military abandon the government which is left in the hands of Generals Barrientos and Ovando Candia, as president and vice president respectively. |
July 15 - Barrientos has announced Operation Cynthia, to wipe us out in a few hours. |
July 20 - The rear guard enters into combat in Ticucha. Eusebio (Eusebio Tapia Aruni) and Chingolo (Hugo Choque Silva) desert in the confusion. |
July 23 - Chingolo and Eusebio, deserters from Joaquín's group, are arrested in Chuayaco. |
July 26 - The Trinidad Company is ambushed; a civilian guide is killed and a soldier is wounded in Pampa Torunos. |
July 27 - Clash in Corralones: a civilian guide and a soldier are wounded. |
July 30 - The guerrillas are taken by surprise in Morocos but they withdraw inflicting four casualties on the army. Ricardo and Raúl Quispaya are lost. |
July 30 - A section of the Trinidad Company takes the guerrillas by surprise at dawn, as they were bivouacking by the Morocos river, but the officer misapprehends the situation and is surprised himself, falling wounded along with three others; four of his men are killed. Luckily the rest of the Company joins in with a furious attack from the side of the river. They pick up a dead guerrilla member (Raúl Quispaya), kill another (Ricardo), and wound Pacho --the last two being Cubans. |
August 4 - The new deserters guide the army, helping them capture the guerrilla's "strategic caves," their supplies, and plenty of documents. |
August 9 - Pedro (Antonio Jiménez Tardío) is lost in Iñaú, as the rear guard fled. |
August 17 - The radio announced that documents and evidence from the four caves at the Ñancahuazu will be presented. This means they have also located the one at Monkey Camp |
August 31 - Ambush in Vado del Yeso: Joaquín's group is exterminated. Tania, Ernesto (Freddy Maimura), Moisés Guevara, Polo (Apolinar Aquino Quispe), Walter Arancibia, Alejandro (Cuban commander Gustavo Machín), Braulio (Cuban Lieut. Israel Reyes), Negro (José Restituto Cabrera, Peruvian doctor), all of them fall along with Joaquín. Paco (José Castillo) is the only surviver taken prisoner . |
Fuentes |