"On March 16, two miners in Moisés Guevara's group deserted." p. 201
March 16 - Urgent meeting of the "EMD." The "UU.DD." is ordered to be at the ready. The "FAB" is asked to provide coordination and cooperation. Troop demobilization is suspended. A contingent is assigned to Puerto Abapo to gather information.
March 17 - Loro (Jorge Vázquez Viaña) is credited with the first army casualty: the private Sebastián Rojas is wounded. Once captured by a posse, Salustio (Salustio Choque) turns into an informer.
"An army patrol discovers a cache which throws a good deal of light into what is going on. Found in six large suitcases and several smaller ones, there were some suits with labels embroidered 'Casa Albión, Havana' ." p. 201.
March 19 - The "DIC" publicizes the results of the interrogation of 2 deserters -- Vicente Rocabado and Pastor Barrera, which establish:
1.- There is in Ñancahuazú a group of armed men --approximately 50-- whose purpose is to carry out guerrilla warfare.
2.- Communist ideology. Supported financially by Fidel Castro.
3.- The guerrillas are led by Ché Guevara and a group of Cubans, Argentineans and Peruvians.
4.- The Bolivian Communist Moisés Guevara is also there with a group of Bolivian nationals.
5.- There are other guerrilla groups in other locations.
March 20 - Ché returns to the central encampment at the conclusion of the Río Grande expedition.
March 21 - Ché Guevara holds an interview with Debray and Bustos.
March 21 - The 4th Division hands over a copy of the statement by the first guerrilla prisoner, Salustio Choque, on March 18 in Ñancahuazú, and confirms:
1.- Existence of the Castro-Communist guerrilla made up of Bolivians, Cubans, Peruvians and Argentineans, with over 35 men under Ché Guevara's command, and with orders to act exclusively in self-defense.
March 23 - First battle. A military patrol is halted at the Ñancahuazú river. The army suffers seven dead and fourteen of its men are taken prisoner.
March 23 - The radio aired news that the guerrillas ambushed a military patrol on the Ñancahuazú river, producing 5 dead, some wounded, and prisoners.
- We remain in expectation since no official statement has been issued.
"The guerrilla's biggest victory occurred on March 23rd. The army suffered seven dead, four wounded, and nine men taken prisoner. The latter were returned the next day without their uniforms or their weapons. Deeply humiliated, they gave a blown-up account of the guerrilla forces. On the basis of their declaration, the army believed for a long time that the guerrillas numbered more than five hundred. The day after the clash, the Air Force strafed the guerrilla sector. The army began a vast encircling operation. The La Paz radio stations were sure that there were more than seven hundred guerrillas." pp. 202-203.
On March 23, the guerrilla stops a military offensive in the ravines of Ñancahuazú. The army suffers 7 casualties; a commander and a captain are among the prisoners.
March 24 - Tania's jeep is seized in Camiri, along with her personal documents.
Late March - Pepe, Paco, Chingolo and Eusebio,the "flotsam" [la "resaca"], are discharged, but forced to remain with the guerrilla.
March 27 - U.S. Lt. Col. Redmond Weber and Maj. Ralph (Pappy) Shelton arrive in Bolivia, followed the next day by 15 U.S. counterinsurgency instructors. Introductory notes by Michael Taber for the English translation of Bolivian Diary - Ernesto Che Guevara.
March 27 - The Bolivian side of the guerrilla establishes the Bolivian National Liberation Army and issues the First Public Statement to the Bolivian people.
March 28 - The air waves are still saturated with news about the guerrillas. According to the reports, we are surrounded by 2,000 men within a 120-kilometer radius, and the circle is tightening, complemented by napalm bombing, and we have suffered 10-15 casualties.
April 4 - Assisted by the first deserters, the army locates and occupies the central encampment.
Fuentes