How the CIA Killed Che: The Murder of a Revolutionary

Description

The untold story of how the American government assassinated the world's most famous revolutionary In compelling detail, two leading US civil rights attorneys recount the extraordinary life and deliberate killing of the world's most storied revolutionary: Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Michael Ratner and Michael Steven Smith survey the extraordinary trajectory of Che's career from an early politicization recounted in The Motorcycle Diaries, through meetings with his companero Fidel Castro in Mexico, his vital role in the Cuban revolution, and his expeditions abroad to Africa and Latin America. But their focus is on Che's final days in Bolivia where, after months of struggle to spread the revolution that had begun in Havana, Che was wounded, captured, and executed. Bound and helpless, Che's last words to his killer, a soldier in the Bolivian Army, were: "Remember, you are killing a man." Referencing internal US government documentation, much of it never before published, Ratner and Smith use their forensic skills as attorneys to analyze the evidence and present an irrefutable case that the CIA not only knew of and approved the execution, but was instrumental in making it happen. Cables from the agency disavowing any US role in the murder were merely attempts to provide plausible deniability for the Johnson administration. The spirit of Che Guevara, as an icon and an inspiration, is as vibrant today as it ever was. Protestors around the world continue to use his image. For anyone drawn to his remarkable life and its violent, unlawful end, How the CIA Killed Che will engage, anger, and educate.

Michael Ratner is president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. He is a past president of the National Lawyers Guild and the author of several books including The Pinochet Papers and Guantanamo: What the World Should Know. He lives in New York City. Michael Steven Smith is an attorney and a board member of the Center for Constitutional Rights. He is the author of Notebook of a Sixties Lawyer. He lives in New York City.

"Ratner and Smith cut through the lies and distortions to provide a riveting and thoroughly documented history of the murder of Che Guevara." Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! "A page-turner with meticulous research that burrows deep into the archives of recently declassified documents to tell the full story of how Che Guevara was hunted and killed." Jane Franklin, historian and author of Cuba and the U.S. Empire "A stinging indictment of a government hell-bent on silencing an extraordinary humanitarian leader. This eye-opening gem of a book with riveting original source materials is a must-read for all seeking the truth behind Che Guevara's assassination." Heidi Boghosian, cohost of Law and Disorder "With formal US-Cuba ties restored, Smith and Ratner have provided a great service of documentation. . . . Readers everywhere will appreciate their contribution toward defeating historical amnesia." Walter Lippmann, editor-in-chief, CubaNews Yahoo News Group "Michael Ratner and Michael Smith, relying on newly disclosed government documents, have exposed what many of us who worked as reporters in Latin America long suspected the CIA ordered the assassination of the revolutionary leader Ernesto 'Che' Guevera. . . . Washington has attempted to hide. Now it cannot." Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times reporter and author of Unspeakable: Chris Hedges on the Most Forbidden Topics in America "Ratner and Smith cut through the lies and distortions to provide a riveting and thoroughly documented history of the murder of Che Guevara." Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! "A page-turner with meticulous research that burrows deep into the archives of recently declassified documents to tell the full story of how Che Guevara was hunted and killed." Jane Franklin, historian and author of Cuba and the U.S. Empire "A stinging indictment of a government hell-bent on silencing an extraordinary humanitarian leader. This eye-opening gem of a book with riveting original source materials is a must-read for all seeking the truth behind Che Guevara's assassination." Heidi Boghosian, cohost of Law and Disorder "With formal US-Cuba ties restored, Smith and Ratner have provided a great service of documentation. . . . Readers everywhere will appreciate their contribution toward defeating historical amnesia." Walter Lippmann, editor-in-chief, CubaNews Yahoo News Group "Michael Ratner and Michael Smith, relying on newly disclosed government documents, have exposed what many of us who worked as reporters in Latin America long suspected the CIA ordered the assassination of the revolutionary leader Ernesto 'Che' Guevera. . . . Washington has attempted to hide. Now it cannot." Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times reporter and author of Unspeakable: Chris Hedges on the Most Forbidden Topics in America