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News > Latin America

Cuban Five Pay Tribute to Che Guevara in Bolivia

  • Gerardo Hernandez of the Cuban Five speaks at a ceremony to honor Che Guevara in La Paz, Bolivia, Oct. 6, 2015.

    Gerardo Hernandez of the Cuban Five speaks at a ceremony to honor Che Guevara in La Paz, Bolivia, Oct. 6, 2015. | Photo: ABI

Published 9 October 2015
Opinion

Guevara, who is considered a hero in Cuba, was killed by CIA agents in Bolivia, 48 years ago. The Cuban Five were recently reunited after long stints in U.S. jails for their antiterrorism work.

During their week-long tour of Bolivia, the Cuban Five paid tribute to a historical figure who changed the path of both Cuba and Bolivian history – Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

RELATED: In Depth – The Legacy of Che Guevara, 48 Years After His Death

On Thursday, the five joined President Evo Morales, who had personally invited the five to tour Bolivia, to inaugurate a school named after the guerrilla fighter in the locality of Vallegrande.

(L-R) The Cuban Five, Ramon Labañino, Rene Gonzalez, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Gerardo Hernandez, stand with President Evo Morales at the opening of the Ernesto “Che” Guevara school. | Photo: ABI

When they arrived in the Andean country Monday, they were presented with awards, which they dedicated to the “heroic guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara and his comrades.”

They also met with medical students who had studied in Cuba.

(L-R) Four of the Cuban Five, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez sit with fellow Cuban hero, Col. Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio | Photo: ABI

Before returning to Cuba on Saturday, the six men will visit the town of La Higuera, where Guevara was killed 48 years ago on Oct. 9, 1967.

In La Paz, the five, Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez, also met with parliamentarians and representatives of social movements, as well as with Cuban migrants.

The five are on a one-week visit to Bolivia at the invitation of President Morales. They are accompanied by Col. Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio, also considered a Cuban hero.

RELATED: Cuban 5: The True Story

The Cuban Five were sentenced to maximum prison terms in the United States on allegations of espionage. Gerardo Hernandez received a double life sentence and Antonio Guerrero and Ramon Labañino received life sentences. The remaining two, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez, received 19 and 15 years respectively.

The former agents served long prison sentences in U.S. jails for monitoring the activities of what many say are terrorist groups financed by Washington with the intention of toppling the government of former President Fidel Castro.

RELATED: Che photo gallery – click to go to gallery (opens new window)

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