Tuesday, August 6, 2013

My Washington Times Review Of 'Hunting Che: How A U.S. Special Forces Team Helped Capture The World's Most Famous Revolutionary'


My review of Mitch Weiss and Kevin Maurer's book  Hunting Che: How a U.S. Special Forces Team Helped Capture the World's Most Famous Revolutionary appeared in the Washington Times today.

Long before the worldwide hunt and takedown of America’s public enemy No. 1, Osama bin Laden, there was another global manhunt for another famous enemy of America: Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

In Kevin Maurer and Mitch Weiss' new book, “Hunting Che: How a U.S. Special Forces Team Helped Capture the World’s Most Famous Revolutionary,” the authors tell the story of the Green Beret team that traveled to Boliva in 1967 to train the raw Bolivian soldiers who would, in due course, hunt down and capture Che Guevara.

The United States had been trying to keep track of Guevara for years prior to the 1967 Bolivian campaign, the authors note, chasing his ghost across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia as intelligence analysts built up an extensive profile of him. The CIA knew everything about him, except where he was.

... “The bearded icon took the international stage when Castro rose to power in Cuba. Che and Castro were as close as brothers and shared a missionary zeal for Cuban-supported revolution,” write the authors. “Che  was a Communist evangelist, and his disdain for the United States and its economic hegemony was part of his appeal in an era of youthful rebellion and Cold War paranoia.”

.... In “Hunting Che,” the authors concentrate on the hunt for Guevara in Boliva, offering a snapshot of the Bolivian and American campaign.


You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/6/book-review-hunting-che/?page=all#pagebreak

You can also read my interview with author Mitch Weiss on the hunt for Che Guevara in Counterterrorism magazine via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/11/my-piece-on-look-back-at-hunt-and.html 

 
The above photo shows the captured Che Guevara with CIA agent Felix Rodriguez prior to his execution. The photo appears courtesy of Felix Rodriguez. 

The below photo of Che Guevara is in the public domain:

 
 
The Below U.S. Army photo is of Major Ralph "Pappy" Shelton, the man who trained the Bolivian Rangers who hunted and captured Che Guevara. 

 
 
The below photo is of Major Shelton's Green Beret team in Bolivia. 
 

 
The below photo is of Captain Gary Prado, the Bolivian Ranger who captured Che Guevara. 
 
 

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