LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) 鈥 The Bolivian general who captured Argentine-Cuban guerrilla leader Ernesto 鈥淐he鈥 Guevara has been buried, and the ceremony was shunned by Bolivia鈥檚 leftist national government in a gesture that has angered his relatives.
Retired Gen. Gary Prado Salm贸n, a hero to some compatriots and a pariah to others, died Saturday at 84 from renal complications.
He had been declared a 鈥渘ational hero鈥 in 1967, but also was accused in 2009 of involvement in a coup attempt against then-President Evo Morales. The Bolivian Army did not bury Pardo with any honors for Sunday's ceremony, though he did receive tributes from city and regional officials.
No authority from President Luis Arce's government issued any statement on Prado鈥檚 death, nor did any military officials. No active members of the military participated in the wake nor funeral and there were no active duty officers flanking Prado鈥檚 coffin, as is the norm for deceased members of the service 鈥 all of which has upset Prado鈥檚 family.
鈥淢y husband will not be honored. The commanders violate the rules to please the government,鈥 Mar铆a del Carmen Morales, Prado鈥檚 widow, told the local El Deber newspaper.
Prado鈥檚 son, Gary Prado Ara煤z, said a request by the Union of Retired Military Personnel that honors be rendered had been denied. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a shame,鈥 he told journalists at his father's wake.
鈥淭he government of Luis Arce, like his predecessor (Morales), sympathizes with 鈥楥he鈥 Guevara, so they won鈥檛 honor Gary Prado. That鈥檚 why they鈥檝e chosen silence,鈥 said Paul Coca, a political science professor at the Franz Tamayo University. 鈥淭he Armed Forces, for their part, won鈥檛 do anything that could bother or disturb the government.鈥
In addition, Prado was an activist in the Revolutionary Left Movement of former president Jaime Paz, who is 鈥渁 declared political enemy鈥 of the Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party of Arce and Morales, Coca said.
Prado did receive tributes from local authorities in Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the county where he lived. The government of the Santa Cruz region laid Prado in state and friends and family members as well as retired military officers celebrated a Mass in the city鈥檚 cathedral before he was buried.
Prado was a captain on October 8, 1967 when he commanded the patrol that captured the legendary guerrilla fighter in the Bolivian jungle.
In his book 鈥淗ow I Captured Che鈥 and in subsequent interviews, Prado stated he was not responsible for Guevara鈥檚 execution, which was ordered by higher-ranking officers. 鈥淚 had nothing to do with it. I was looking for the other guerrilla fighters. When I returned to the camp, they had already executed him,鈥 he said.
Later in life, Prado was Bolivia's ambassador to Great Britain in the early 1990s and to Mexico in 2000-2002. It was during his posting in Mexico that Mexican writer and filmmaker Alberto H铆jar threw a glass of wine in his face, shouting, 鈥淭o the health of 鈥楥he,鈥 murderer.鈥
The government substantially distanced itself from Prado during the tenure of Morales, a leftist president in office from 2006 to 2019, who is a recognized admirer of the Cuban revolution and a friend of late Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Prado served 11 years of home detention after he was accused of alleged terrorism as part of a supposed coup plot against Morales in 2009. Morales is the current leader of the MAS.
While Prado was in the opposition, he was admired by supporters for his backing of the leaders of Santa Cruz, the country鈥檚 economic engine that has long been at odds with politicians in La Paz.
Former center-right President Carlos Mesa, who was in office 2003-2005, sent a message of condolence. 鈥淚 am deeply saddened by the death of General Gary Prado, an honorable military man and a good person. A protagonist of a historic and fundamental event in our history, the capture of Ernesto 鈥楥he鈥 Guevara,鈥 he tweeted.
Guevara鈥檚 guerrillas fought in the Bolivian jungle for nine months between 1966 and 1967.
Guevara, an Argentine who later became a Cuban citizen, was buried alongside other guerrilla fighters in Valle Grande, near where he was captured. The whereabouts of his remains were kept secret until they were recovered and moved to Santa Clara, Cuba in 1997.
