Gary Prado Salmón, a Bolivian general who captured the Argentine guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara in 1967, has died at the age of 84 in the city of Santa Cruz, according to his son’s social media post. “The Lord has just called my father, Gral Div SP Gary Augusto Prado Salmón, to his kingdom.” He left, accompanied by his wife and children. He leaves us a legacy of love, honesty, and courage. He was an extraordinary person,” wrote his son Gary Prado Araúz on Facebook.
Prado Salmón had been hospitalized since mid-April due to health complications, and his son thanked all those who supported his family “during this time of agony” in his message.
On October 8, 1967, General Gary Prado Salmón led a patrol in southwestern Bolivia that resulted in the capture of the leftist Argentine revolutionary “Che” Guevara, who was then injured. A day later, the Bolivian army carried out the order to execute Guevara.
That same year, the Bolivian Congress named Prado Salmón a national hero for defending what the Bolivian military government of General René Barrientos then considered a “subversive foreign invasion.”
In 1981, an accidental shot hit his spine, leaving him wheelchair-bound. He retired from the military in 1988.