On this day in 1967, the socialist revolutionary Ché Guevara was captured by U.S.-trained Bolivian soldiers in a C.I.A. operation. The following day the soldiers executed him, cut his hands off, looted his personal items as trophies and dumped his body in an unmarked grave. 
The US government has maintained (for decades) a lie that the order to kill Che came from Bolivian leadership, but US gov documents released through FOIA show that the kill order came directly from the White House.
The U.S. government was obsessed with assassinating Che. The U.S. believed that all revolutionary movements in Latin America would die with Che and the U.S. was fixated on preventing the Cuban revolution from inspiring other movements.
The U.S. & Bolivia lied about the execution, claiming Ché was killed in battle. However almost immediately press reports appeared stating he had actually been executed “in cold blood”.
After parading his body in front of the media, the Bolivians secretly buried Che's body where they hoped it would never be found. For 30 years his remains were missing, but in July 1997, his remains were finally located on the outskirts of Villegrande, Bolivia.
Félix Rodríguez, a Cuban exile turned CIA Special Activities Division operative, who was involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion, advised Bolivian troops during the hunt for Guevara in Bolivia. Rodriguez stole Che’s watch and wore it for years afterwards.
Che’s flashlight and other personal items are still on display at CIA’s headquarters. They're clearly displayed as trophies of their successful kill. m.facebook.com/Central.Intell…
Guevara wrote his own epitaph, stating: "Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this our battle cry may have reached some receptive ear and another hand may be extended to wield our weapons."
