The discovery of the remains of Che and several of his companions

June, 2024 – Long was the time dedicated to the incessant investigation and search until the remains of Commander Ernesto Che Guevara and six other members of the internationalist guerrilla were found on June 28, 1997 in Bolivia.

The discovery, which shocked Cuba, the region and the world, took place in the old part of the airstrip of Vallegrande, a town in southeastern Bolivia, after thorough historical research and arduous geological work by Cuban scientists supported by specialists from other countries.

One of the most important clues to find the mass grave where he was buried was provided by retired General Mario Vargas Salinas, who in a news item published on November 21, 1995 by The New York Times stated that Che’s grave was located on the old runway of the Vallegrande airport.

After this information, the Argentine team of Forensic Anthropology (EAAF) and a group of Cuban experts began to study the terrain in search of clues to find the grave. On March 30, 1996, the Argentines withdrew from the search, but the Cubans, led by the doctor in Medical Sciences Jorge González, then director of the Institute of Legal Medicine of Havana, together with Bolivian friends, continued the work until the discovery in 1997.

After they were found, the skeletons were numbered according to their appearance, and later transferred to the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Japanese Hospital, where they were subjected to a meticulous analysis and numerous identification tests such as computerized skull-photographic superimposition.

Finally, on July 11, 1997, the information was made public that the remains found were those of Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, and the Cuban internationalist fighters, René Martínez Tamayo (Arturo), Alberto Fernández Montes de Oca (Pacho) and Orlando Pantoja Tamayo (Antonio); and of the Bolivian guerrillas Simeón Cuba (Willy) and Aniceto Reynaga (Aniceto), and the Peruvian fighter Juan Pablo Chang (El Chino).

The remains of the identified combatants were taken to Cuba, where they received the homage of all the people and are, since October 17, 1997, in the Mausoleum of the Ernesto Guevara Revolution Square in the city of Santa Clara.