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Bolivian General Gary Prado Salmón, considered an important figure in the military and political history of the right in his country, died this Saturday, according to his relatives. Prado Salmón, famous for his role in the capture of ‘Che’ Guevara in 1967, died at the age of 84 due to kidney complications.
General Prado Salmón died after two weeks of hospitalization due to kidney complications. His death was announced by his son on social media.
“The Lord has just called my father Gral Div SP Gary Augusto Prado Salmón to his Kingdom. He left with his wife and his children. He leaves us a legacy of love, honesty and mettle. He was an extraordinary person, ”wrote Prado Araúz.
His son assured EFE that months ago Prado Salmón had “a recurring infection, due to his disability, (which) was complicated by pneumonia and later with (one) kidney failure.”
After graduating from the military academy in the 1950s, General Prado Salmón began his career in the Bolivian Army. In the late 1960s, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara launched a Marxist-Leninist guerilla after General René Barrientos’ coup two years earlier.
As division commander, Prado Salmón led the military group that pursued this guerrilla before capturing ‘Che’ Guevara, which is considered one of the most significant military operations in the history of Bolivia and Latin America.
The day after having imprisoned him, the Bolivian Army complied with the instruction to execute ‘Che’.
“For him the capture of ‘Che’ was not the most important thing he did in his life. For him the most important thing was to help make the Armed Forces a democratic institution, respectful of the Constitution and the laws,” his son said.
In 1981, an accidental shot from one of his comrades hit his spine. Since then, he had used a wheelchair to get around.
The Bolivian Congress proclaimed General Prado Salmón a national hero in 1967.
After retiring from military service, Prado Salmón continued his career as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to England and Mexico. He was also a university professor and advisor to former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993).
with EFE
