María Werlau
"It has been the most successful marketing campaign of modern times because there is no country where the image of Che Guevara has not been seen. Even in Poland, a country that has suffered so much from communism, I have seen images of Che."
Álvaro Peñas — May 29, 2023
María Werlau is the co-founder and executive director of Cuba Archive, a non-profit think tank that defends human rights, and author of numerous books in English and Spanish on diverse topics related to Cuba. Her published works include
Cuba’s intervention in Venezuela and
The forgotten victims of Che Guevara. She has a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from the University of Georgetown and a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Chile.
Part 1
“Yes, we have shot, we shot and we will continue to shoot,” said Che at the United Nations. Is this the phrase that best portrays Che Guevara?
Yes, because he enjoyed killing. I have spoken to many people who knew him, including the parish priest of La Cabaña, the fortress that was the prison where Che was in charge of revolutionary justice. He liked it and told the priest so, a man who couldn’t stand it any longer and had to leave after six months and after accompanying 55 people to the wall. Che wrote about this and was very clear about it.