Ernesto "Bete Noire" Guevara: The Yugoslav View of Che

Ernesto Guevara, better known as "Che", is an iconic figure. His face adorns everything from beer bottles to t-shirts and his books, decades later, still enjoy brisk sales. Even his honest opponents will admit that he was a skilled political theorist and guerrilla warrior.

However, as reported by the American State Department, Che Guevara had few friends in the Yugoslav government. In a 10/22/1965 Airgram, the Belgrade embassy reported that Che's decision to take leave of the Cubans started an attack on Che by the Yugoslav newspaper Borba, the most important Yugoslav print media of the time. The Borba's Latin American correspondent accused Che of, among other things, having personality defects and of damaging the Cuban economy, and that his dissapearance would like spawn a wave of repression. You can see a summary of the Borba's attack on the second page of the PDF below. The first page is the Airgram's cover sheet.

10/22/1965 Airgram from the US Embassy in Belgrade

The Yugoslav Communists Reflect on American Communists

The Yugoslav Communists were harsh critics of American Communists. As shown by this 11/9/1965 cable from the US Embassy in Belgrade, the Yugoslav Communists viewed the Communist Party USA as an "alien body" within the United States due to the Communist Party USA's adherence to Moscow's dictates. The Yugoslavs also felt that the Communist Party USA was flawed in its analysis of American society. The opinion of the Communist Party USA was so low, that the Yugoslavs avoided it and opted to establish direct relations with the American trade unions.

Yugoslav Government Thoughts on USCP