Roth's arrival represented such obviously lax security that it left Guevara spluttering with anger. "The same old story, the lack of discipline and of responsibility takes first place," he wrote. But Debray viewed Roth in an entirely different light. He calculated at once that because Roth's documents, mission, and behavior were all legal, Roth could help get him and Bustos past any inquiring authorities, lending substance to their pose as journalists working on a story. Bustos agreed "unwillingly," says Guevara, "and I washed my hands of it." Nevertheless, urged on by Debray, all three left that afternoon. The following day, all three were arrested in Muyupampa, and therein began a major drama within the overall episode of Guevara in Bolivia.
Roth's ability to smooth the group's way past suspicious Bolivian authorities obviously proved nonexistent. In fact, they wanted to put Debray and Bustos to the wall at once and nearly did. Fortunately for the two captives, however, they were caught just as a heated debate concerning the fate of prisoners in general was going on between the Americans and the Bolivians. Two days after their capture, Henderson cabled Washington saying that Barrientos had told him informally "that every guerrilla falling into the hands of his people should be liquidated." The president maintained that prisoners "of this ilk" never came to justice in Bolivia but instead got out of custody promptly, renewed their subversive activities, and encouraged others by their example. Henderson disagreed. "Extra-legal" methods of dealing with prisoners, he believed, created martyrs internally and stigmatized Bolivia internationally. Furthermore, through summary executions, the army lost any evidence that might be gained from captured guerrillas. Barrientos was unmoved. He could not afford to keep prisoners, he said, and their disappearance, far from causing problems, would go unnoticed by the public.
In the midst of this discussion, the Bolivians found themselves with not only three new prisoners but also foreigners, one of whom they suspected was Debray. Their execution, certainly his, most assuredly would not go unnoticed. First reports indicated that Debray had been killed; in fact, Henderson received "excited telephone calls" from both Barrientos and Ovando on the day he was caught saying the army had killed him. Soon that was in doubt, then clearly untrue. Upon learning that he was alive, U.S. embassy officers urged clemency on "high Bolivian officials" but still could not be sure they would prevail. They asked Washington if they should press the Debray matter further. Could the State Department suggest additional arguments they might raise against "extralegal actions" (meaning executions)? Might it not help if the department also raised the issue with Ambassador Sanjines?
The department indeed took the matter up with Sanjines, who said, in effect, yes, extralegal executions were not in Bolivia's best interest, but he understood that no prisoners had been taken, although several guerrillas had been killed. Sanjines was wrong, of course—perhaps deliberately to dodge a tough question—but he may have really been confused because Guevara's band fought skirmishes off and on with the army for about a week beginning on April 20, the day Debray and the others were caught. Although the government placed a news blackout on the Camiri area, newspapers and anonymous embassy sources still reported that Debray was alive, contradicting high military officials who continued to insist that he was dead. It did not matter much at that point which report was accurate, the embassy feared, because even if he had not already been executed, "his future [did] not appear to be promising." About the time that assessment was being written, Washington told the embassy that it had made the case for clemency adequately; "further representations at this time not advisable."
Within a week of his capture, it became clear to everyone that Debray was alive. Barrientos finally admitted it to Henderson, and the media were permitted to report on his captivity. Henderson used the opportunity to stress the need for better intelligence in the combat area. He believed, for example, that the embassy should have had firmer information about Debray and about all of the confrontations between the Bolivian armed forces and the guerrillas during the preceding week.
Miraculous Escape: Almost Dead!
