November 18, 1964: Haydee Tamara Bunke Bider, an East German-woman-turned-Cuban spy, arrived in La Paz using the alias, Laura Gutierrez Bauer. Later built into the mythical figure “Tania the Guerrilla,” her mission was to lead an intelligence network to be created in La Paz.
Indicative of the priority given to Che Guevara’s Bolivia mission, Havana assigned Juan Carretero Ibanez as her case officer. At the time, Carretero led the Latin America Department of the MININT’s Technical Vice Ministry. In Bolivia, “Tania” successfully entered into the political, cultural, and media circles of Bolivian society during the dictatorship of General Rene Barrientos.