April 1967 was a very difficult month for Commander Ernesto "Che" Guevara's guerrilla forces in Bolivia. Upon learning on the 25th of the death of Captain Eliseo Reyes Rodríguez, whose nom de guerre was Rolando or San Luis, Che described it in his campaign diary as a Black Day.
"We have lost the best man in the guerrilla and, naturally, one of its pillars, my comrade since, as a mere child, he was a messenger for Column 4, until the invasion and this new revolutionary adventure; of his death, one can only say, for a hypothetical future that might materialize: Your small body, brave captain, has spread its metallic form across the vastness," Che wrote.
Eliseo Reyes was born on April 27, 1940, on a farm in the rural neighborhood of Chamarreta, in the municipality of San Luis, Santiago de Cuba province, into a very humble family, with poverty as their only future under that oppressive system. In Caridad de Bucuey, in that municipality, his parents, along with their 11 children, put down roots and raised their large family.
He had to work from a very young age and strive twice as hard to complete his studies, as he knew he was intelligent and had a desire to improve himself, but he was never able to continue them due to a lack of resources and his refusal to accept "recommendations" from politicians in exchange for votes.
He was a Cuban combatant who participated in the struggle against the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Steadfast and brave, loyal and resolute when circumstances demanded it, he is an example of revolutionary combativeness for new generations of Cubans and Latin Americans.
When the Granma yacht landed in December 1956, Eliseo and his brothers were already part of a cell of the 26th of July Movement, and in early August 1957, along with a group of 50 peasants, he went into the Sierra Maestra mountains.
The route he took led him to Commander Ernesto "Che" Guevara's camp near El Hombrito. Seeing him at 17, with the thin frame of a child, Guevara doubted he could withstand the rigors of combat. It was his tenacity, seriousness, and discipline that allowed him to take on essential tasks, first as a messenger and then in other important missions, until he became a frontline soldier.
His comrades-in-arms nicknamed him after his hometown, and from that moment on, he was known to all as San Luis. Thus, he was surprised by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro's order to create an invasion column led by Che to operate in the former province of Las Villas, and he was selected to participate. The journey, the pursuit, and the fighting were arduous until they finally reached their assigned territory in October 1958. During the Las Villas Campaign, he distinguished himself for his courage leading a platoon in the most dangerous actions, ultimately reaching the revolutionary triumph of 1959 with the rank of captain.
From the very beginning, he assumed significant responsibilities. He was head of the La Cabaña Military Fortress, participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961, fought against counter-revolutionary groups (1959-1965), and later became part of the founding group of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), serving as its delegate in the province of Pinar del Río.
Due to his track record and unwavering revolutionary stance, Eliseo Reyes was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In July 1966, he received news that he had been selected to join a group of internationalist combatants, without yet knowing who his leader would be.
He marched alongside Che Guevara to Bolivia, using the name "Rolando," where he served as part of the leadership group, acting as political commissar, a position to which Che had appointed him.
On the day of his death, he carried out orders to set up an ambush to prevent an imminent encounter with Bolivian army troops. As was his custom, he took the most dangerous position to try and take down a machine gun that was holding them back. He fell in combat on April 25, 1967, at only 27 years of age, but after an intense and exemplary life.
His remains rest in the Santa Clara Mausoleum, alongside those of his leader, Commander Che Guevara, and his comrades in arms in Bolivia, where he receives the eternal homage of his people.