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New book exposes 'the real Che Guevara'

A Cuban historian and author is trying to dispel the myth about a former henchman of Fidel Castro who has been idolized by the American left. Che Guevara's face adorns T-shirts, posters, and ad campaigns, while Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the mainstream media celebrate him as a humanitarian and brave freedom fighter who was an advocate of the poor and oppressed.

Humberto Fontova, who escaped Castro's Cuba in 1961, has recently published a book titled Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him (Sentinel, 2007). Like Hollywood icon James Dean, he says, Guevara "is still romanticized by many very, very ignorant people."

However, the real Ernesto "Che" Guevara was a cold-blooded murderer, Fontova contends. "The Castro-Che regime incarcerated more political prisoners as a percentage of population than Stalin's regime in the Soviet Union, and executed more people in his first three years in power than Hitler's regime executed in his first six years in power," he says.

Yet somehow, Guevara is viewed as a saint and selfless martyr by liberals, the author observes. He says of Guevara, "Worldwide, he is the most recognized emblem of anti-Americanism -- how cool can you possibly get, right? -- and that automatically endears him to a certain mentality."

Nevertheless, Fontova asserts, it is no exaggeration to state that Guevara, who was captured and killed nearly 40 years ago, was the godfather of modern terrorism. The author says he hopes his new book will help dispel the myth about this Cuban cult figure who is so idolized by the American left.