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Extracted from
BBC News |
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Friday,
26 October 2007, 04:02 GMT 05:02 UK |
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Che
Guevara hair sold at auction |
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Strands of hair taken
from the body of Ernesto Che Guevara by a former CIA officer involved
in his death have sold for $119,000 (£58,000) at auction.
It sold to the only bidder, who runs a bookshop near Houston, for the
reserve price, plus a buyer's premium. The Dallas sale prompted
protests from Che's widow and his supporters.
The sale is not a first for Heritage Auction Galleries, which has sold
locks from the heads of Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley and Marilyn
Monroe.
Bill Butler, 61, placed his bid by telephone for the 3-inch (8cm)
strand of Che Guevara's hair.
In the same lot were photographs of the dead revolutionary's body and
fingerprints taken after he was shot in Bolivia in 1967.
Mr Butler says he plans to display the hair at his bookshop. |
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Che Guevara was
trying to foment a revolution in Bolivia when he died |
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The hair was cut from
Che Guevara's head after his death |
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Political icon
Heritage Auction Galleries had tightened security for the sale,
because of fears of protests from socialists unhappy that profits were
being made from the revolutionary's death.
Che is considered an icon by left-wing movements, but critics accuse
him of brutally executing his opponents.
An Argentine who became a Cuban guerrilla leader, the 39-year-old was
tracked down and killed in the Bolivian jungle by a group of
CIA-backed Bolivian soldiers on 9 October 1967.
A former US intelligence officer, Gustavo Villoldo, who took part in
the capture and execution, said he removed the lock of hair and took
photos and fingerprints as proof that the mission was completed.
It is these items which have now been auctioned.
Auctioneer Tom Slater said that Mr Villoldo was unhappy with the
iconic status Che now has.
"He doesn't like the way Che has become a political icon, so he's
anxious to get the whole story out," Mr Slater told the AFP news
agency.
"He feels that Che was a murderer and a bandit and it was appropriate
to hunt him down." |
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