Hey There! I'm Che, and I'm Using WhatsApp!

What if Che Guevara had been able to use the encrypted messages of WhatsApp to organise his guerrilla attacks?

A shrewd military commander and a harsh disciplinarian, Che Guevara relied on guerrilla attacks to apply pressure on national militaries and governments, hoping to eventually force them into talks and allow him to establish a communist state in the vision of Karl Marx.

In 1965, with Cuba safe from major threats, Che Guevara disappeared from public life. He travelled to various countries, urging and aiding insurrection, hoping to create ‘many Vietnams’ -rebellious communist movements, intent on tearing down the capitalist North’s exploitation of the Southern hemisphere. He led rebel groups in the Congo and later Bolivia, hiding in mountainous and forested areas. The guerrilla attacks required careful and co-ordinated planning, and the liberation forces he led relied on resupply missions which depended on secure communications with Havana.

However, this communication was often impossible or compromised. In the Congo, the National Security Agency of the USA were able to monitor his every communication (in a parallel to the scandal exposed by Edward Snowden). This hindered the effectiveness of his plans and efforts to incite a communist revolution, with Castro eventually leaving. If he’d had the use of end-to-end encrypted WhatsApp messages, he’d have been able to communicate properly with is fellow guerrilla leaders and suppliers, he may have strengthened the rebel movement, which may have exported the communist revolution into the heart of Africa.

Another example of Guevara being let down by the technology of his time was in Bolivia, where he advised and led the National Liberation Army of Bolivia. Despite some early successes, he was unable to remain in radio contact with Havana, with the shortwave radio transmitters provided by Cuba proving themselves faulty. This left his units stranded, isolated, and unable to be resupplied. This technology was prone to such problems, and it ultimately led to Guevara’s capture and death. Again, if Guevara had the use of WhatsApp, perhaps with the addition of a Satellite internet connection, he would have been able to resupply his men and continue his goal of liberating the world from the scourge of capitalism, instead of becoming cut-off, and suffering an untimely death.