HAVANA, March 11. /TASS/. The Bolivian soldier who executed Cuban revolutionary guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1967 has died at age 80, Telesur TV channel reported on Friday.

Mario Teran passed away on Thursday after a long illness in the city of Santa Cruz, central Bolivia. Retired General Gary Prado, who led the group that captured Guevara 54 years ago, confirmed the reports of Teran’s death.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentine physician, was a leading figure in the 1959 Cuban revolution. After serving as a senior official in the Fidel Castro government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment continental revolutions across Africa and South America. He was captured on October 8, 1967, by Bolivian soldiers with the help of CIA agents.