 Conversely , Jacobo Machover , an exiled opposition author , dismisses all praise of Guevara and portrays him as a callous executioner . Exiled former Cuban prisoners have expressed similar opinions , among them Armando Valladares , who has declared Guevara " a man full of hatred " who executed dozens without trial , and Carlos Alberto Montaner , who has claimed that Guevara possessed " a Robespierre mentality " , wherein cruelty against the revolution 's enemies was a virtue . Alvaro Vargas Llosa of The Independent Institute has hypothesized that Guevara 's contemporary followers " delude themselves by clinging to a myth " , describing Guevara as a " Marxist Puritan " who employed his rigid power to suppress dissent , while also operating as a " cold @-@ blooded killing machine " . Llosa accused Guevara 's " fanatical disposition " as being the linchpin of the " Sovietization " of the Cuban revolution , speculating that he possessed a " total subordination of reality to blind ideological orthodoxy " . Moreover , detractors have attempted to demonstrate that Che @-@ inspired revolutions in much of Latin America had the practical result of reinforcing brutal militarism and internecine conflict for many years . Hoover Institution research fellow William Ratliff regards Guevara as a creation of his historical environment , referring to him as a " fearless " and " head @-@ strong Messiah @-@ like figure " , who was the product of a martyr @-@ enamored Latin culture which " inclined people to seek out and follow paternalistic miracle workers . " Ratliff has speculated that the economic conditions in the region suited Guevara 's commitment to " bring justice to the downtrodden by crushing centuries @-@ old tyrannies " ; describing Latin America as being plagued by what Moisés Naím referred to as the " legendary malignancies " of inequality , poverty , dysfunctional politics and malfunctioning institutions . 
