 His commanding officer Fidel Castro has described Guevara as intelligent , daring , and an exemplary leader who " had great moral authority over his troops " . Castro further remarked that Guevara took too many risks , even having a " tendency toward foolhardiness " . Guevara 's teenage lieutenant , Joel Iglesias , recounts such actions in his diary , noting that Guevara 's behavior in combat even brought admiration from the enemy . On one occasion Iglesias recounts the time he had been wounded in battle , stating " Che ran out to me , defying the bullets , threw me over his shoulder , and got me out of there . The guards didn 't dare fire at him ... later they told me he made a great impression on them when they saw him run out with his pistol stuck in his belt , ignoring the danger , they didn 't dare shoot . " 
