 Two weeks after his Algiers speech and his return to Cuba , Guevara dropped out of public life and then vanished altogether . His whereabouts were a great mystery in Cuba , as he was generally regarded as second in power to Castro himself . His disappearance was variously attributed to the failure of the Cuban industrialization scheme he had advocated while minister of industries , to pressure exerted on Castro by Soviet officials disapproving of Guevara 's pro @-@ Chinese Communist stance on the Sino @-@ Soviet split , and to serious differences between Guevara and the pragmatic Castro regarding Cuba 's economic development and ideological line . Pressed by international speculation regarding Guevara 's fate , Castro stated on June 16 , 1965 , that the people would be informed when Guevara himself wished to let them know . Still , rumors spread both inside and outside Cuba to the missing Guevara 's whereabouts . 
