 Field Marshal Antonio José de Sucre is portrayed as an intimate friend of the General . The historical Antonio José de Sucre , the Field Marshal of <unk> , had been the most trusted general of Simón Bolívar . García Márquez describes him as " intelligent , methodical , shy , and superstitious " . The Field Marshal is married to and has a daughter with Doña Mariana <unk> . In the first chapter of the novel , the General asks Sucre to succeed him as President of the Republic , but he rejects the idea . One of the reasons Sucre gives is that he wishes only to live his life for his family . Also at the beginning of the novel , Sucre 's death is foreshadowed . Sucre tells the General that he plans on celebrating the Feast of Saint Anthony in Quito with his family . When the General hears that Sucre has been assassinated in <unk> on his way back to Quito , he <unk> blood . 
