 At the beginning of the novel , the General is 46 years old and slowly dying on his last journey to the port of Cartagena de <unk> , where he plans to set sail for Europe . As Palencia @-@ Roth notes , " Bolívar is cast here not only as a victim but as an agent of Latin America 's tragic political flaws " . The fortunes of the historical Simón Bolívar began to decline in 1824 after the victory of his general Antonio José de Sucre at <unk> . The novel draws on the fact that the historical Bolívar never remarried after the death of his wife , María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y <unk> . García Márquez uses other documented facts as starting points for his fictional portrait of Bolívar – for example , his dedication to the army above all else , his premature aging , and his bad temper . Of the latter , Bolívar 's aide @-@ de @-@ camp O 'Leary once remarked that " his <unk> and impatient temperament would never tolerate the smallest delay in the execution of an order " . 
