Many Passport readers have written in questioning an assertion made in my post from yesterday that Che Guevara "assisted in the persecution of homosexuals and AIDS victims."

Some of the comments I received were rude: "Either sloppy or lazy," one reader wrote. But, as you might expect from Passport readers, a good many more were constructive: "I have some trouble believing that a person who died in 1967 could have been persecuting victims of a disease whose existence was unknown before the early 1980s," one reader questioned. "In a future post, could you elaborate on this point?" another reader requested.

Sure thing. It's not my contention that Che magically came back from the dead to persecute the victims of a disease which proliferated a decade and a half after his death. I wrote, very carefully, that Che "assisted" in the persecution of AIDS victims. And here's what I mean: The labor camp system Che founded, most notably Guanahacabibes, was the predecessor to that which confined AIDS victims — and, incidentally, a whole host of other folks. Che's successors were "assisted" by his vision, if you can call it that, and the infrastructure he developed. Peruvian writer and FP contributor Alvaro Vargas Llosa explains:

This camp was the precursor to the eventual systematic confinement, starting in 1965 in the province of Camagüey, of dissidents, homosexuals, AIDS victims, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Afro-Cuban priests, and other such scum, under the banner of Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción, or Military Units to Help Production. Herded into buses and trucks, the 'unfit' would be transported at gunpoint into concentration camps organized on the Guanahacabibes mold. Some would never return; others would be raped, beaten, or mutilated; and most would be traumatized for life...."

Thanks to all those who offered thoughtful and constructive comments.