He and Guevara spoke civilly on the sluggish growth of the economy of Cuba and Guevara's tactics in starting a revolution in Bolivia. Rodríguez stated that he wanted to keep Guevara alive for further interrogation but was thwarted by the order of the Bolivian president for Guevara to be summarily executed. Rodríguez, whose cover was that of a Bolivian army major, repeated those orders and later stated it was a Bolivian decision for Guevara to be killed. Rodríguez has in his possession Guevara's Rolex wristwatch.