Former Bolivian army sergeant Mario Teran, who executed Latin American revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara 55 years ago, has died at the age of 80, Telesur reports.

Teran died in a hospital in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. He was hospitalized three weeks ago due to lung problems that he had been experiencing for several years.

Reports of Teran's death were confirmed by retired General Gary Prado, who commanded the unit that captured Che Guevara in 1967.

The execution of Che Guevara took place on October 9, 1967. Teran was ordered to kill the revolutionary by a CIA officer who led a special operation to capture him. The sergeant fired nine rounds from an M1 Garand carbine into the prisoner.