He was head of intelligence in the interior ministry of President René Barrientos, and in this role, he played a part in the 1967 capture and execution of Che Guevara.
In 1969, Quintanilla was responsible for the torture and death of National Liberation Army of Bolivia (ELN) leader Guido "Inti" Peredo Leigue.
[1] Nicknamed "Toto", he was linked to the American Central Intelligence Agency and studied at the US-run School of the Americas in Panama.
[5] Later that day ELN operative Monika Ertl entered the consulate, posing as an Australian folklorist seeking a visa to travel to Bolivia.
[8] Former Nazi and collaborator with the Bolivian dictatorship Klaus Barbie arranged the repatriation of Quintanilla's remains and the handing of his cremated ashes to his wife.