Mercedes-Benz Apologizes For Use Of Che Guevara Photo To Promote Luxury Cars Daimler Daimler AG, the German company that manufactures Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, called its promotional use of an image of Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara a "thoughtless" and "stupid" decision that was not intended to offend people. The image appeared briefly Tuesday during a promotional presentation for Mercedes-Benz at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The photo of Guevara -- the Argentine revolutionary who helped bring Fidel Castro to power -- has outraged Cuban exiles in South Florida, many of whom regard Guevara as an "evil figure" who took pleasure in mass killings. Guevara played a critical role in the 1959 overthrow of U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, the culmination of a two-year guerilla campaign during which Guevara allegedly ordered executions of Batista loyalists as well as Castro deserters and accused spies. "This is a guy who was a mass murderer and enjoyed killing," Miguel Perez, a Cuban American and nationally syndicated columnist, said in an interview with FoxNews.com. In Latin America, the people who love Guevara are usually the same people who hate the United States. But in this county, most of the people wearing his image on their shirts don't even know who he was. Young people think it's a fashion statement, when in fact it's extremely offensive," he said. Perez compared Guevara to infamous figures like Adolf Hitler and Usama bin Laden. "To us, it's the equivalent to how Jewish Americans would feel if they saw someone wearing the image of Hitler," he said. He had hundreds of people killed by Castro's firing squad. And he would force people to watch executions. In a statement sent to FoxNews.com, Daimler said it "was not condoning the life or actions of this historical figure or the political philosophy he espoused." In his keynote speech at CES, Dr. Zetsche addressed the revolution in automobility enabled by new technologies, in particular those associated with connectivity. To illustrate this point, the company briefly used a photo of revolutionary Che Guevara (it was one of many images and videos in the presentation) ...We sincerely apologize to those who took offense," the statement said. When further pressed on the matter, Daimler spokesman Han Tjan said the image appeared for "only a few seconds" during the 45-minute "Power Point" presentation. "It was very thoughtless not to realize that by doing that, it would offend a large number of people," Tjan said. "Unfortunately, the word "revolutionary" triggered a picture of Che Guevara ... which may indicate the age of the person who did it," he said. That fell between the cracks ... It was absolutely stupid that somebody did it. Felix Rodriguez, a Cuban American who assisted Bolivian soldiers in capturing Guevara before his execution in 1967, also denounced the use of the guerilla's image, the Miami Herald reported. "I know who Che Guevara was and he was a criminal, a murderer and a person who hated the United States of America," Rodriguez wrote in a posting on the Mercedes-Benz website, according to the newspaper. Rodriguez, who has owned three Mercedes-Benz cars, reportedly said he will replace his current Mercedes and vowed to never purchase a vehicle from the luxury car company again.