The historian Ben Hughes commented on the novel : " The Liberator 's British confidants , including Daniel O 'Leary , was amongst the closest figures to the general in this period . Nevertheless , they are ignored in the novel . Instead , Márquez use the character of a fictional Colombian servant , José Palacios , as The Liberator 's final sounding board , thereby neatly sidestepping the more complex reality . " In Hughes 's view modern South American literature have played a role in cleansing the national memory of British soldiers ' assistance to The Liberator .