Newly declassified U.S. documents reveal that the late Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet was directly involved in a deadly 1976 car bombing that targeted Orlando Letelier, a political opponent, in Washington, D.C.

The documents, including a strongly-worded memorandum to President Ronald Reagan in 1987 from then-Secretary of State George Shultz, point the finger directly at Pinochet, who had come to power in a 1973 coup backed by the United States that ousted socialist President Salvador Allende. The general then presided over a ruthless campaign against leftists that involved the disappearance of suspected activists, torture and mass killings.

The documents were presented by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Chile’s President Michele Bachelet, whose father had died following his time in one of Pinochet’s prisons and who herself lived through detention and exile.

“We have long known that the Chilean secret police/intelligence service was behind this brutal act, perhaps the only clear case of state-supported terrorism that has occurred in Washington, D.C.,” Shultz wrote to Reagan in a now-declassified memo dated Oct. 6, 1987.

“It is not clear whether we can or would want to consider indicting Pinochet,” Shultz wrote. “Nevertheless, this is a blatant example of a chief of state’s direct involvement in an act of state terrorism, one that is particularly disturbing both because it occurred in our capital and since his government is generally considered to be friendly.”

Shultz added: “While some in the U.S. government had previously believed that Pinochet had ordered the murders, and there were strong signs that he was involved in the cover-up, the CIA has never before drawn and presented its conclusion that such strong evidence exists of his leadership role in this act of terrorism.”

Senior figures within the State Department and the CIA were attempting to convince Reagan of the need to push for greater democracy in Chile. Despite his hideous record of rights abuses, Pinochet remained an ally of the West’s inveterate Cold Warriors, including Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.