Cuba Archive - Case 1762

Case ID: 1762

Title: N/A

First name: Orlando

Last name: Letelier

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 44

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:13 / Month:4 / Year:1932

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:21 / Month:9 / Year:1976

Citizenship: Chile

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: Washington, D.C.

Last known province-TOD: N/A

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: United States

Location death-address: Sheridan Circle, Massachusetts and Florida Avenues (Sheridan Circle)

Location of death - city: Washington, D.C.

Location of death province - at TOD: N/A

Location of death province - current: N/A

Location of death - country: United States

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Anti-Castro Resistance / Non-state actors

Death attribution detail: Chilean Intelligence Service and Movimiento Nacionalista Cubano, based in New Jersey, USA

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Letelier was a member of Chile's Socialist Party and had been ambassador to the U.S. as well as Foreign, Interior, and Defense Minister for the socialist president Salvador Allende, who had been deposed in a 1973 coup d'etat.  Letelier was the most prominent Chilean living in exile.  He worked as a senior fellow at the left-wing Institute for Policy Studies, was director of the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, and taught at the School of International Service of the American University. He and his 25-year-old assistant, Ronni Moffit, died after a car bomb placed under their car was detonated by remote control. The driver, Ronni´s husband, Michael Moffitt, was also traveling in the car and was injured, but survived. Letelier left a wife and four sons. 
The bombing operation was carried out by the Chilean Intelligence Service (DINA), led by Col. Manuel Contreras, that recruited a U.S. citizen, Michael Townley, to build the bomb and anti-Castro Cuban exiles from a New Jersey militant group to wire the bomb. In the U.S., Townley confessed and went to prison, the brothers Ignacio and Guillermo Novo were sentenced to life in prison and Dionisio Suárez to 8 years of prison. Contreras was indicted by a U.S. grand jury, but Chile refused to extradite him. He was sentenced to 8 years after the end of the Pinochet regime and later pointed the finger at his superiors, claiming that all relevant orders came from Pinochet.
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Letelier era miembro del Partido Socialista de Chile y había sido embajador en los Estados Unidos, así como Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, Interior y Defensa del presidente socialista Salvador Allende, quien había sido depuesto en un golpe de estado en 1973. Letelier era el chileno exiliado más destacado. Trabajó como investigador principal en el Instituto de Estudios Políticos de izquierda, fue director del Instituto Transnacional con sede en Ámsterdam y enseñó en la Escuela de Servicio Internacional de la Universidad Americana. Él y su asistente de 25 años, Ronni Moffit, murieron después de que una bomba colocada debajo de su coche fuera detonada por control remoto. El conductor, el esposo de Ronni, Michael Moffitt, también viajaba en el automóvil y resultó herido, pero sobrevivió. Letelier dejó esposa y cuatro hijos.
La operación  fue realizada por el Servicio de Inteligencia de Chile (DINA), encabezado por el coronel Manuel Contreras, que reclutó a un ciudadano estadounidense, Michael Townley, para construir la bomba y exiliados cubanos anticastristas de un grupo militante de Nueva Jersey para colocarla en el coche. En Estados Unidos, Townley confesó y fue a prisión, los hermanos Ignacio y Guillermo Novo fueron condenados a cadena perpetua y Dionisio Suárez a 8 años de prisión. Contreras fue acusado por un gran jurado estadounidense, pero Chile se negó a extraditarlo. Fue sentenciado a 8 años después del fin del régimen de Pinochet y luego señaló con el dedo a sus superiores, alegando que todas las órdenes relevantes provenían de Pinochet.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Reported: Highly likely / Highly reliable source(s)

Cause of Death: - Politically-motivated killing by non-state agent(s)

Occupations: - Education, Training, and Library Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Other

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: - Case 6813: Ronni Moffitt

Case Record - Orlando Letelier