A car bomb detonated at Sheridan Circle in Washington, D.C., on 21 September 1976, resulting in the death of Orlando Letelier and his secretary, Ronni Karpen Moffitt. This act occurred three years after the Chilean military coup, marking a violent escalation in the suppression of opponents by the regime of General Augusto Pinochet against exiled critics.
Early Career and Diplomatic Service
Born in Temuco in 1932, Letelier received his education at the Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, Liceo José Victorino Lastarria, and the University of Chile. His professional life began at the Copper Office in 1955. Following his departure from that agency in 1959, he spent time in Venezuela as a consultant to the Finance Ministry. By 1971, he returned to diplomacy, serving as the ambassador of Chile to the United States under President Salvador Allende, where he advocated for the nationalization of copper assets.
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In 1973, Letelier occupied three senior positions within the Allende government: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of National Defence. Following the coup d'état on 11 September 1973, he was arrested as a primary target of the new military leadership. His detention lasted twelve months, during which he was held at the Tacna Regiment, the Military Academy, a prison on Dawson Island, the Air Force War Academy, and the Riotoque concentration camp. Diplomatic pressure from Venezuelan official Diego Arria eventually secured his release in 1974.
Exile and Academic Work
After departing Chile, Letelier relocated to Caracas and eventually Washington, D.C., in 1975. He became a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and directed the Transnational Institute based in Amsterdam. Additionally, he taught at the School of International Service at American University. During this period, he produced several critiques of the Chicago Boys, arguing that their free-market economic policies effectively redistributed wealth toward financial speculators and monopolists at the expense of the working class.
Assassination and Legal Aftermath
Prior to his death, the Chilean government stripped Letelier of his citizenship on 10 September 1976. The subsequent investigation into his murder implicated DINA agents, including Michael Townley, who was convicted in the United States in 1978 and served 62 months in prison. General Manuel Contreras and Brigadier Pedro Espinoza faced convictions in Chile in 1993 for their roles in orchestrating the attack. General Pinochet, though linked to the order via correspondence, remained untried for this specific crime until his death in 2006.
Fast facts
- Born: 13 April 1932, Temuco, Chile
- Died: 21 September 1976, Washington, D.C.
- Education: University of Chile, Instituto Nacional, Liceo José Victorino Lastarria
- Spouse: Isabel Margarita Morel Gumucio
- Key Cabinet Roles: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and National Defence (1973)
- Think Tank Affiliation: Institute for Policy Studies
- Assassination Method: Car bomb
Questions readers ask
What was Letelier's role in the Allende administration?
He served as the ambassador to the United States and later as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Interior, and National Defence.
Why was he targeted for assassination?
Letelier became a prominent voice of the Chilean resistance in exile, actively working to block international loans to the Pinochet regime.
