ICE Releases Former Chilean Intelligence Operative Linked to Assassination
Armando Fernandez Larios, a 76-year-old former intelligence operative for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, was released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March 2026 after a legal challenge. Fernandez Larios was previously identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as one of the 'worst of the worst criminal aliens.' His involvement in the assassination of former Chilean Defense Minister Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C., in September 1976 is particularly notorious. During this incident, a car bomb not only killed Letelier but also claimed the life of his colleague, Ronni Karpen Moffitt.
Declassified documents reveal that Fernandez Larios conducted surveillance on Letelier prior to the bombing. He met with the lead hitman, Michael Townley, at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to provide critical information and financial support for the operation. The assassination occurred as Letelier, Moffitt, and her husband were driving to work, with only the husband surviving the attack.
In the days leading up to the assassination, a State Department warning against such actions was reportedly canceled at the request of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, despite concerns from aides about the potential international fallout. Following the assassination, Fernandez Larios engaged in a cover-up, misleading military investigators and providing false testimony to various authorities.
By 1985, he began negotiations with the U.S. government regarding a plea deal, which ultimately led to his guilty plea for being an 'accessory after the fact.' He was paroled in 1987, with the State Department later praising his cooperation. Fernandez Larios was also a member of the 'Caravan of Death,' a military squad responsible for the execution of numerous dissidents after Pinochet's coup in 1973.
In a 2003 civil trial in the U.S., he was found liable for extrajudicial killings and crimes against humanity, resulting in a $4 million judgment that remains uncollected. Despite his past, Fernandez Larios is now free in Florida, with no pending deportation proceedings, highlighting the complexities of U.S. foreign policy and its implications for justice regarding historical human rights violations.
