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Assassination of Orlando Letelier

SOLVED1976Sheridan Circle, Embassy Row, Washington, D.C.3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Memorial DDHH Chile 78 homenaje Orlando Letelier
Memorial DDHH Chile 78 homenaje Orlando Letelier — Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 3.0

Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean ambassador to the United States and cabinet minister under President Salvador Allende, became a leading international voice against the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet after being imprisoned and tortured following the 1973 Chilean coup. Released in 1974 under international diplomatic pressure, he relocated to Washington, D.C., where he worked at the Institute for Policy Studies and lobbied against loans and investment in Pinochet's Chile. On September 10, 1976, the Chilean government revoked his citizenship, citing his efforts to block foreign financial support for the regime.

On September 21, 1976, Letelier was driving to work in Washington, D.C., with colleague Ronni Moffitt and her husband Michael. As their car rounded Sheridan Circle on Embassy Row at approximately 9:35 a.m., a bomb planted beneath the driver's seat exploded. Letelier suffered catastrophic injuries and died at George Washington University Medical Center; Moffitt's carotid artery and larynx were severed by shrapnel and she died roughly 30 minutes after Letelier. Michael Moffitt survived with a minor head wound. Investigators determined the device was a plastic explosive attached to the vehicle's underside, not controlled by a timer or remote detonator.

The FBI's investigation, aided by a classified cable identifying links to Operation Condor, eventually implicated Michael Townley, a DINA operative based in the U.S., and Armando Fernandez Larios. Chile extradited Townley to the U.S. in 1978; he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, received a 10-year sentence, and testified that he recruited Cuban exiles — including José Dionisio Suárez Esquivel, Virgilio Paz Romero, Alvin Ross Díaz, and brothers Guillermo and Ignacio Novo Sampol — to help carry out the bombing. In January 1979, the Novo Sampol brothers and Díaz were tried in Washington, D.C.; all three were initially found guilty of murder, though they were later acquitted at a new trial. Suarez and Paz remained fugitives until being apprehended in the 1990s, after which they pleaded guilty and served short sentences. Fernandez Larios fled Chile in 1987 with FBI assistance and pleaded guilty as an accessory to murder in exchange for dropped charges. In Chile, former DINA director General Manuel Contreras and Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo were convicted of the murders on November 12, 1993, and sentenced to seven and six years' imprisonment, respectively.

Declassified U.S. documents, including a 2015 CIA report cited by author John Dinges, indicated that Contreras told a confidant he had authorized the assassination on Pinochet's orders, and that the CIA had knowledge of Pinochet's direct involvement by 1978. Other documents indicate the State Department had prepared a warning to Southern Cone governments about planned assassinations abroad shortly before the bombing, which was reportedly not delivered after intervention by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Pinochet, who died on December 10, 2006, was never charged in connection with the case. A civil liability dispute between the Letelier and Moffitt families and the Chilean government was resolved through arbitration under the 1914 Chile–United States peace treaty in the early 1990s.

Key facts

Victims
Orlando Letelier, Ronni Karpen Moffitt
Date
1976
Location
Sheridan Circle, Embassy Row, Washington, D.C.
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1973

    After the Chilean coup, Letelier is arrested by the new Pinochet government and imprisoned for approximately 12 months in political prisons and concentration camps, where he is tortured.

  2. 1974

    Letelier is released from Chilean custody under international diplomatic pressure and moves to Washington, D.C., joining the Institute for Policy Studies.

  3. 1975-10

    Letelier becomes Director of Planning and Development for the Transnational Institute's International Political Economy Programme.

  4. 1976-09-10

    The Chilean government revokes Letelier's citizenship.

  5. 1976-09-21

    Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt are killed by a car bomb at Sheridan Circle, Washington, D.C.; Michael Moffitt survives.

  6. 1978

    Chile agrees to extradite Michael Townley to the United States; Townley pleads guilty and begins cooperating with prosecutors.

  7. 1979-01-09

    Trial of Guillermo Novo, Ignacio Novo, and Alvin Ross Díaz begins in Washington, D.C.; all three are initially convicted of murder before later being acquitted at a retrial.

  8. 1987-02-04

    Armando Fernandez Larios pleads guilty to one count of acting as an accessory to the murder.

  9. 1991-08-23

    A U.S. Department of Justice affidavit details the Pinochet regime's cover-up effort, codenamed 'Operación Mascarada.'

  10. 1993-11-12

    Manuel Contreras and Pedro Espinoza Bravo are convicted in Chile and sentenced to seven and six years' imprisonment, respectively.

  11. 2000

    16,000 previously secret U.S. government documents related to Chile human rights violations are declassified.

  12. 2006-12-10

    Augusto Pinochet dies without having been charged in relation to the case.

  13. 2015

    Declassified documents, including a CIA report, are reported to show Pinochet personally ordered the assassination.

Best coverage

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People

  • Pedro Espinoza Bravo

    CONVICTED

    Former DINA brigadier, convicted in Chile on November 12, 1993, and sentenced to six years.

  • Orlando Letelier

    VICTIM

    Former Chilean ambassador and cabinet minister, killed by a car bomb on September 21, 1976.

  • Guillermo Novo Sampol

    CONVICTED

    Initially convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 1979; later acquitted at a new trial.

  • Ignacio Novo Sampol

    CONVICTED

    Initially convicted and sentenced to eight years in January 1979; later acquitted at a new trial.

  • Ronni Karpen Moffitt

    VICTIM

    Institute for Policy Studies colleague of Letelier, killed in the same car bombing.

  • Alvin Ross Díaz

    CONVICTED

    Initially convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 1979; later acquitted at a new trial.

  • José Dionisio Suárez Esquivel

    CONVICTED

    Remained a fugitive until apprehended in the 1990s; pleaded guilty and served a short sentence.

  • Manuel Contreras

    CONVICTED

    Former head of DINA, convicted in Chile on November 12, 1993, and sentenced to seven years.

  • Virgilio Paz Romero

    CONVICTED

    Remained a fugitive until apprehended in the 1990s; pleaded guilty and served a short sentence.

  • Armando Fernandez Larios

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty on February 4, 1987 to acting as an accessory to the murder.

  • Michael Townley

    CONVICTED

    DINA operative who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for organizing the bombing; sentenced to 10 years.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • Memorial DDHH Chile 78 homenaje Orlando Letelier

    archival location

    Memorial DDHH Chile 78 homenaje Orlando Letelier

    Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 3.0 · Source

Places

Sheridan Circle, Embassy Row, Washington, D.C.

38.9119, -77.0503

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On September 21, 1976, former Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and his colleague Ronni Moffitt were killed by a car bomb in Washington, D.C., planted by agents of the Chilean secret police (DINA) as part of Operation Condor, in an assassination declassified documents indicate was personally ordered by Augusto Pinochet.
Where did the crime happen?
Sheridan Circle, Embassy Row, Washington, D.C.
Who was convicted?
Pedro Espinoza Bravo (Former DINA brigadier, convicted in Chile on November 12, 1993, and sentenced to six years.), Guillermo Novo Sampol (Initially convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 1979; later acquitted at a new trial.), Ignacio Novo Sampol (Initially convicted and sentenced to eight years in January 1979; later acquitted at a new trial.), Alvin Ross Díaz (Initially convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 1979; later acquitted at a new trial.), José Dionisio Suárez Esquivel (Remained a fugitive until apprehended in the 1990s; pleaded guilty and served a short sentence.), Manuel Contreras (Former head of DINA, convicted in Chile on November 12, 1993, and sentenced to seven years.), Virgilio Paz Romero (Remained a fugitive until apprehended in the 1990s; pleaded guilty and served a short sentence.), Armando Fernandez Larios (Pleaded guilty on February 4, 1987 to acting as an accessory to the murder.), and Michael Townley (DINA operative who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for organizing the bombing; sentenced to 10 years.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in District of Columbia

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICAssassination of Orlando LetelierWikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — foia.state.govfoia.state.gov · 2026-07-05
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The GuardianThe Guardian · 2026-07-05

Record history

First published
JUL 05, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 05, 2026