On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 12:37 PM National Security Archive <[email protected]> wrote:
> ICE Detained Ex-Chilean Agent for Criminal Acts of Murder—Then Let Him > Go.50 Years Ago, Fernandez Larios Participated in Pinochet Plot to > Assassinate Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C.Former Agent Was Part of > “Caravan of Death” that Executed Civilians After September 1973 Military > Coup > > > > > > > *“Worst of the Worst”: ICE and the Case of Chilean Intelligence Operative > Armando Fernandez Larios* > > <https://default.salsalabs.org/T5f2578e6-8172-4f7f-b87e-1ca2804dca18/12238b38-d371-4bc9-b2b2-ab5a3bdb144f> > *ICE Detained Ex-Chilean Agent for Criminal Acts of Murder—Then Let Him Go > * *50 Years Ago, Fernandez Larios Participated in Pinochet Plot to > Assassinate Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C.* *Former Agent Was Part > of “Caravan of Death” that Executed Civilians After September 1973 Military > Coup* > > > > *Washington D.C., July 10, 2026* - On October 27, 2025, U.S. Immigration > and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents quietly arrested Armando Fernandez > Larios, a former Chilean secret police operative living in Florida. His > incarceration at the Krome Detention Center in Miami remained a secret > until he appeared on the Department of Homeland Security’s “worst of the > worst” list—one of several Trump administration publicity stunts from > January 2026 meant to demonstrate that ICE was rounding up immigrants with > actual criminal backgrounds. > > Despite detaining Fernandez Larios for past crimes of “homicide,” ICE > released him from custody on March 19th after he filed an “unlawful > detention” lawsuit, according to court records posted today by the National > Security Archive alongside declassified documents on his role in an act of > international terrorism in Washington, D.C., 50 years ago. > > A March 30 ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga dismissed > the Fernandez Larios suit as “moot” because ICE had already released him. > But the ruling provides details on the latest twist in the saga of a > notorious Chilean human rights violator who has been living freely in > Florida for decades despite his involvement in the September 21, 1976, > car-bombing operation that took the lives of former Chilean ambassador > Orlando Letelier and his 25-year-old associate, Ronni Karpen Moffitt, in > downtown Washington, D.C., and a jury finding of liability in a 2003 > federal civil lawsuit for his role in an elite military unit known as “the > Caravan of Death” that executed dozens of civilians after the September 11, > 1973, coup. > > Among the declassified documents posted today is a State Department report > on polygraph exams administered to Fernandez Larios after he sought to > defect to the United States in early 1987 and convinced U.S. officials that > he never knew his surveillance mission on Letelier was part of an > assassination plot. The polygraph tests showed “consistent signs of > deception in Fernandez’ disclaimers,” according to the report. > > Fernandez Larios pled guilty to being “an accessory after the fact” in the > Letelier-Moffitt murders and testified that General Pinochet attempted to > cover up Chile’s role in the car bombing; he served all of five months in > prison for his role in that atrocity. > > In 2005, Fernandez Larios attempted to secure an “S” visa that protects > foreign informants from ejection from the United States. But key U.S. > government officials opposed granting him that protective status. “Some > immigration officials have wanted to detain Fernández Larios to face > deportation proceedings, citing his lack of any immigration papers and a > 1996 law that mandates deportation of foreigners convicted of aggravated > felonies,” the *Miami Herald* reported at the time. > > More than 20 years later, that little-known effort to deport him appears > to have been revisited. Although Fernandez Larios is, once again, living > freely in Florida, the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Letelier-Moffitt > assassination is likely to bring renewed attention to his role in one of > the most infamous atrocities ever committed on the streets of Washington, > D.C. > > “If there is anyone who truly qualifies as ‘the worst of the worst,’ > observes the Archive’s senior analyst on Chile, Peter Kornbluh, “it is > Armando Fernandez Larios.” > READ THE DECLASSIFIED FILES ON FERNANDEZ LARIOS > <https://default.salsalabs.org/T77dfb644-4b61-4392-a7c5-abe889d66b53/12238b38-d371-4bc9-b2b2-ab5a3bdb144f> > > > > THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research > institute and library located at The George Washington University in > Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents > acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public > charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is > supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and > individuals. > > PRIVACY NOTICE The National Security Archive does not and will never share > the names or e-mail addresses of its subscribers with any other > organization. Once a year, we will write you and ask for your financial > support. We may also ask you for your ideas for Freedom of Information > requests, documentation projects, or other issues that the Archive should > take on. We would welcome your input, and any information you care to share > with us about your special interests. But we do not sell or rent any > information about subscribers to any other party. > > DONATE NOW > <https://default.salsalabs.org/T1d84cecc-688a-420e-bc23-df1195b47858/12238b38-d371-4bc9-b2b2-ab5a3bdb144f> > > National Security Archive > Suite 700, Gelman Library > 2130 H Street, NW > Washington > District of Columbia, 20037 > 202-994-7000 > [email protected] > <https://www.facebook.com/NSArchive> > <https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=NSArchive> > <https://www.youtube.com/user/nsarchive?sub_confirmation=1> > > Having trouble viewing this email? 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