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### Viewing cable 09SANTIAGO937, CHILE: Six Charged in Death of Former Chilean President

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09SANTIAGO937 | 2009-12-11 20:08 | 2011-02-07 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Santiago

`

    VZCZCXRO4146
    OO RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS
    RUEHTM
    DE RUEHSG #0937/01 3452022
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    O R 112022Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0416
    INFO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
    RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
    RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 SANTIAGO 000937

    SIPDIS
    AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA
    AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC
    AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/11
    TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM CI
    SUBJECT: CHILE: Six Charged in Death of Former Chilean President
    Eduardo Frei Montalva

    REF: SANTIAGO 934

    CLASSIFIED BY: Laurie Weitzenkorn, A/DCM, State, US Embassy Santiago;
    REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

    ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On December 7, Judge Alejandro Madrid charged
    six individuals with assassinating former President Eduardo Frei
    Montalva in 1982. Frei, who is the father of the current
    presidential candidate Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, died ostensibly of
    a bacterial infection after undergoing routine surgery. USG
    laboratory tests conducted to date have found no evidence of the
    poisoning that Judge Madrid alleges, though some of the substances
    alleged to have been used cannot be detected via laboratory tests.
    Even when a judicial decision is eventually reached in the case,
    Frei's death--like many other events surrounding the Allende and
    Pinochet governments--is likely to remain controversial, with
    Chilean opinions about the matter based more on ideology than fact.
    End Summary.

    Outline of an Alleged Assassination

    --------------------------------------------- -

    ¶2. (U) On December 7, Judge Alejandro Madrid charged six
    individuals in the 1982 death of former president Eduardo Frei
    Montalva. President Frei, who was 71 years old at the time of his
    death, was admitted to Clinica Santa Maria in Santiago for a
    routine hernia operation. Despite his overall good health, Frei
    died on January 22, 1982, ostensibly of a bacterial infection
    incurred during the surgery or his subsequent hospitalization.
    Frei was the leading figure in the opposition to military dictator
    Pinochet, and his unexpected death, combined with other political
    assassinations, led Frei's family and others to suspect that he was
    murdered. (Note: Eduardo Frei Montalva was president of Chile
    from 1964-70. He is the father of current presidential candidate
    Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, who served as president from 1994-2000.
    End Note.)

    ¶3. (U) Judge Madrid's report alleges that Frei was slowly poisoned
    with thalium and mustard gas over a period of months. These
    substances allegedly weakened his immune system to the point that
    he was highly susceptible to infection, which Madrid alleges may
    have been purposefully transmitted. (Frei was also allegedly given
    a U.S.-manufactured product known as "Transfer Factor" which had
    not been approved by the FDA, though it is unclear what affects
    this substance had on his health.)

    ¶4. (U) Less than one hour after his death, doctors from the
    Catholic University Pathological Anatomy Department came to Clinica
    Santa Maria and performed an autopsy of Frei without the family's
    consent. The highly unusual autopsy was allegedly performed in the
    hospital room where Frei died, using a ladder to hang the body
    upside down in order to drain bodily fluids into the bathtub.
    Some organs, and in particular those whose chemical compositions
    might indicate poisoning, were removed and destroyed, and the body
    was embalmed.

    Chilean Investigation and Individuals Charged

    --------------------------------------------- ---------------

    ¶5. (U) Judge Madrid charged six individuals in the case. Three
    individuals are charged with actually committing the murder:

    --Luis Becerro, Frei's driver, who has admitted to secretly working
    for the Chilean intelligence service (CNI) and reporting on Frei's
    activities.

    --Raul Lillo, a Chilean intelligence agent who allegedly worked in
    a group dedicated to spying on Frei and other Christian Democrats.

    SANTIAGO 00000937 002 OF 004

    --Patricio Silva, a doctor who allegedly performed surgery on Frei.

    Two others are charged as accessories:

    --Helmar Rosenberg, the doctor accused of performing the autopsy
    and embalming the president.

    --Sergio Gonzalez, a pathologist who also allegedly participated in
    the autopsy.

    One person is charged as an accomplice:

    --Pedro Valdivia, a doctor who allegedly worked at a medical
    facility run by the Chilean intelligence service. Madrid's report
    states that Valdivia entered the room while the autopsy was being
    performed.

    ¶6. (SBU) Judge Alejandro Madrid has been investigating the case
    since 2002, when the Frei family first learned about the
    unauthorized autopsy. The case is being conducted under Chile's
    old inquisitorial justice system, where Judge Madrid is
    investigator, prosecutor, and judge, and where there is no "trial"
    with oral arguments. (Note: Chile finalized its penal process
    reform to implement an oral, accusatorial system in 2005 and only
    cases occurring after the implementation date are tried under the
    new system. End note.) Under the system being used for this case,
    if a judge has brought charges, it is because he believes that he
    has the evidence to convict. The defendants now have the
    opportunity to submit judicial inquiries and proposals to try and
    limit the judge's ability to convict, but the most likely scenario
    is that Judge Madrid will end up issuing convictions and the
    defendant can then appeal.

    Convenient Timing: Charges Filed Six Days Before Election

    --------------------------------------------- ----------------------
    ----------

    ¶7. (SBU) The charges against the six individuals allegedly
    involved in the murder were filed on December 7--just six days
    before presidential elections pitting the deceased president's son
    and namesake, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, against conservative
    candidate Sebastian Pinera (from the Alianza coalition) and
    independent progressive Marco Enriquez-Ominami. Pinera and
    Enriquez-Ominami publicly expressed support for the Frei family
    when the news broke. However, some observers have questioned the
    timing of the charges, as media attention surrounding the case both
    emphasizes the image of the beloved and well-respected Eduardo Frei
    Montalva as well as bringing up the specter of military rule, which
    is still tied to the Alianza coalition in the minds of some voters.
    Judge Madrid has denied any political considerations in the timing
    of the charges. News reports state that the Frei family knew
    several days in advance that the charges were about to be filed.
    Press reports also state that Judge Madrid has an affinity for the
    Christian Democratic party, the party that Eduardo Frei Montalva
    helped to found and the party of his son, presidential candidate
    Edurado Frei Ruiz-Tagle.

    USG Involvement in Testing Frei's Remains

    --------------------------------------------- -----------

    ¶8. (SBU) The Chilean government, the presiding judge, and an
    affiliated scientist have requested USG assistance in testing

    SANTIAGO 00000937 003 OF 004

    Frei's remains a number of times, including sometimes by
    purposefully circumventing official channels. Judge Madrid first
    formally requested USG assistance in testing remains in 2004. The
    request was processed as a Foreign Police Cooperation Matter and
    FBI personnel were present during the exhumation process and
    ensured chain-of-custody protocols were followed. The Armed Forces
    Institute of Pathology (AFIP) conducted the testing , which
    confirmed that the remains were those of Eduardo Frei Montalva, but
    did not find any alkaline extractable substances. (Note: AFIP did
    not test for nitrogen mustard, as it is highly volatile and experts
    know of no analysis that would detect nitrogen mustard in remains
    20 years after death. End Note.) Legatt sent a copy of the
    toxicology report to Judge Madrid. Nonetheless, in 2005, Judge
    Madrid publicly alleged that he had never received any testing
    results and accused the USG of failing to cooperate in the
    investigation. (Legatt later sent another copy of the toxicology
    report to Judge Madrid.)

    ¶9. (SBU) At a scientific conference in May 2007, Dr. Laura Borgel,
    a scientist at the University of Chile, discussed the scientific
    interpretation of recent forensic analyses with Dr. Jose Centeno of
    AFIP. Dr. Centeno offered to informally collaborate with Dr.
    Borgel in testing the samples at the AFIP lab, as Dr. Centeno's lab
    did not have the capability to do so. (Judge Madrid later told
    Legatt that Dr. Borgel never told Dr. Centeno that the specimens
    she provided belonged to Frei.) This collaboration was not
    authorized by the US or Chilean government and chain-of-custody and
    other procedures were not followed.

    ¶10. (SBU) In October 2007, Judge Madrid wrote to AFIP requesting
    the scientific collaboration of Dr. Centeno and AFIP. Post
    learned of the request when AFIP contacted the FBI Lab Division,
    who then informed Legatt. In a subsequent meeting with Legatt,
    Judge Madrid explained that he had purposefully tried to circumvent
    the need for additional authorization from the Supreme Court by not
    sending his letter through normal diplomatic channels. Legatt
    encouraged Madrid to make his request through proper channels. He
    never did, though in August 2008 Madrid used a diplomatic note to
    ask AFIP to agree to his October 2007 letter to AFIP requesting
    assistance. Ultimately, the State Department sent a diplomatic
    note to the Chilean MFA on January 9, 2009 along with a letter from
    Dr. Centeno to Dr. Borgel explaining that Dr. Centeno's informal
    testing found that metals, including thallium, were present only at
    background levels.

    ¶11. (SBU) U.S. involvement in the investigation took another
    strange turn in October 2009 when two Chilean Policia de
    Investigaciones (PDI) officers assigned to the Frei case attempted
    to speak with officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
    in Atlanta. The officers wanted to know if the CDC sent strains of
    "clostridium botulinum" (toxin or antidote) to the Chilean
    Institute of Public Health in 1981 or 1982. The officers requested
    the meeting with the CDC through the Pan-American Health
    Organization (PAHO) rather than through a U.S. law enforcement
    agency, creating another situation where Chilean authorities did
    not follow proper protocols. After consulting with Post and
    WHA/BSC, the CDC declined to meet with the Chilean officers because
    they did not follow established rules for arranging such a meeting.
    The State Department's Chile desk officer verbally notified the
    Chilean Embassy in Washington about the need to follow proper
    channels when conducting investigations and Post's Legatt discussed
    the issue with the PDI officials.

    The Death of Eduardo Frei Montalva: Ghost Story or Assassination?

    --------------------------------------------- ----------------------
    ----------------------

    ¶12. (C) Comment: While Judge Madrid's charges will likely

    SANTIAGO 00000937 004 OF 004

    eventually lead to a final judicial ruling about the guilt or
    innocence of the six men accused of participating in the death of
    Eduardo Frei Montalva, it seems very possible that no national
    consensus will ever be reached on how the former president died.
    Chilean intelligence agents assassinated or attempted to
    assassinate a number of opposition political figures, including
    Carlos Prats (pro-Allende Army Commander-in-Chief who was killed by
    a car bomb in Buenos Aires); Orlando Letelier (former Chilean
    Ambassador to the US who was killed by a car bomb in Washington,
    DC); and Bernardo Leighton (prominent opposition politician who was
    shot during an attempted assassination in Rome). In addition, the
    intelligence service is known to have secretly operated
    laboratories dedicated to developing chemical and biological agents
    to be used in targeting political enemies. Within that scenario,
    and given the formerly good health of the president and his role
    leading opposition to the Pinochet regime, it is easy to see why
    his family and supporters suspect that he was murdered. And Judge
    Madrid may have additional evidence which post is not aware of to
    support this conclusion.

    ¶13. (C) On the other hand, at present the Embassy is not aware of
    any direct evidence indicating foul play. Official tests conducted
    by AFIP and unofficial tests by Dr. Centeno have not shown toxic
    levels for any of the elements tested. Given the extremely long
    time since Frei's death and the destruction of some key organs,
    forensic science may not be able to provide definitive evidence
    whether Frei was murdered. Chile's tragic recent history continues
    to divide its people, and the death of this emblematic president
    seems destined to be yet one more area in which the full truth may
    never be known. End Comment.
    SIMONS

`