Chile admits that Pablo Neruda was probably murdered
It is 'clearly possible and highly probable' Chile's best-loved poet was killed under Pinochet's regime

The Chilean government has admitted that Pablo Neruda might have been murdered shortly after the coup that ushered in the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
The Nobel Prize-winning poet and political activist supposedly died of cancer in 1973, but rumours that he was killed by Pinochet's troops have lingered for decades.
The country's Interior Ministry has now said "it's clearly possible and highly probable" that a third party was responsible for his death, the Associated Press reports. However, it warned that an official investigation into his death had not yet reached its conclusion.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Who was Pablo Neruda?
His best-know work – Twenty Love Poems and a Desperate Song –was first published when Neruda was just 19. He went on to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971 for poetry that "brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams". Neruda was famed for his passionate love poems but equally well known for his fervent Marxist views.
He was a lifelong member of Chile's Communist Party, a former diplomat and a close friend of socialist President Salvador Allende, who committed suicide as Pinochet's troops stormed the presidential palace. Neruda intended to go into exile shortly after Pinochet came to power, but died a day before his planned departure.
What happened to him?
Officially, Neruda died of prostate cancer in a Santiago hospital on 23 September 1973, aged 69. But his chauffeur, Manuel Araya, has long alleged that he was murdered by Pinochet's agents who took advantage of his illness. He claims they gave him a lethal injection while he was in hospital over fears that he could become the leader of the opposition to the dictatorship.
"Until the day I die I will not alter my story," Araya told the BBC. "Neruda was murdered. They didn't want Neruda to leave the country so they killed him."
The official investigation into Neruda's death continues.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Schumer: Did he betray the Democrats?
Feature 'Schumer had only bad political options'
By The Week US Published
-
John McWhorter’s 6 favorite books that are rooted in history
Feature The Columbia University professor recommends works by Lyla Sage, Sally Thorne, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Book review: ‘Abundance’ and ‘Raising Hare: A Memoir’
Feature The political party of ‘abundance’ and a political adviser befriends a baby hare
By The Week US Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published