ICE Releases “Truly The Worst of the Worst” to Gated Community
NEWS & RESEARCH
Armando Fernández Larios, a former Chilean intelligence agent who helped plan the infamous 1976 Washington, D.C., car bombing that killed former ambassador Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in October 2025 for deportation but released in March 2026. Though he spent decades living in Florida after pleading guilty to a minor charge in 1987 in exchange for implicating Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, his standing as a Cold War ally collapsed as human rights advocates pointed to his role in Chile's brutal "Caravan of Death" death squad. Facing deportation, the 76-year-old filed suit arguing the US was violating its original plea agreement; rather than responding to the suit, the government abruptly released him from detention in early 2026—a decision reportedly attributed by his reputedly advanced dementia—leaving his final deportation status unresolved ahead of an August 2026 immigration hearing. According to Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at the National Security Archives, who has long tracked the Letelier-Karpen Moffitt assassinations, Fernández Larios is “truly the worst of the worst,” and is “a real criminal, a real human rights violator, somebody who participated in a plot of international terrorism.”
SOURCES: New York Times
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Fernández Larios, a notorious former Chilean secret police (DINA) operative, was quietly detained by ICE under a "worst of the worst" initiative, only to be paroled and released in March 2026 after filing an unlawful detention lawsuit. He initially came to the U.S. in 1987 under a plea agreement whereby he pled guilty as an accessory after the fact to the infamous 1976 car-bombing assassination of Letelier and Karpen Moffitt in Washington, D.C., in exchange for a shortened sentence and protection from deportation or extradition to Chile. However, Fernández Larios withheld details of his involvement in Pinochet's brutal "Caravan of Death" military unit, which led to a successful 2003 U.S. federal civil lawsuit finding him liable for torture, extrajudicial killings, and crimes against humanity. Despite repeated extradition requests from Chile and his lack of official immigration papers keeping his legal status in limbo, Fernández Larios’ recent release by ICE ensures he continues to live freely in Florida, even as the 50th anniversary of the Letelier-Moffitt assassinations approaches.
SOURCES: National Security Archives | The Nation
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Congress should pressure the US Department of Homeland Security to resume removal proceedings against Fernández Larios. Deportation is the fastest mechanism to send him back to Chile without getting bogged down in years of extradition battles. The Chilean Supreme Court has authorized at least five extradition petitions targeting Fernández Larios for dictatorship-era atrocities.
Litigation:
Although he resides in a gated community in Florida, Fernández Larios, claiming poverty, is yet to pay virtually any of the $4 million verdict he’s owed the family of Winston Cabello since 2003 for torture, crimes against humanity, and extrajudicial killings. Liens should be placed on any properties, businesses, or wages he controls within the US and his finances should be continually audited to look for hidden assets.
