No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeChileSuspicions grow that Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was murdered by Pinochet regime

Suspicions grow that Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was murdered by Pinochet regime

SANTIAGO, Chile — Experts will perform new tests on Chilean poet Pablo Neruda‘s remains to analyze a mysterious bacteria that has heightened his family’s suspicions he was poisoned by dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime, officials said Friday.

An international team of 13 experts will attempt to determine the origin of a massive Staphylococcus aureus infection in the Nobel laureate’s remains, which was identified in May by forensic scientists at the Universidad de Murcia in Spain.

Doubts have surrounded the cause of Neruda‘s 1973 death since his former driver claimed the poet was given a mysterious injection in his chest at the Santiago clinic where he was being treated for prostate cancer.

Neruda, who had been planning to leave for Mexico to lead the opposition to Pinochet’s regime, died hours after the injection. He was 69.

The cause of death was given as advanced prostate cancer, but in 2013 officials exhumed his body after a request from the Chilean Communist Party, of which Neruda was a member.

Chile’s forensic medicine service ruled that “no relevant chemical agents” could be linked to his death.

But the Spanish study has rekindled his family’s suspicions.

Chilean officials said a group of Chilean, Spanish, American, Canadian and Danish experts would now analyze the bacteria’s DNA.

“The main objective of the investigation is to determine whether he died of natural causes or because of outside intervention,” said Rodrigo Lledo, head of the Chilean interior ministry’s human rights program.

He told a press conference that the strain of bacteria found in Neruda‘s remains does not occur naturally and may have been “grown in a laboratory.”

Neruda, who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in literature, died on September 23, 1973, 12 days after Pinochet ousted socialist president Salvador Allende in a coup, installing a brutal regime that killed some 3,200 opponents over 17 years.

Recommended: What Augusto Pinochet’s 1998 arrest has meant for global human rights

Trending Now

Costa Rica National Stadium Renamed INS Estadio in Historic Deal

The National Stadium, a key landmark in La Sabana Metropolitan Park, now carries a new title after a sponsorship agreement. Yesterday, the venue officially...

From Costa Rica to the US an Expat Longing For Home

There are close to 200,000 people of Tico origin presently living in the US. I have spent the past month in an area where...

Tourist Numbers Dropped in Costa Rica During 2025’s First Seven Months

Costa Rica's tourism took a hit in the first seven months of 2025, with visitor numbers dropping compared to the previous year. By the...

Costa Rica’s Rincón de la Vieja Volcano Experiences Moderate Eruption

Guanacaste residents woke up to activity from Rincón de la Vieja volcano yesterday morning. The volcano produced a moderate phreatic eruption at 6:08 a.m....

Heavy Rains in Costa Rica Cause Severe Flooding

Costa Rica faces another tough week as persistent heavy rains pound our country, leading to widespread flooding, landslides, and disrupted lives. This October, the...

Nicaragua Alleges Costa Rican Police Tried to Detain Player

Tensions ran high at the National Stadium here in Costa Rica last night when police officers entered the Nicaraguan team's locker room moments before...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica