Chilean Court Reopens Investigation into Death of Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda Amid Poisoning Claims
The mysterious death of Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda has long been a subject of speculation and controversy. Many believe that he was poisoned by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Now, a Chilean court has ordered the reopening of the investigation into Neruda’s death, in an attempt to finally uncover the truth.
Neruda, a prominent member of Chile’s Communist Party, was preparing to flee into exile in Mexico to lead the resistance against the Pinochet regime when he died in hospital just 12 days after the coup in 1973. The government claimed that the 69-year-old poet had died of prostate cancer. However, doubts were raised when Neruda’s driver and personal assistant, Manuel Araya, asserted that the poet was given a mysterious injection in his chest just before he died.
An investigation into the cause of Neruda’s death began in 2011, and his remains were exhumed in 2013 for testing. In 2017, a group of Chilean and international experts concluded that Neruda did not die of cancer but could not determine the exact cause of death. In 2023, a scientific panel investigating Neruda’s death detected dangerous botulism-causing bacteria in his system but could not definitively establish whether he had been poisoned.
The recent decision by the appeals court in Santiago to reopen the investigation is seen as a significant development in the case. The court has ordered a new analysis of the handwriting on Neruda’s death certificate, as well as a “meta-analysis” of the results from previous experts who analyzed his remains. Additionally, new witnesses and an expert in clostridium botulinum bacteria will be called to testify.
Neruda’s family and the Communist Party have been persistent in their pursuit of justice for the poet’s death. They appealed the closure of the previous investigation in 2023, which prevented the release of Judge Paola Plaza’s final report. With the reopening of the case, they hope to finally uncover the truth and bring closure to Neruda’s legacy.
Pablo Neruda is remembered as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, known for his sensual poems about love. However, his romantic image has been tarnished by revelations from his posthumous memoirs. In these memoirs, Neruda admitted to raping a cleaning woman in Sri Lanka, a revelation that came to light after the emergence of the #MeToo movement.
The reopening of the investigation into Neruda’s death not only seeks to uncover the truth about his demise but also sheds light on the dark history of Augusto Pinochet’s regime. Pinochet ruled Chile for 17 years and oversaw a regime responsible for the deaths of approximately 3,200 leftist activists and other suspected opponents. Despite his crimes, Pinochet died in 2006 at the age of 91 without ever being convicted.
As Chile once again delves into the mystery surrounding Pablo Neruda’s death, the world waits in anticipation for answers that have eluded us for decades. The reopening of the investigation brings hope for justice and closure, not only for Neruda’s family and supporters but also for those who seek to understand and confront Chile’s painful past.
