Ronald McIntyre

Ronald McIntyre, an admiral of the Chilean navy, served at the Chilean naval mission in Washington from January 1976 to the end of January 1978. In a sworn statement to the military prosecutor Héctor Orozco in 1978 he explained that "the political campaign against our country was always active, causing many difficulties for diplomatic work and, in the case of the military missions, serious repercussions on military equipment sales," so that he "personally contacted our regular suppliers who know the reality of our country, urging them to speak or write to their representatives and senators." One of the suppliers told him that "a distinguished Cuban businessman, Mr. M. Camargo, had influence in Miami over the Cuban electorate in that state," which "could therefore influence their political representatives (as in the case of Senator Stone, who, being a liberal Democrat, supports our cause)."¹

Brigade 2506

In early September 1976, three weeks before the killing of Orlando Letelier, Manuel Camargo telephoned to say he was in Washington with the leadership of Brigade 2506. McIntyre asked the embassy for an official, and Tomás Amenábar sent Rafael Otero; he also called in the deputy naval attaché, Commander Fernando Lazcano, and Commander Lautaro Sazo. The Brigade's president, Roberto Carballo, Camargo, and Bernardo de Torres came to his office. "The leadership stated they were committed to uniting all anti-Castro Cubans. That it was in their interest to end all the acts of terrorism that infiltrated small Cuban groups were carrying out in Miami. That they believed their efforts had succeeded since no bombings had occurred since they took over the leadership." The "only discordant note" was Carballo's feeling "over the detention in Chile and handover to US authorities of the Cuban Otero (today sentenced as a terrorist in Miami)." "The Cuban group in New Jersey" had sent him a copy of a letter to the Chilean consul in New York declining to attend the visit of the training ship Esmeralda in July 1976 "precisely because of the handover of Otero"; "this letter was signed by Novo, one of the brothers implicated in the Letelier crime. This letter was not answered." He had "no knowledge of the death of Mr. Orlando Letelier," and the facts "are known to Prosecutor Propper." On June 22, 1978, the prosecutor asked the CNI to have the Cuban participants questioned.¹