Nearly a year after arrest, ex-Pinochet agent Fernández Larios back in Miami court

Armando Fernández Larios, a former agent of Augusto Pinochet's DINA political police, appeared in a restricted Miami immigration court Wednesday to review his case, nearly a year after his arrest in the U.S. and subsequent release on an illegal detention claim. Sources close to the case indicated that Fernández Larios was present before Judge Irene M. Recio in Florida, where a new court date was set for December 10. Fernández Larios, who is facing homicide charges in the United States, was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in October 2025. This arrest was the latest in multiple attempts to deport him for human rights violations. After his detention, Fernández Larios filed a lawsuit against ICE, alleging illegal detention and "breach of contract." He contended that the U.S. government violated a 1987 agreement that purportedly promised he would not be deported back to Chile. He was released on March 19 when a judge ordered ICE officials to respond to his lawsuit. Fernández Larios was a key operative in the DINA, the repressive apparatus active during the early years of the dictatorship. He played a crucial role in the plan to assassinate former Salvador Allende minister Orlando Letelier, who was killed by a car bomb in Washington D.C. on September 21, 1976. Following an agreement with the U.S., Fernández Larios defected and pledged to testify about his involvement in the assassination and the DINA's operations. Peter Kornbluh, director of the National Security Archive (DNSA), explained that in exchange, the U.S. government agreed not to charge him as a co-conspirator, to seek a reduced sentence, and to not extradite or deport him to Chile for charges related to Letelier's murder. However, Kornbluh highlighted that Fernández Larios was inexplicably released after serving only five months of a potential seven-year sentence, a rapid release that has remained a mystery.