Chile to reopen probe into mystery death of poet Pablo Neruda

Chile reopens investigation into the death of poet Pablo Neruda amid suspicions of poisoning by Pinochet regime.

Chile will once again try to resolve the mystery of what killed Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda, who many believe was poisoned by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, a court said on Tuesday.

An appeals court in Santiago ordered the reopening of the investigation into the death of Neruda, who was a prominent member of Chile’s Communist Party when military dictator Augusto Pinochet took power in a coup in 1973.

In a statement, the court said that the “investigation has not been exhausted as there are precise procedures that can be carried out to clarify the facts.”

Neruda had been 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. The government claimed the 69-year-old had died of prostate cancer.

An investigation into the cause of Neruda’s death began in 2011 when Manuel Araya — his driver and personal assistant — asserted that the poet was given a mysterious injection in his chest just before he died.

Araya died in June last year, aged 77.

Neruda’s remains were exhumed in 2013 to be tested for traces of poison and returned for burial three years later.