20 yet Argentina’s soiled struggle featured a rotating solid of generals; in Chile, Pinochet used to be greatly the lead actor. And the U.S. used to be exerting renewed strain to unravel the 1976 motor vehicle bomb assassination in Washington, D. C. , of Chilean exile chief Orlando Letelier and an American coworker. U. S. investigators had charged the regime’s former safeguard leader, retired normal Manuel Contreras, and different military officials with making plans and organizing the killing; the regime’s refusal to extradite them to face trial had additional worsened family among the 2 nations. If Pinochet used to be “a very fearful man,” Contreras used to be much more so. He have been Pinochet’s closest consultant and the fellow answerable for assisting him consolidate strength following the 1973 coup, relocating him from junta member to best chief. within the wake of the Letelier case, Pinochet had got rid of Contreras and reorganized the safety forces less than a brand new identify in 1978, however the former intelligence leader, who now ran a personal safeguard service provider in Santiago, used to be nonetheless broadly feared. In February 1989 Contreras, via intermediaries, approached the U. S. embassy in Santiago bearing a wierd message. He claimed to have had 4 separate conferences with “gringos” sooner than the October five plebiscite. due to those conferences, it used to be agreed that neither part may display any info harmful to Contreras himself, Pinochet, the U. S. executive, former CIA director and then–presidential candidate George Bush, or then-ambassador Harry Barnes. the us had damaged this contract with its contemporary projects at the Letelier case, and if a brand new figuring out was once now not reached via the top of the month, Contreras may take unspecified activities opposed to the U.S.. He indicated that he used to be ready to offer a testimony in Chile at the Letelier assassination, only if he and U. S. representatives may possibly agree on “an applicable tale” to provide an explanation for the case, akin to declaring that the Chilean exile were a pro-Castro Cuban agent, killed via Cuban exiles. as though to teach he may well nonetheless supply info of curiosity to U. S. officers, Contreras additionally indicated that one    shifting strength 23 of his brokers indicted by way of a U. S. grand jury within the case have been concerned with drug trafficking with one in every of Pinochet’s sons. Contreras’s possibility used to be said in a cable written via embassy deputy leader of undertaking George Jones, who famous that the previous safety leader used to be “the most threatening guy in Chile” and that the potential of a “a Contreras-initiated terrorist act” couldn't be excluded. 21 whereas his former safeguard leader was once trying to blackmail his approach out of difficulty, Pinochet lower back to his aid base, the Chilean military, vacationing regiments round the kingdom for 5 weeks. He then spent per week traveling part of southern Chile that have been one in all purely areas within the nation the place a majority had forged “yes” votes within the plebiscite. Pinochet advised supporters that his regime would supply the realm with better healthcare amenities as “a prize for patriotism” and that he may quickly propose them who to vote for within the coming near near presidential elections.