the OBJECTIVE JERK

DIPLOMAT ASSASSINATED BY CAR BOMB IN D.C.! (In 1976).

• Jerk • Season 4 • Episode 212

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We trace a forgotten car bomb on Embassy Row and ask what it reveals about power, media, and moral lines that governments cross. Along the way, we riff on news drama, farm life with lethal cats, and a Star Trek watch plan that keeps getting delayed.

• Cold open and media rant on Don Lemon and integrity
• Cat chaos, field mice, and life on a Philippine farm
• Star Trek film project plans and posting cadence
• Discovery of the Orlando Letelier assassination in Washington DC
• Letelier’s exile, activism, and financial pressure on Pinochet
• Attack details at Sheridan Circle and Ronni Moffitt’s death
• Operation Condor, Michael Townley, and declassified documents
• Reading left and right coverage and comparing narratives
• Reflections on ideology, faith, and how stories get framed


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SPEAKER_00:

How's it hangin'? This is the objective jerk is what you are listening to. I am said jerk. What's up? How's it hangin'? I'm gonna bring that back, dude. How's it hanging, bro? Not that it's completely gone, people still say it, but I'm gonna start saying it on the podcast. How's it hangin'? Because it does appear that I have no female audience. So anyway. So what's going on, everybody? Let's see what's going on in the news. Don Lemmon is a fucking idiot. He is such an insufferable piece of shit. I cannot stand, like, he is just the most non-genuine, ingenuous, disingenuous piece of shit. Oh my god, I can't stand to listen to him try and finagle his, you know, and he like he's just I don't understand. He's so just lost, you know. He got fired from CNN because he sucks. Then he what's his face? Guy that owns Tesla, what's his name? Elon Musk gave him a job to be, you know, with with X. And then he just immediately starts like attacking Elon Musk about his prior, you know what I mean? Trying to give him like, you know, some some some exposure and hey, you're gonna be on X, and he just blew it because he's trying to be he tries to find he wants to be like the guy that's exposing the fraud and everything in Minneapolis with the Somali pirate daycare. You know what I mean? Like that's what because all he did, you know, the guy's huge, getting followers, all this kind of stuff, breaking up all kinds of fraud and scandal and bringing all you know what I mean. That's what Don Lemon wants, but he wants it from the crazy left side, which there is the right doesn't really do yes, there are there is corruption, there is fraud, there is bigotry, there is what do you call it, just hypocrisy on both sides, but the left is so much worse, and it's like he's trying to I don't know, but he's just an idiot. Every time he goes out in public and tries to he just he's such a moron, dude. These guys are just idiots, and he went along with this, they named him, he is gonna be charged. I don't know if he's gonna go to jail. I hope he does though. But yeah, so that's insane anyway. The the Face Act or whatever, which some people call the Ku Klux Klan Act because it was created to fight, you know, because Ku Klux Klan used to go to churches in the south and disrupt, you know, black folks during service and all this kind of stuff. And so that's where the that's where the law came in, you know, and then now you got a black man on Martin Luther King Day. I don't know, I just find the whole thing hilarious. Like, it's just it's sad, ridiculous, and hilarious at the same time. Like, what you know, I got my cat here. Hey. I thought you were sleeping. Oh man, I gotta let her run. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Do this cat. So this cat that I have is like a calico cat. You know, she's got patches from, you know, both her parents and everything like that. What's crazy is this cat was she just showed up. Like I came walking out of my house in the front yard, or yeah, out of the front yard to where we park, and she just kind of comes up and starts rubbing on me, and I'm like, who, what the hell? What's this cat doing? And I was like, oh my gosh. That happens to me a lot. Like, I'm not an animal lover, I like animals. I like animals to be treated, you know, decently, but I'm not the type of person that just lets my pets do whatever they want, sleep wherever they want, and I don't spoil my pets, but they they have a huge yard to run around. I make sure they're fed and they're watered. When I'm in the mood, I'll give them attention, but I'm not always. I'm kind of weird like that. I can't give them I don't know, that's just how I am. But so, you know, I don't like to see animals suffering. So I've I've told the story about my one cat, the orange one, how we got her, and then this one, she just yeah, she just showed up, and I was like, and I was kind of thinking that my cat Ginger, she needed a buddy to play with, you know. So I was like, okay, we'll hold on to her, I guess. She seems pretty, you know, friendly. So we've had her for a little while now, got her fixed and stuff like that. But she is like my other cat, Ginger, she's not real, she's like my kind of cat because she doesn't want attention, she just wants to be fed and there's water, and then she's pretty much content. Yeah, sometimes she'll kind of come up, but she's not she wants to play more than be pet. She's not cuddly, she doesn't want you know to be caressed, she wants to either play or sleep or eat, you know. And that's kind of more my lane. But this other one, man, she is just all about rubbing up on you and wants attention and stuff like that. But what's funny too is that she is a mass murderer of mice and rats, which is, you know, that's the reason, the biggest reason I have cats, uh, especially here out in this farm area. We got farmland, so you know, farm field rides, field field rats and mice, you know, all over the place. Find baby, like little baby mice all over the like she, I don't know what the heck she does. She like finds nests, she kills the parents, and then she lets the the babies suffer, and then one by one. I don't know what she does. She's like a serial killer of mice and rats. I'm not joking. And she'll bring them in the house and like throw them in the when they're dead, and throw them in the air and play with them and this and that. And so she did it last night, I guess. She had a mouse that she was messing with, it was bleeding out, it was still alive. My oldest son felt bad for it, so he kind of he killed it, you know, squished its head with something, some kind of whatever, I don't know. And then he tossed it over our property wall into the farmland area, which like right now it's a bunch of corn stalks growing. Well, this morning she brings it back, and so she's got another a dead mouse. I'm like, man, she's got another one. And then Gaius, he was there when well he said my son's name, but my youngest son saw when my oldest son killed, you know, the rat to you know to finish it off or the mouse. So when he saw it again, he's like, No, that's the one from last night, you know. So I was like, what the crap? So I get a paper towel, I toss it over the side, and then like a half hour later, she's she went over there and she grabbed it and she brought it back again. And I'm just and she's throwing it in the air in the kitchen and playing with it, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, you know, I'm like, good job, okay, but stop bringing them in the house. So I I flushed it down the toilet, so she can't get it there. Dana Life in the Philippines, what's up? But yeah, so that's going on. I recorded a my second Star Trek film that I talk about. So I rec I I posted the first Star Trek film I watched, and I'd never seen it before, and so I talked about it, and then I'm doing all of the films, but I just don't want to do them like one after another. So but I did end up watching it with my son, and I wanted to talk about it when I still when it was still kind of fresh, you know. So I recorded it. I just I haven't posted it yet, so I'm I'm gonna post this episode, and then you know, four days from now, then I'll post that one. Trying to have some sort of system, I guess. So it's gonna be a little weird because things I'm gonna talk about things on that podcast, which is I I think I bring it up, like it's old news, you're gonna be like, what the crap? This guy's like talking from the from the past. But I did talk about a YouTuber and I couldn't remember his channel's name, and then now I just blanked again. But it's something like Totally Awesome Films or something, it's something like that. He does some pretty good, you know, some videos on on James Bond and Star Trek and other stuff. So that's just something you're into. I couldn't remember his name to try and be like, hey, this is so anyway. What I'm talking about today is uh an old news kind of headline. So there, you know, I I don't know. I sometimes I miss stuff, but I mean this is a long time ago. But did you know that there was a car bomb assassination in Washington, D.C. here on American soil? I somehow missed that. I never heard that. I never, I don't know, or I maybe I heard it, but I just didn't really soak it in or something. But to me, that's crazy. I was like, what? There was a car bomb? It was in the 70s, but yes, there was a car bomb here in America. And that's what I'm gonna talk about because I don't really know much about it, so that's what I'm gonna do right now is check it out. So basically, it was the car bomb was to assassinate Orlando Leti Let Oh man, let's see. Does it have a how do you pronounce his name? Crap. Hold on, let me see, so I can say it right. Let me click here. Letelur. I don't know, they don't have a thing. Dang it. How do you pronounce that? So he's French? No, Chilean. Why would he be French? So let's say Letelier, Letelier. That's about as close as I can get. Anyway, Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean diplomat and outspoken opponent of dictator Augusto Pinchet Pinot, or whatever, same last name as that one actor guy, was assassinated in Washington, D.C., United States by a car bomb planted by agents of the Chilean Secret Police as part of Operation Condor. Ooh, I love that movie. It's a Jackie Chan. Letelier, who had been living in exile in the U.S., was killed alongside Irani Karpin Mofitt, a colleague at the Institute of Policy Studies. Declassified U.S. intelligence documents indicate that Pinchette, I think I'm saying that wrong, but personally ordered the assassination, which was intended to eliminate a leading voice of Chilean resistance and disrupt the international opposition to his regime. So I'm kind of curious. So I have this on Wikipedia, which just does a basic whatever, I'm gonna read it. And then I'm gonna read there's a couple articles talking, it was like, I don't know, 10 years ago though. It was the anniversary. So I have a left-wing article talking about it, and I have a right wing, and I'm just kind of curious to see how they're both gonna talk about it. Anyway, background. In 1971, Letelier was appointed ambassador to the United States by Salvador Alende, the socialist president of Chile. Socialist. Letelier had lived in Washington, D.C. during the 60s and had supported Allende's campaign for presidency. Alende believed Letelier Letelier's experience in connections in international banking would be highly beneficial to developing US Chile diplomatic relations. Socialism, banking. It's kind of weird. During 1973, Letelier served successfully as Minister of Foreign Affairs, then interior minister, and finally defense minister. After the Chilean coup of 1973, that brought Augusto Pinchet I don't know how I I know I'm saying it wrong, but to power, Letelier was one of the first members of the Allende administration to be arrested by the Chilean government and sent to a political prison in Terra di Fuego. Fuego, whatever, I don't know. He was held for 12 months in different concentration camps and suffered severe torture. First at the Tacna Regiment, then at the Military Academy. Later he was sent to a political prison for eight months at Dawson Island. From there he was transferred to the basement of the Air Force War Academy and finally to the concentration camp of Rituku. I'm saying most of the stuff wrong, so I know that. Eventually, international diplomatic pressure, especially from Diego Araya, then governor of the Federal District of Venezuela, Venezuela, they're in the news now, and United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, resulted in La Telier's sudden release on the condition that he immediately leave Chile for Venezuela. He was told by the officer in charge of his release that the arm of Dinah is long. General Pinchette will not and does not tolerate activities against this government. This was a clear warning to Letelier that living outside of Chile would not guarantee his safety. After his release, man, how long is this? That was a little more information than I was expecting. After his release in 1974, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he became a senior fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, an independent international policy studies think tank. He plunged into writing, speaking, and lobbying the U.S. Congress and European governments against Augusto Pinchett's regime, and soon he became the leading voice of the Chilean resistance. In the process, preventing several loans, especially from Europe, from being awarded to the military government. Also he was stopping funding and stuff. He was described by his colleagues as being the most respected and effective spokesman in the international campaign to condemn and isolate Pinchett's government. Letelier was assistant at the Institute for Policy Studies by Ronnie Moffat, 25-year-old fundraiser who had run a music carryout program that produced musical instruments for the poor and also campaigned for democracy in Chile.

SPEAKER_01:

Democracy.

SPEAKER_00:

I think that's what it is. Pinoch. Pinoch. Yeah, I think that's what it is. Pinoch government was killed in Buenos. Wait, what? Oh no, okay. By a radio controlled car bomb, September of 74, an assassination planned and executed by members of Dinah. I want to say Dino. Come here, Dino. Letelier's pro-democracy campaign and his vehement criticism of what did I say? Pinoch had been underwatch by the Chilean government. Letelier became a target for Dino Director Manuel Contreras. Efforts to eliminate resistance to the Pinoch Pin Pin Pinoche government. October 75, Letelier became the director of planning and development for the International Political Economy Program. An international think tank, a lot of think tanks, progressive politics. Maybe this panache dude did us a favor. Affiliated with the Institute for Policy Studies. Through the Institute's operations in the Netherlands, Letelier convinced the Dutch government not to invest in Chilean mining industry. In September 76th, the Chilean government revoked Letelier's Chilean citizenship. Pinoch signed a decree declaring that the former ambassador's citizenship be canceled due to his interference with normal financial support to Chile and his efforts to hinder or prevent the investment of Dutch capital in Chile. Later that day, in a speech delivered at the Felt Forum in Masson Square Garden, Letier. Letelier? I don't know. Today Panache has signed a decree in which it is said that, quote, this is quote, sorry, that I am deprived of my nationality. This is an important day for me, a dramatic day in my life in which the action of the fascist generals against me makes me feel more Chilean than ever because we are the true Chileans. And tradition of Higgins, Balma set, blah blah blah blah. And the fascists. I don't know. See, like I'm reading this, and all I'm hearing is like crazy liberal lefts today. You know what I mean? They're the fascists or the enemies of Chile, the traitors who are selling out our country to foreign investments. I mean, he might maybe he's maybe he was right, but I don't know. I was born a Chilean, I'm a Chilean, I will die Chilean. They were born traitors, they live as traitors, and they'll be known. See, I don't know, it's like with the crap that's going on, though, you just it you go back and and read some of the stuff about this, it's like I don't know, man. We'll see. I bet you I'm curious now to read the different articles, the left-wing article and the right wing about this. Curious to see what they're gonna say. Anyway, okay, now the attack. All right. Orlando Letelier was driving to work in DC on September of 76 with Ronnie Moffat and her husband. Oh, it was a female? That was a girl. Oh, that's her right there, Ronnie Moffat. Okay, and her husband of four months, Michael. Letelier was driving while Moffat was in the front passenger seat and Michael was in the back behind his wife. As they rounded Sheridan's Circle in Embassy Row at 9 30, an explosion erupted under the car, lifting it off the ground when the car came to a halt after colliding with a Volkswagen illegally parked in front of the Irish embassy. Michael was able to escape from the rear end of the car by crawling out the back window. He then saw his wife stumbling away from the car and, assuming that she was safe, went to Assist Letelier, who was still in the driver's seat, barely conscious and appearing to be in great pain. Letelier's hair head was rolling back and forth. His eyes moved slightly and he muttered unintelligibly. Michael tried to remove Letelia from the car. See, this dude's these are retarded liberals, dude. If I'm in a car with my wife and it gets blown up, I don't give a shit who's in the front seat. I don't care if it's Trump or whoever. I'm taking care of my wife first. Sorry, but anyway. I mean, I guess he did go and help the guy, so he's not he's not like that douchebag that just let his his friend who was a girl, fiance, wife, girlfriend, get assaulted. I don't know. Anyway. Michael tried to remove La Telier from the car but was unable to do so, despite the fact that much of Letelier's lower toso was blown away and his legs had been severed. Okay, at that point, I mean, unless you're gonna put a tourniquet on, dude, go make sure your wife is good. Both Ronnie Moffitt and Orlando were taken to the George Washington University Medical Center shortly thereafter. At the hospitals, discovered that Ronnie's larynx and keratin artery had been severed by a piece of flying shrapnel. So I guess she wouldn't have made it anyway, man. What's he gonna do? She drowned in her own blood some 30 minutes after Letelier's death while Michael suffered only a minor head wound. Michael and Miss Michael estimated the bomb was detonated at approximately 9.30. The medical examiner reports set the time of Letier's death at 9.50 and Moffitt's at 10.30. The cause of death for both listed as explosion and cured injuries due to a car bomb placed in the car on the driver's side. Diego Ariya interviewed, intervened once again by bringing Letilier's body to Caracas, Venezuela for burial where it remained until the end of Pinoch's rule. So that's just kind of crazy, though. I mean, a car bomb. I mean, it was the 70s. 70s was a crazy time. But it was crazy everywhere else, you know? Not so much. I mean, yeah, I mean, you had the, you know, the hippies and civil rights and all that kind of stuff, but and see, all this kind of crap was just like, I mean, there's still shit going on in the world, but in America, it basically was non-existent. All this kind of crap. And it's like, then it was brought back by the left. Racism, all, you know, just everything. Nobody cared about gay people. I mean, some people who are like hardcore Christians who, and the thing is, is Christians don't hate gay people because they can, you know, but they just don't like them trying to, you know, because it is a sin. So it's like it's but are there people who are like, oh, you're going to hell, you worthless garbage gays, you know? Yeah, there are, you know. And they're still racist people, but man, it was so it was so non-existent. And then now it's like you look at the way things are right now, it's like we're back in the 60s again, and it's all been it's been created by our own government. It's insane. Anyway, cover up effort. Let's see, the United States Department of Justice affidavit from August 91 detailed the efforts of the Pinoch regime to cover up its role in the assassination of Letier and Moffat. The extensive efforts were codenamed Operation Massacrada. Investigators initially determined that the explosion was caused by a plastic explosive molded to concentrate the force of its blast into the driver's seat. The bomb was attached by wires or magnets to the car's underside, probably magnets, and blew a circular hole two and two and a half feet in diameter in the driver's seat. Oof. The bomb was not believed to have been controlled by a timing device or a remote controlled detonator. Not believed. Timing. So somebody was watching and detonated, I guess. In the days after the incident, the spokesperson for the United States Department of State said the department expresses its gravest concern about Dr. Orlando Letier's death due to the assassination of Pratt's and the attempted assassination of Bernardo Leighton. The incident was believed to have been the latest of a series of state-sponsored assassination attempts against Chilean political exiles. A spokesman from the FBI said this was the first incident of violence against Chilean exiles on American soil, according to ANG Ray. It's the first car bomb, though, wasn't it? I mean, how many car bombs have happened? Oh, it's kind of crazy. A week after the assassination, the FBI's legal attache in Buenos Aires sent a classified cable report to Washington based on high-level source in Argentine, whatever, that stated that the murder was likely the work of Operation Condor. The report designated Chilbomb, stated that Chile was the center of Operation Condor. Every time I say that, I think of the Jackie Chan movie. And the third most secret phase of Operation Condor involves the formation of special teams, blah, blah, blah. The FBI eventually uncovered evidence that Michael Townley, a Dina U.S. expatriate, had organized the assassination of Orlando, who was also implicated in the murder, had also been given visas under the United States. In 78, Chile agreed to turn Townley over to the United States, where he began to testify extensively. Townley pleaded guilty and confessed that he had contacted five anti-Castro-Cuban exiles to help him booby trap Latyr's car. Something. According to what was the meeting? Led to Latire's death and is also the Cubana bombing two weeks later. Townley also agreed to provide evidence against these men in exchange for a deal that involved his pleading guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit murder and being given a 10-year sentence. What happened with this dude?

SPEAKER_01:

Michael Townley. I'm gonna see what's up with him.

SPEAKER_00:

The guy is still alive. Born in Iowa, American-born former agent of Dinah, Secret Police of Chile. He pleaded guilty to the murders. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, serving 62 months as a part of his plea bargain. Tallinn received immunity from further prosecution. He was not extradited to Argentina to stand trial for the 74 assassination of Chilean General Carlos Pratz and his wife. In 93, Talney was also convicted in something by Italian court of carrying out. 75 Rome murder attempt of Rernaldo Leighton. Talney worked in producing chemical weapons for Dinah. He has long maintained status as a protected witness. Convicted. Let me see, what's he doing now? Investigations. There's a lot of crap on him. Alright, let's see. 2023 confession publication. In November 2023, Talley's confessions about his four-year career as a dining assassin were produced in full and published together for the first time by the National Security Archive. Despite this National Security Archive website, also acknowledged that over the years, references to Tallinn's confession have appeared in books and articles. I don't know, was he kind of a fall guy?

SPEAKER_01:

Or I mean, like, okay, he did it, but who? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

See, and Chilean government suggested in 2015 that it's highly probable that a third party was responsible for Nurada's death. Oh, I don't know who Nerada was.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, Pablo Nourado. Oh, that's someone else, okay. Uh it doesn't really say. So wait, where's he living now? He's just living in the stage, chilling after assassinating a bunch of people.

SPEAKER_00:

It's crazy. Alright, let's see. I'm gonna go back. Diplomatic resolution. Okay, I'm already at almost 30 minutes, so I need to get going. Shoot.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Alright, so here is the liberal article, which I hope it lets me. It's got a thing here.

SPEAKER_00:

The Intercept, I don't know. And oh, the title is How Henry Kissinger paved the way for Orlando Letier's assassination. So they're trying to make it like, see, this is how I think Kissinger was conservative. So of course they're gonna try and okay, anyway. The former minister was, yeah, blah blah blah. Ledier was assassinated in the heart of Washington, which is still crazy to me. Even exile Ledier still had a target on his back. Oh, it won't let me read anymore. I don't wanna support us.

SPEAKER_01:

Go suck a dick. I'm not gonna support you. Come support my liberal magazine.

SPEAKER_00:

Alright, here. Then I'm gonna read Fox now, I guess. Chilean dictator Pinochet personally ordered assassination of diplomat documents reveal. Newly declassified U.S. intelligence documents reveal. Thursday that Chilean dictator Pinoch personally ordered the assassination. Orlando Letier, former defense. We know all that later had been top official under Marxist. So you know, was ousted in the coup. We hope that studying these documents will shine a light on both Pinoch's role in the killing and the judicial system that never tried the dictator for the crime. Yeah, it's kind of crazy how this all happened. That's what I'm saying. Like maybe, I don't know. Maybe they did cover it up. Or they they wanted it, you know, the you know, because he was a socialist, so I'm sure they allowed it to happen basically, or didn't care. Um when I say they, I mean us America government. Later has said he received copies of the documents and behest. Documents were originally sent to George Sult. There's also proof in the document that of how Pinoch sought to block the investigations and the cover-up, his name and the responsibility. Document includes State Department Cable summarizing a series of informant reports from the years. One document includes an assertion from the former head of Chilean intelligence security. Okay, I read that already. In 2005, Contras and his second command were convicted in Latier's death. Okay. Pinoch ruled Chile from 73 to 90. He was never tried in the death. So that's kind of all it says.

SPEAKER_01:

I wonder what. Is there any comments? Oh man. Nope.

SPEAKER_00:

So it's kind of crazy. I don't know. You know, from there's always been this battle against Christianity and Satan. You know, the Satan aspect is the Masons socialism, you know, it's always been, you know, good and evil against each other. I mean, it's kind of, you know, turned into so you have people who are fighting the good fight for the maybe the Christian kind of ideals, but they're not Christian. It's more, you know, they're they look at as political and stuff and their political party and stuff. But it's it's been going on forever, man. It's it's you know, and it's still going on today. And you have people trying to push all these socialist ideology and all this kind of, you know, all this crap. And that's the thing, man. It's like just if you sit there and be like, well, why? Why are they trying so hard? Like, does it really make sense to you to have trans men compete in women's sports and men being able to go in bathrooms and jerk off on camera in front of you know what I mean? Like, oh no, it's okay. Like, why is that okay? That doesn't that makes no sense. But that's just a tiny sliver of the pie, you know, with all this other kind of crap. Like, what is it? It's good versus evil. It's they're trying to. That's why Don Lemon's, you know, go why was it a Christian church? Well, supposedly because one of the ice agents, I guess, but would he have done that if the ice agent was, you know, Muslim or Jewish, or you know what I'm saying? I don't know. It's just there's always these little things, these little attacks, you know. You see on sports teams they they want to have rainbow jerseys or rainbow this and this and that. But if somebody puts Jesus or puts, you know, any kind of Bible verse, they get in trouble. They can't mention Jesus. You go to a Coke machine that you can put any name on it, Mohammed, this and that, but oh, you can't put Jesus. Why is that? Doesn't that seem a little weird? Isn't that kind of weird? Why is there such a this attack on Christianity and more specifically Catholicism? Think about it anyway. Thanks for hanging out. Let me know what you think. Appreciate your time. I'll see you guys next time. And God bless. Alright, bye.

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