“And you’ll ask: why doesn’t his poetry
speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of his native land?
Come and see the blood in the streets.”

I explain a few things
Pablo Neruda

October 21 2024 — Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician. On October 21 2018, The Spy Museum tweeted: “Today in #SpyHistory – The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to former KGB agent and Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, 1971.” Really? Where is the evidence that Neruda was a KGB agent? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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“Neruda planned to go into exile in Mexico, where he would have been an influential voice against the dictatorship. But a day before his planned departure, he was taken by ambulance to a clinic in Santiago, where he died Sept. 23, 1973.”

UPDATE (October 21 2024) — In February 2024, the Chilean Court of Appeals ordered the reopening of the investigation reversing a previous decision from December 2023 that dismissed new forensic evidence.

This renewed inquiry aims to clarify whether the renowned poet and Nobel laureate, who died shortly after the 1973 military coup, was poisoned.

The appeals court’s decision calls for additional forensic analysis and witness testimonies, focusing on the implications of the bacterium found in Neruda’s remains​.

I have long argued that there is no evidence linking Neruda to Soviet Intelligence agencies. Today, I decided to ask ChatGPT.

Intel Today : Is there any evidence that Neruda was a Soviet agent?

ChatGPT : There is no substantial evidence to suggest that Pablo Neruda was a KGB agent. Allegations linking him to Soviet intelligence stem primarily from his strong pro-Communist stance, friendships with influential leftists like Salvador Allende, and his travels to the Soviet Union and other socialist countries during the Cold War. These connections made him a prominent figure in Communist circles and a target for rumors about espionage activities, but nothing concrete ties him to the KGB.

Neruda’s role was more that of a cultural ambassador, using his poetry and public appearances to support leftist movements. His visits to the Soviet Union were related to his literary and political engagements rather than espionage. Additionally, his literary and diplomatic careers were intertwined with his political ideals, especially during the Spanish Civil War and his tenure as a Chilean consul, making him more of an ideological ally than an intelligence asset.

Any claims of Neruda’s involvement with Soviet intelligence lack credible documentation or independent verification, leaving the notion speculative and unsupported by solid evidence​.

Truth never dies… Stay tuned!

END of UPDATE

“This is not a part of American history that we are proud of.”

General Colin Powell

UPDATE (February 15 2023) — Neruda suspected a doctor of injecting him with an unknown substance for the purpose of murdering him on Pinochet’s orders. 

A new toxicology report reveals that Neruda was indeed poisoned.

His nephew, Rodolfo Reyes, told Spain’s EFE that laboratory testing showed a “great quantity” of clostridium botulinum in Neruda’s body.

[Source : RawStory — Forensic probe confirms Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was poisoned to death after Pinochet coup]

McMaster University scientists Debi and Hendrik Poinar have established that botulism-causing bacteria Clostridium botulinum was in Neruda’s blood stream when he died.

The scientists can not say for certain this is what killed him, but on the other hand, why is it there?

As Debi Poinar points out: “It’s not a natural organism that should be present in your body for any other reason.”

END of UPDATE

“Neruda is the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language.”

Gabriel García Márquez
Nobel Prize in Literature 1982

Many great writers, from Gabriel García Márquez  to Federico García Lorca, ranked Neruda as the greatest poet of all time.

Surprisingly, the Spy Museum folks consider the Chilean genius as a KGB agent.

“Today in #SpyHistory – The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to former KGB agent and Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, 1971.” [The Spy Museum — Tweet (October 21 2018)]

Allow me to begin with my own understanding of this affair. There is ZERO evidence that Pablo Neruda was a KGB agent. Please, feel free to prove me wrong!

Quick Check

As I was quite disturbed by the allegation, I asked former CIA officer John Kiriakou what he thought about this story.

“I long heard this rumor when I was at the CIA, although I was never aware of any real evidence.

But the old timers all said that Neruda was working for the KGB.

With that said, they used to accuse every prominent communist, especially in the arts, of being a KGB agent.

They did the same thing with Pablo Raptis in Greece.”

“A poet closer to death than to philosophy, closer to pain than to insight, closer to blood than to ink. A poet filled with mysterious voices that fortunately he himself does not know how to decipher.”

Federico García Lorca
Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director ( 5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) [quoted by Rene de Costa in “The Poetry of Pablo Neruda”]

Suspicious Death

Neruda was hospitalized with cancer at the time of the coup d’état led by Augusto Pinochet that overthrew Allende’s government on September 11 1973.

The Coup was backed by the CIA under orders from Nixon and Kissinger.

As General Colin Powell (Former US Secretary of State) once commented:

“This is not a part of American history that we are proud of.”

Neruda suspected a doctor of injecting him with an unknown substance for the purpose of murdering him on Pinochet’s orders. 

He died in his house in Isla Negra on September 23 1973, just hours after leaving the hospital.

Although it was long reported that he died of heart failure, the Interior Ministry of the Chilean government issued a statement in 2015 acknowledging a Ministry document indicating the government’s official position that:

“it is clearly possible and highly likely that Neruda was killed as a result of the intervention of third parties.”

KGB Agent?

As far as I know, there is not a shred of evidence that Pablo Neruda was a KGB agent.

For sure the CIA was watching him closely. If you search the CIA Library, you will find easily 845 documents related to ‘Pablo Neruda’.

As far as I can tell, not one of these documents alleges that he was a KGB agent.

The issue was also debated on Wikipedia. You will notice that the ‘Pablo Neruda’ Wikipedia page does not mention the word ‘KGB’ once.

That is because, people came to the conclusion that there was simply no evidence Neruda ever worked as a KGB agent.

To the best of my knowledge, there was a 1944 document stating that the KGB (NKVD) would like to recruit Neruda as an agent.

So at the very least, we know that he was NOT an agent by that time!

Conclusions

Whether they love him or dislike him, most literary authorities consider that Pablo Neruda was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, possibly the greatest.

It is very likely that Neruda was cowardly murdered by the Chilean Junta of Pinochet, put in power in a CIA backed Coup.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence whatsoever that Neruda was a KGB agent.

“Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life” by Adam Feinstein

In his biography of Neruda, Feinstein writes (p155):

Former CIA officer Robert Baer

Former CIA officer Robert Baer believes that my analysis regarding this affair is absolutely correct.

“You’re on safe ground.  He (Pablo Neruda) may have been classified in Moscow as a ‘trusted contact’ — a leftist who, all on his own, more or less hewed to Moscow’s line.

But that doesn’t make him an agent,” Baer wrote to Intel Today.

By the way… The movie Syriana (2005) is adapted from Robert Baer‘s memoir See No Evil.

The role of Bob Barnes (Bob Baer) is played by George Clooney, as Harrison Ford turned down the role, regretting it later, stating, “I didn’t feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake.”

Was Chilean poet Pablo Neruda murdered? 

Published on Oct 23, 2017 — International forensics experts have concluded that Pablo Neruda didn’t die of cancer, as currently stated on his death certificate.

The Chilean poet and senator from the Communist party died in 1973, just two weeks after the military coup led by Augusto Pinochet toppled the leftist government of Salvador Allende.

The experts’ conclusion increases speculation that Neruda may in fact have been murdered.

Chilean Writer Isabel Allende on Pablo Neruda & the 1973 Chilean Coup

Published on Nov 7, 2017  – Acclaimed novelist Isabel Allende, an award-winning author who has written 23 books, including “The House of the Spirits,” “Paula” and “Daughter of Fortune.”

Her latest novel, “In the Midst of Winter,” is a love story that explores the plight of immigrants and refugees. Her books have been translated into 35 languages, sold over 57 million copies around the world.

Her father’s first cousin was Salvador Allende, Chile’s president from 1970 until September 11, 1973, when Augusto Pinochet seized power in a CIA-backed military coup.

Salvador Allende died in the palace that day. Isabel Allende would later flee from her native Chile to Venezuela.

REFERENCES

ON PABLO NERUDA — Pandaemonium

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On This Day — Pablo Neruda Awarded Literature Nobel Prize (October 21 1971) — Was Neruda a KGB Agent?

On This Day — Pablo Neruda Awarded Literature Nobel Prize (October 21 1971) — Was Neruda a KGB Agent? [UPDATE : Forensic probe confirms Neruda was poisoned]