f ' s sf g Q i 7i i Z7 United States Department --'- -' UHCLASSIEIEIj lPashi ngson D C of b 52 20520 1987 Mr Daniel R Lopez Regional Commissioner United States Parole Commission North-East Regional Office U S Customs House 7th Floor Second and Chestnut Streets 19106 Philadelphia Pennsylvania Attn General Counsel Hank Sandowski Re Armando Fernandez Reg No 02809-030 Proje ¹S199900030 ent of S Exci slnpal Deny I puS n s Larios Dear Mr Lopez On behalf of the Department of State I am writing to you regarding Mr Armando Fernandez Larios I understand that Mr Fernandez Larios' request for parole is now pending before the Commission cooperation in investigating acts of terrorism is as difficult as i t is essential to our efforts to fight terrorism through law Terrorists maintain the ability to intimidate those who would bear witness against them Potential witnesses must face threats not only to their own safety but to the well-being of those close to them as well An individual who is willing to come forward to publicly bear witness against terrorists is therefore all too rare in today's world An individual who is willing voluntarily to give up family friends and country and to accept his own incarceration in order to do so is unique in my experience Armando Fernandez Larios is such an individual Obtaining international The circumstances nature extent and value to U S foreign policy objectives of Mr Fernandez Larios' cooperation with the United States are set forth in detail in a classified declaration of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Michael H Armacost and in a supplementary classified declaration of the undersigned both of which have been made available to the Commission Earlier today the classified declarations were provided to the Security Section of the declarations were hand Department of Justice The carried to Ms Janice Haith S curity Specialist Security Staff Department of Justice marked for your attention UHCLASSIHEII LlNCLhdSX8 indicate Nr Fernandez Larios' As these materials cooperation with the United States government in our continuing efforts to bring to justice the individuals responsible for the 1976 terrorist car bombing murder of former Ambassador Orlando Letelier and his assistant Ronni Moffitt led directly to the first progress in this unresolved case since the USG extradition request to Chile for several individuals including Mr Fernandez Larios was denied in 1979 His testimony statements and other evidence about the murders and subsequent cover-up by Chilean official investigators have enhanced the possibility of bringing other culpable parties in the Letelier Moffitt murders to justice Mr Fernandez Larios' public statements have helped to focus public attention in Chile on the very serious law enforcement and anti-terrorism efforts of the United States in this matter In my judgment Mr Fernandez Larios has cooperated fully with the United States Government for reasons of great remorse over the Letelier Moffitt murders and a desire to restore' his name and family honor I consider significant the fact that he provided a full account of his knowledge of and participation in the underlying crime and subsequent cover-up prior to entering into any arrangement with the United States concerning the disposition of the charges against him and at a time when he was not in custody or otherwise subject to U S without any jurisdiction He left his native land voluntarily inducement other than the opportunity to cleanse his conscience and family name He has continued to cooperate fully including in a number of areas going well beyond the cooperation required by the terms of the plea agreement without any incentive or inducement on the part of the United States The Department of State is not in a position to determine the term of incarceration appropriate to the very serious misconduct in which Nr Fernandez Larios engaged and to which he has freely admitted However the Department of State wishes respectfully to submit to the Commission certain views and conclusions from the standpoint of the conduct of U S foreign policy In essence given the interests of the United States in encouraging cooperation by others in this and similar cases the Department believes that the Commission in determining the possibility of early parole for Nr Fernandez Larios should take into account the extensive cooperation which Nr Fernandez Larios has provided before and after his decision to enter U S jurisdiction voluntarily and give this I note cooperation considerable weight in favor of leniency be will comparison for the Commission's consideration that a drawn in Chile and elsewhere between the terms actually served crimes who have by those directly involved in the underlying INLLi SdKlN UHCLASBJFIED to date and the treatment afforded the one individual who has been willing voluntarily to admit to his role in the cover-up and to place himself in the hands of United States justice This factor also weighs in favor of leniency in our judgment been apprehended of State believes that fair treatment of Mr Larios will further United States anti-terrorism foreign policy objectives by encouraging other foreign nationals who may be able to provide substantial assistance in this or other terrorist cases of importance to the USG to come forward voluntarily and cooperate with United States law The Department Fernandez enforcement officials I personally have come to know Mr Fernandez Larios and his character well I can attest that when he is released from prison he will nonetheless continue to be punished every day He has given up a great deal because of his willingness to come forward and pay his debt to the United States and society at large He is unable to use his own name and cannot return to his native land family friends or business Indeed although Mr Fernandez Larios resigned from the Chilean military before leaving Chile last week the military judge for Santiago Brigadier General Jaime Gonzalez Vereara announced that his court had issued a warrant for the arrest of Major Fernandez Larios for alleged violations of the Chilean Code of Military Justice for desertion of duty when Mr Fernandez Larios left Chile The Chilean public has not failed to note that the one arrest order issued by its government in this case is directed at the one individual who has been willing to bear witness concerning this act of terrorism The response of the United States criminal justice system to the courageous acts of Mr Fernandez in coming forward will hopefully stand in marked contrast In my judgment Mr Fernandez Larios is a remarkably stable I and responsible individual who poses no danger to society have every reason to believe that once released from prison he will demonstrate in becoming a the same determination responsible and self-sufficient resident of our society that he has manifested in sacrificing his place in his own society to serve the ends of justice Moreover I am confident that Mr Fernandez Larios will continue to cooperate to the best of his ability with the United States government on law enforcement and anti-terrorism matters even after being released Accordingly further incarceration would not appear warranted from the standpoint of rehabilitation or continued cooperation II u %8 the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Mr Fernandez has come a long way both literally and figuratively in dealing with this matter He set out armed only with the truth to restore his honor and family name the system that had abused his loyalty as a by challenging As has noted military officer He has succeeded is instructive plea agreement negotiated included a cap on the sentence he might receive The Court rejected this aspect of the agreement for institutional reasons immediately prior to his first appearance before the court Mr Fernandez Larios nevertheless proceeded to plead guilty to the offense of accessory after the fact and to testify in open court concerning his knowledge of the underlying crime and subsequent cover-up That evening he explained to me that far from being diappointed or deterred by the Court's ruling he was pleased Mr Fernandez Larios felt that the by the events of the day action of the Court would make clear to those in Chile that his willingness to come forward was not premised on a deal' with the United States Rather he appreciated that he had been afforded the opportunity to do what he had set out to do -- to place the facts and himself in the hands of United States justice What remains is for the United States to demonstrate how such trust in the truth and in our system is repaid One anecdote with Mr Fernandez and his counsel The Sincerely MrcFiael Principal G Kozak Deputy Legal Adviser 7 2D 87 drafted cleared L NKozak L LEI RJFrank ARA SC JSwigert draft L ARA DDarm draft S CT DManley draft UNCLASSIFIED Y