Assassination on DC’s Embassy Row

On Sheridan Circle along Embassy Row one is surrounded by elaborate Gilded Age mansions that have been converted into embassies. They’re the site of elegant parties and diplomatic intrigue.

But this is also the site of the only act of state-sponsored terrorism to take place in the United States.

On September 21, 1976, Orlando Letelier is driving down Embassy Row from his home in Bethesda to work in Dupont Circle. In his car are two American citizens, his co-worker Ronnie Moffett and her husband of four months, Michael.

Letelier is a Chilian exile. For many years he held posts in the government of Chilean president Salvador Allende, including that of foreign minister and defense minister. He was also the ambassador to the United States. In 1973 the democratically elected Allende government was overthrown by a coup organized by the CIA. General Augusto Pinochet takes power, and his regime is immediately recognized by the Nixon administration.

Pinochet is a brutal dictator. He immediately suspends all political activity and one of the first persons he arrests Letelier. Letelier is imprisoned and tortured for twelve months before international pressure forces his release. He moves to the United States where he believes he will be safe from Pinochet’s secret police.

In the US Letelier is a harsh critic of Pinochet. He writes several articles critical of economists trained by University of Chicago professor Milton Friedman who set up an economic system under Pinochet that allows Chile’s resources to be plundered. And he’s instrumental in preventing several loans from being made to Chile by European countries.

As Letelier’s car enters Sheridan Circle, it passes the Chilian ambassador’s residence where he had lived for three years. It travels another 100 feet and reaches the Romanian embassy when a bomb molded out of plastic explosive blows a two-foot hole under the driver’s seat.

Letelier is dead at the scene. Michael Moffett escapes. Ronnie Moffett dies shortly later at GW Hospital.

Diligent work by the FBI and State Department determines that President Pinochet himself orders the assassination. Michael Townley a US expat and member of the Chilian secret police organizes the operation using five anti-Castro Cuban exiles to plant and detonate the bomb.

Townley is extradited from Chile, serves half a ten-year sentence then goes into the FBI witness protection program in exchange for his testimony. Three of the Cubans are found guilty but are acquitted at a second trial. The other two are later apprehended, plead guilty, a get short sentences. In Chile, after Pinochet losespower, two generals of the secret police are eventually convicted. Pinochet is never tried for these or the thousands of other murders for which he is responsible.

Democracy has returned to Chile. And this memorial marks the site of the death of one who lived for just that.

Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Group Size
1 to 6

Arlington National Cemetery: Secrets and Stories

Every working day more than twenty Americans who sacrificed for their country are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  On this tour we learn the secrets of Arlington's past and present and the fascinating stories of those buried here. And while Arlington's dead rest in peace, we'll see that they are still always working.  

Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Group Size
1 to 6

Hidden on Capitol Hill

Few people think beyond the Capitol when they think of the Hill. This tour takes you to the heart of a neighborhood with a fascinating history that still speaks to us today. Learn about these famous locations from a former Capitol Hill resident.

Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Group Size
1 to 6

Embassy Row: Divinity & Diplomats

Most Embassy Row tours don’t venture far beyond Dupont Circle. But ours does. We see it all from top to bottom. This stretch of Massachusetts Avenue used to be called Millionaires Row where Gilded Age robber-barons built grand mansions. Today those mansions house most of Washington’s embassies, along with private clubs and statues of world heroes such as Mandela, Gandhi, and Churchill – and we will be right in the heart of it.

Duration
8 hours
Group Size
1 to 6

Customized Private Tours

There are no limits here! This tour is whatever you want it to be. See the part of Washington, DC you’ve always wanted to with an expert guide who has been in the city for more than thirty years. Our Washington Private Tours are perfect for those looking to learn more about DC in a fun and safe manner. See what you like for however long you like, accompanied by an expert guide!