International experts have determined that the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda died 50 years ago from poisoning and scheduled the publication of a report this Wednesday (02/15) stating that the bacterium found in the remains of the writer “in his body”. “Time of Death”, which took place 12 days after the 1973 military coup, his family told the EFE news agency.
This revelation is the latest twist in one of the major debates in Chile after the coup. The longheld official position is that Neruda died of complications from prostate cancer, but the author’s former driver, Manuel Araya, argued for decades that he was poisoned.
“Now we know that ‘Clostridium botulinum’ shouldn’t have been on Neruda’s bones. What does that mean? That Neruda was murdered, there was an intervention by state agents in 1973,” said Rodolfo Reyes, nephew of the 1971 Nobel Prize winner in Literature.
The bacterium responsible for botulism was found in a tooth belonging to Neruda in 2017 by another panel of experts, who dismissed the dictatorship’s version and dismissed that the cause of death was advanced prostate cancer, which had afflicted him since 1969.
“Deadly Bullet Found”
Clostridium botulinum is a bacillus normally found in soil, but experts from McMaster University in Canada and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark concluded in a report that the microorganism “did not enter Neruda’s corpse from inside or around his coffin.” , but in it was his body before he died.
It remains to be seen how and by whom the botulinum toxin was introduced into the author’s body. “Neruda’s fatal bullet was found, he had it in his body.
Much of Neruda’s family supports the version put forward by Manuel Araya, his former driver, who claims the poet was poisoned by an injection in the abdomen by a secret regime agent posing as a doctor at the Santa María Clinic in Santiago been.
“Neruda was not seriously ill”
“Neruda wasn’t seriously ill, he just had cancer. He walked with difficulties, he was in pain, but he wasn’t going to die,” said Elizabeth Flores, the family’s lawyer, who is appearing as a plaintiff in the case initiated in 2011 along with the Communist Party, told EFE, to which Neruda belonged.
For his part, Reyes recalled that the writer, whose remains were exhumed in 2013 in his garden on Isla Negra, on the central coast of Chile, had planned to travel to Mexico a few days before his death at the age of 69, and that would be in exile he became the “great adversary” of General Augusto Pinochet.
The conclusions of this new report were supposed to be known on February 3, but the hearing was canceled twice first because of technical shortcomings and then because of alleged disagreements between the experts and postponed until this Wednesday.
md (EFE, Lusa)
The month of February in pictures
Check out some of the month’s most important events.
Photo credit: Chad Fish/AP Photo/Picture Alliance
AGU demands first convictions for coup actions
The Union Advocate General (AGU) applied to the DF Federal Judiciary to order 54 people, three companies, an association and a union, to pay R$20.7 million to public coffers for vandalizing the headquarters of the three refund powers during the coup acts. It is the first application for a final conviction resulting from the investigation into the January 8 crimes. (02/13)
Photo: Gustavo Basso/DW
The Conservatives win the most votes in the Berlin election
The conservatives of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the majority of votes in this Sunday’s elections in Berlin, which had last happened in 1999. The German capital was forced to repeat its election after the previous election was annulled by justice. The CDU wants to form a governing coalition for the citystate, but it is not yet certain whether this will succeed. (02/12)
Photo: Odd ANDERSEN/AFP
The return of carnival after the pandemic
Revelers kicked off the 2023 Street Carnival this Saturday, the first after two carnivals were canceled due to the Covid19 pandemic. In the photo, members of the “Bloco das Obscênicas” who took to the streets in São Paulo (02/11).
Photo: Miguel Schincariol/AFP
Lula and Biden at the White House
The Presidents of Brazil and the United States unify their speech in defense of democracy and discuss a new partnership to protect the environment and fight climate change. Lula also met with Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the key leaders of the American left, and other members of Congress from the Democratic Party. (02/10)
Photo: Alex Brandon/AP Photo/Picture Alliance
European heads of state and government receive Zelenskyy in Brussels
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European Union leaders in Brussels and called for faster delivery of weapons, in addition to sending fighter jets to bolster his country’s defences. In a historic speech to the European Parliament, he said that Ukrainians are fighting to defend European values and way of life. “Europe is with us until victory,” he said. (09/02)
Photo: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images
Zelenskyy visits European allies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid an unannounced visit to Britain and France. In London he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was appointed by King Charles III. received and addressed parliamentarians asking for fighter jets to stem the Russian invasion. He was later received in Paris by President Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (08/02)
Photo: Aaron Chown/Getty Images
More German tanks to Ukraine
The German government has approved the shipment of up to 178 Germanmade Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. The number of tanks actually delivered depends on the maintenance work required, Berlin said. The move is part of a joint commitment by Denmark and the Netherlands to “support Ukraine in its efforts to resist Russian aggression.” (07/02)
Photo: Constanze Emde/dpa/Picture Alliance
Devastating earthquake hits Turkey and Syria
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria. Thousands of people died and were injured, thousands of buildings collapsed. Rescue teams raced against the clock to find survivors buried under the rubble. The earthquake was followed by dozens of aftershocks, including a magnitude 7.5 aftershock. International aid was announced from near and far. (06/02)
Photo: IHA/Portal
Musharraf leaves an ambivalent legacy
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has died in Dubai at the age of 79. He came to power after a coup d’état and ruled from 2001 to 2008. His regime was characterized by repression and frequent human rights violations, especially towards the end. On the other hand, it promoted social liberalism and managed to increase the country’s GDP by 50% on the economic front. (05/02)
Photo: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP/Picture Alliance
The US shoots down a Chinese balloon suspected of being a spy
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the Chinese balloon, which had been flying over US territory for days, was “successfully” shot down. He was shot down by two fighter jets over water off the South Carolina coast. The US claims to be a spy device. Beijing denies this, saying it is a civilian balloon used for research purposes, primarily meteorological. (02/04)
Photo: Allison Joyce/Portal
Ballon exacerbates tensions between the US and China
The US has decided to cancel US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China while the Joe Biden administration investigates a response to a suspected Chinese balloon flying over Montana. The decision came despite China’s claims that it was a meteorological research balloon that had been blown off course by the wind. The US suspects that it is a spy vehicle. (02/03)
Photo: Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette/AP/dap/Picture Alliance
The journalist Gloria Maria dies
Brazilian journalism icon Glória Maria has died in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 73. In 2019 she was diagnosed with lung cancer, after which she developed metastases in her brain. According to a statement from TV Globo, the treatment is no longer effective. The journalist is survived by two daughters, Laura, 14, and Maria, 15, whom she adopted in 2009 after spending time in Bahia.
Photo: Fotoarena/IMAGO
Study reveals details of how mummies were made
Scientists have discovered an ancient embalming facility in Egypt. The unprecedented discovery allows us to better understand the complex process by which mummies were created. The substances found were even identified as originating from Southeast Asia, which shows how extensive the commercial network needed for the process was. (01/02)
Photo: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP