News at Eleven: That made the poet [Pablo Neruda] dangerous

to some very powerful people, who had shown they would stop at nothing to defend their interests. They had ousted his friend, Salvador Allende, from the presidency less than a fortnight earlier. Allende died in a coup that was as much about silencing dissident voices as bringing about regime change. Another voice, that of popular singer Víctor Jara, was cut off four days later. Neruda remained. He was perhaps the loudest. His face certainly the most recognisable worldwide. He was too dangerous.

Members of the junta are on record expressing the view on the morning of September 22 that if Neruda flew into exile, his plane would fall into the sea.

from The Guardian: Pablo Neruda's importance was as much political as poetic
then Inter Press Service: Neruda's Death Helps Tear Veil Off Chilean Dictatorship
then The New York Times: Disturbing Pablo Neruda's Rest
then The Hindu: The death of a poet

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