Editing Michael Townley (section)

==Alleged CIA Involvement and Controversies==
Contreras claimed in 2005 that Townley was a CIA agent, supported by Vernon Walters (CIA deputy director, 1972–1976), who allegedly informed Pinochet of that Letelier’s was a "threat". Contreras’s document, cited in The Pinochet File by Peter Kornbluh, stated Pinochet directly ordered Townley’s actions. A 1981 interview with Townley, reported by Spartacus Educational, confirmed he used a CIA-provided passport, and former CIA agents Ibrahim Razin and Richard Brenneke alleged Townley’s presence in Stockholm before Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme’s 1986 assassination, with links to Iran-Contra. Italian magazine Panorama reported Italian President Francesco Cossiga’s 1986 letter urging investigation.

Townley’s plea deal limited his testimony to U.S. law violations, shielding him from DINA’s broader Condor activities. His wife, Mariana Callejas, and DINA associates like Francisco Oyarzún, Gustavo Etchepare, and Eugenio Berríos received payments from Chile’s National Information Center (CNI) (1978–1990), per Contreras, suggesting ongoing protection for Condor operatives.