Motley, Langhorne

   Assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs under President Ronald Reagan. Langhorne Motley was the sole envoy sent in February 1985 to review the political situation in Chile. In contrast to the strongly focused human-rights advocacy of President Jimmy Carter, the Reagan administration had generally practiced a policy of noninvolvement in Chilean affairs of state. Now, in the face of a growing opposition movement on the part of nonviolent and armed resisters, the regime of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte had unleashed a wave of repression similar to the days and weeks following the September 1973 military coup. The Reagan administration feared that renewed repression might result in a resurgence of the left. Motley’s visit consisted of social functions with Pinochet Ugarte and his officials as well as meetings with human-rights leaders. The representatives of local political and human-rights organizations had expected Motley to be as critical of Pinochet as the recently released Department of State report detailing human-rights abuses and the unresponsiveness to the people’s desire for a return to democracy. Instead, they found him a staunch advocate of Pinochet Ugarte, publicly declaring the military state to be “in good hands.” Motley ended his five-day state visit without offering any clarity to the situation regarding U.S. relations with the Pinochet government; however, as the first official visitor after years of enmity with the Carter administration, the assistant secretary of state reestablished the presence of American involvement with human rights and democracy in Chile.