UPdate: jonathan moyle

Jonathan Moyle, likely an MI6/CIA asset as well as the editor of a specialist defense journal, died suspiciously in Santiago, Chile, in March 1990, while questioning Cardoen Industries at an aerospace expo about alleged military helicopter sales to Iraq. Found hanging in a hotel closet, his death was ruled a suicide despite evidence suggesting murder. Wensley Clarkson’s book, used as a key resource for our previous episode on this case in 2024, implied that Moyle’s inquiries about Cardoen’s deal with Saddam Hussein led to his death, possibly on the order’s of Cardoen or one of his lieutenants.

New information disputes Clarkson’s claim — and Moyle’s accusation — that Cardoen was adapting Bell 206 helicopters for military use in 1990. Cardoen Industries had shifted to civilian applications (e.g., crop dusting), as the helicopters were deemed unsuitable for military purposes, as confirmed by FAA-approved inspectors and Iraqi disinterest. 

Moyle’s claims of military use were either a mistake (unlikely given his expertise) or part of a Western intelligence plan to frame Cardoen for weapons sales to Saddam — a plan that was to be deployed after Iraq’s 1990 Kuwait invasion.

This suggests Moyle may have been silenced by his own intelligence handlers for revealing this plan several months prematurely.

Many thanks to Felipe González for sharing key information about this case.

Attribution for music used in this episode:

Assassinations Podcast Theme Music (Intro, Outro, and Transitions) written and performed by Graeme Ronald

"Sancho Panza" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC / A derivative from the original work