Summary

The third chapter takes place on May 30th, 1961 and opens on four men sitting in a car across from the Malecón, a sea-side boulevard. They are waiting with great anxiety for a sky-blue, 1957 Chevrolet, with the intent to kill the passengers. As the chapter starts, they are discussing the unreality of the events about to unfold.

Salvador Estrella Sadhalá, the most religious of the four men, explains why he has decided to commit the murder despite his Catholicism: the papal nuncio, Lino Zanini, sanctioned the killing in advance. From this conversation, we learn that the person the men are waiting for is Trujillo.

As the men trade banter and their worries, the novel follows the thoughts of Lieutenant Amado García Guerrero, also called Amadito, in third person. He reminisces fondly about his friendship to Salvador, the husband of his aunt. Throughout his...