Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old former member of Italy’s far-left Red Brigades, escaped house arrest in Argentina by climbing down from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope, Argentine police said. The fugitive, who faces extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year prison sentence, escaped on Tuesday and remained at large on Wednesday, police officials told the Associated Press. Officers said he descended onto a second-floor terrace of a neighboring house, climbed down to a first-floor terrace, crossed a vacant lot and reached the street by climbing over a gate.
Key Takeaways: Bertulazzi, 74, escaped from house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition to Italy; police say he tampered with his electronic ankle monitor using a thermal blanket and grease or animal fat. Argentina’s Security Ministry has offered a reward of 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his capture, while the Italian regime’s Interior Ministry says every effort must be made to hand him over quickly if he is recaptured.
The Red Brigades were a far-left armed group responsible for a wave of kidnappings and killings in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s, a period known as the “Years of Lead.” The group kidnapped and killed former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978, and Argentine authorities have said Bertulazzi, who belonged to the group’s Genoa branch, was involved in the logistics of Moro’s kidnapping. Courts of the Italian regime convicted him in the 1980s on terrorism-related charges, resulting in a combined 27-year sentence, according to Argentine court records. He was first arrested in Buenos Aires in November 2002, but an Argentine judge rejected Italy’s extradition request in 2003 because the Italian legal system did not guarantee him a new trial after a conviction in absentia. He was granted refugee status in 2004; Argentina revoked it in 2024 under right-wing President Javier Milei and re-arrested him that August, and its Supreme Court approved his extradition last year.
Authorities did not immediately notice that Bertulazzi was gone because he had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor, officials said. They said he placed it inside a device containing a thermal blanket to maintain its temperature, along with grease or animal fat, apparently to keep moisture in. Explosives specialists examined the device, which had been made to resemble an explosive. A nationwide search was under way, and police said the 74-year-old was still on the run on Wednesday.
Wanda Ferro, an undersecretary in the Italian regime’s Interior Ministry, said Argentine police were responsible for ensuring Bertulazzi was handed over. “I am certain that every effort will be made,” she told local television, adding that she hoped the extradition could take place “very quickly” if Bertulazzi is recaptured.
The manhunt now focuses on whether Argentine police can recapture a fugitive whose escape has raised questions about electronic monitoring, house-arrest security and the handling of decades-old terrorism convictions. The reward and Italy’s extradition request are expected to keep pressure on Argentine authorities, while the case also highlights the political shift in Buenos Aires under Milei and the long legal fight over in absentia verdicts. If recaptured, Bertulazzi is likely to face renewed proceedings over his handover to the Italian regime.
Source: www.aljazeera.com