Former Italian Red Brigades member escapes house arrest in Argentina

A 74-year-old former member of Italy’s far-left Red Brigades has escaped from house arrest in Argentina by climbing down from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope, prompting a nationwide search.

Leonardo Bertulazzi, who faces extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year prison sentence, escaped on Tuesday and was still on the run on Wednesday, Argentine police officials told The Associated Press news agency.

Bertulazzi was convicted in absentia by a court in his home country for his role in the kidnapping and death of a former Italian prime minister by the left-wing armed group, and his refugee status in Argentina was revoked under right-wing President Javier Milei.

Police said he descended onto the second-floor terrace of a neighbouring house, climbed down to a first-floor terrace, crossed a vacant lot and got onto the street by climbing over a gate.

Authorities did not immediately notice Bertulazzi was gone as he had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor, the 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.

Argentina’s Security Ministry has offered a reward of 20 million pesos (about $13,000) for information leading to his capture.

The Red Brigades were a far-left armed group responsible for a wave of kidnappings and killings in Italy in the 1970s and 1980s, a period known as the “Years of Lead”.

The group kidnapped and killed former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978. Argentine authorities have said Bertulazzi, who belonged to the group’s Genoa branch, was involved in the logistics of Moro’s kidnapping.

Italian courts convicted him in the 1980s of “terrorism-related” crimes, 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 Italian law 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 Milei, and re-arrested him that August. Its Supreme Court approved his extradition last year.

Wanda Ferro, an undersecretary in Italy’s Interior Ministry, said Argentine police were responsible for ensuring he 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.