Italian former militant escapes house arrest in Buenos Aires
A 74-year-old former Red Brigades member fled while awaiting extradition to Italy. Authorities are searching nationwide after his ankle monitor was left behind.
Key points
- Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires by abseiling from a fifth-floor balcony.
- He was awaiting extradition to Italy over a 1977 kidnapping linked to the Red Brigades.
- He had tampered with his ankle monitor, which kept sending body temperature readings.
- Police found no explosive trap on the device, according to Argentine newspaper Clarín.
- A nationwide manhunt is now under way.
According to the BBC, a 74-year-old Italian man has escaped while under house arrest in Argentina and remains at large. Leonardo Bertulazzi went over the side of a fifth-floor balcony in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, using a harness.
His departure was not noticed straight away. Bertulazzi had tampered with his electronic ankle tag so that it kept transmitting body temperature readings even after he had forced it open and left the flat.
How the escape was discovered
Officials from the Argentine ministry of security had been tracking the tag. They grew suspicious when the device stopped moving. Upon going into the flat downtown, they found him missing, and only the monitor was left behind.
Because of his past, police were concerned the device could be booby-trapped. Bertulazzi had a history with the Marxist guerrilla group the Red Brigades, and he was known to have bomb-making skills. Explosives experts were brought in, as reported by Argentine newspaper Clarín.
The experts concluded that Bertulazzi had altered the tag only to stop the alarm from sounding once it was removed. No explosive device was found. A nationwide search is now under way.
A long history with Italian justice
Bertulazzi had been convicted by an Italian court while he was not present over the abduction of Pietro Costa, an Italian naval engineer, in 1977. Italian media reported that his extradition was close after his final appeal was rejected.
He first entered Argentina in 2002 using a false passport after crossing from Chile. He was granted refugee status in 2004 and lived openly in the country for many years. Argentine authorities took him back into custody in 2024, shortly after Javier Milei had assumed the presidency.
Milei’s administration stated at the time that Bertulazzi had committed offences damaging democratic values and harmed many victims. The BBC noted that the Red Brigades killed and kidnapped several state officials during the 1970s and 1980s.
Links to the Aldo Moro case
Bertulazzi belonged to the Genoa cell of the Red Brigades, which seized Costa off the street and kept him for 81 days until a large ransom was handed over. The proceeds were used to purchase an apartment in Rome.
That apartment was used in 1978 during the abduction of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, one of the group’s most infamous crimes. Moro was seized after his vehicle was ambushed as he headed to the opening of parliament. He was kept there for 54 days before being shot, and his body was dumped in the trunk of a Renault in central Rome.
The escape raises questions about how a convicted figure tied to these crimes could leave a monitored home unnoticed. Authorities have not yet said where Bertulazzi is believed to be.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Leonardo Bertulazzi?
He is a 74-year-old Italian man who was convicted in absentia over the 1977 kidnapping of Pietro Costa. He was a member of the Red Brigades, according to the BBC.
How did Bertulazzi escape?
He used a harness to abseil from a fifth-floor balcony in Buenos Aires. He had also tampered with his ankle monitor so it kept sending false readings.
Why was Bertulazzi in Argentina?
He entered Argentina in 2002 on a false passport and was granted refugee status in 2004. He was re-arrested in 2024 and was awaiting extradition to Italy.
Sources
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