Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old former member of Italy’s Red Brigades escaped from house arrest in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning.
The fugitive used ropes and a harness to descend from his fifth-floor apartment onto the second-floor terrace of a neighboring house, according to police officials. He then descended to a terrace on the first floor, proceeded into an empty plot of land, and jumped a gate to gain access to the street.
The escape occurred while much of the law enforcement apparatus in Buenos Aires was focused on a visit by Pope Leo. Authorities did not immediately notice his absence because he had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor.
Bertulazzi placed the device inside a structure containing a thermal blanket to maintain its temperature, along with grease or animal fat to keep moisture, police officials told The Associated Press. Police also confirmed that explosives specialists were sent to inspect the device, which had been modified to resemble an explosive.
Italian media noted his ability to use a harness and ropes to lower himself from a fifth-floor balcony despite his supposedly poor health, which his lawyer, Rodolfo Yanzon, had previously cited as a reason he could not board a plane back to Italy.
Yanzon said that his client had suffered three strokes during his two years in detention and experienced difficulty walking. The lawyer mentioned he told Bertulazzi on Monday that the judge would not authorize medical testing, an announcement Yanzon suspects may have prompted his client to flee before extradition could take place.
In the wake of the incident, relatives spoke to various news outlets regarding the situation, and his daughter Claudia Bertulazzi informed La Repubblica of their apprehension that he might spend the rest of his life behind bars without ever receiving a new trial.
She mentioned that she had spoken with her father two days prior to the escape and learned of his flight through the news reports, adding that his background as a mountaineer made the descent plausible.
Bertulazzi Faces Extradition for Terrorism Convictions in Italy
Bertulazzi was awaiting extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year prison sentence for terrorism-related crimes committed during the 1980s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he was part of the Red Brigades’ Genoa faction, a left-wing extremist group linked to numerous abductions and homicides across Italy.
He had also been sentenced in absentia on terrorism charges in Italy in 1985 and 1997.
An Argentine federal judge rejected Italy’s extradition request in June 2003, ruling that Italian law did not guarantee Bertulazzi a new trial after a conviction in absentia. He was subsequently granted refugee status in October 2004.
That protection changed when right-wing President Javier Milei took office. Argentine authorities revoked his refugee status and re-arrested him in August 2024. At the time, then-Security Minister Patricia Bullrich celebrated his capture on social media, writing, “This dangerous criminal’s years of impunity are over.” As then-Security Minister Patricia Bullrich wrote on social media, in this Argentina led by President Milei, those who commit crimes pay the price.
Authorities Offer Reward and Order Searches for Bertulazzi
The Argentine Supreme Court approved Bertulazzi’s extradition, but he fled before he could be transferred to European authorities. On Tuesday, the National Security Ministry offered a reward of 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his recapture.
Federal judge María Romilda Servini also ordered searches at addresses linked to individuals who might know his whereabouts. In Italy, Wanda Ferro, an undersecretary in Italy’s Interior Ministry, addressed the situation regarding the search efforts during an appearance on private broadcaster Tgcom24.
“I am certain that every effort will be made and that there will be appropriate dialogue to ensure — we hope — that he is brought back into custody and, above all, that extradition can take place very quickly if he is recaptured,” Ferro told Tgcom24.
