Red Brigades fugitive Leonardo Bertulazzi escapes house arrest in Buenos Aires while awaiting extradition to Italy
Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, a former member of Italy's Red Brigades, escaped from house arrest in Buenos Aires on Tuesday by climbing down from his fifth-floor apartment with a rope and harness, Argentine police officials told the Associated Press, and a nationwide search is under way. He had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor so it kept sending readings after he removed it. Bertulazzi was awaiting extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year prison sentence; Argentina's Security Ministry has offered a reward of 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his capture.
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Key points
- Bertulazzi, 74, climbed down from a fifth-floor apartment in San Telmo on Tuesday and was still on the run on Wednesday, police told the AP.
- His ankle monitor had been rigged inside a decoy device that kept faking its readings, so the escape was not noticed at first.
- A nationwide search is under way, with a 20 million peso reward offered by the Security Ministry.
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- He was awaiting extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year sentence, approved by Argentina's Supreme Court last year.
What happened
The Red Brigades were a far-left armed group whose kidnappings and killings marked Italy's 'Years of Lead' in the 1970s and 1980s, including the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former prime minister Aldo Moro. Bertulazzi, of the group's Genoa branch, lived freely in Argentina for two decades as a refugee before the Milei government revoked that status in 2024 and the extradition he had defeated in 2003 was approved on a second attempt.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Bertulazzi escaped on Tuesday from house arrest in Buenos Aires and remained on the run on Wednesday, on the police account given to the Associated Press.
- That his ankle monitor was rigged to keep sending readings, and that a nationwide search and a reward are in place.
- That his extradition to Italy had been approved by Argentina's Supreme Court and was awaiting handover.
What we don't know yet
- Where Bertulazzi is, and whether he has left Argentina — no authority has said.
- How the monitoring failure happened — Argentine media report he had tried to remove the monitor two weeks earlier and federal police had asked for him to be moved to a prison; officials have not confirmed that account.
- When the extradition handover had been scheduled to take place.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (5)
Why this label: The escape and the route are the police officials' account to the Associated Press, carried by Al Jazeera; the San Telmo street and the security-camera detail are Argentine media reporting, attributed as such.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The monitor device is described by the police officials speaking to the Associated Press and, in the same terms, by official sources speaking to Argentina's Clarín newspaper. Both accounts agree it was built to fake the monitor's readings.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The reward is the Security Ministry's, reported by the Associated Press; the judge's capture order is reported from the court case by LaPresse and the Argentine-media accounts.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The conviction, sentence and procedural history are the Associated Press's account from Argentine court records; the Moro-logistics role is carried as the Argentine authorities' statement, not as a court's finding in this reporting.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Ferro's words are her own, given to Italian television and reported by the Associated Press.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
The escape, days into the final stage of a 24-year extradition fight, is a failure of the monitoring that was supposed to hold a convicted fugitive — and it reopens a case Italy has pursued since 2002. Whether he is found quickly, and whether he has left Argentina, will decide if the extradition survives at all.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
The Red Brigades kidnap and kill former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro; Argentine authorities say Bertulazzi was involved in the operation's logistics.
Bertulazzi is arrested in Buenos Aires; an Argentine judge rejects Italy's extradition request in 2003 and he is granted refugee status in 2004.
Argentina revokes his refugee status under President Milei and re-arrests him; the Supreme Court approves his extradition.
Bertulazzi climbs down from his fifth-floor apartment and escapes house arrest; a nationwide search follows.
Update history
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Published in Checking state — the escape and the search are confirmed by police accounts, and Bertulazzi's whereabouts are unknown.