Former Red Brigades Member Escapes House Arrest in Argentina

Argentine authorities are searching for Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old former member of Italy's Marxist militant group the Red Brigades, after he escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires while awaiting extradition to Italy. Argentina's security ministry confirmed the escape on Wednesday and offered a $13,000 reward for information leading to his recapture.

Details of the Escape

According to details reported by La Nación from a detective tracking Bertulazzi, the fugitive removed his electronic ankle monitor and placed it inside a tube filled with pork, along with a blood pressure monitor to preserve temperature. He then accessed a roof and used a rope and harness to lower himself five meters from the fifth floor. After landing in a vacant lot behind his residential building, he scaled a metal gate to reach the street.

Security footage from November 10 at 6:01 a.m. captured Bertulazzi dropping into a public road near moving vehicles before briefly sitting down to rest. Police dispatched officers to the residence after detecting that the ankle monitor had ceased transmitting movement data, finding only the discarded tracking device.

Legal History and Extradition Status

Bertulazzi held a senior role in the Red Brigades, an organization active during Italy's "Years of Lead" from 1969 to 1980, which notably carried out the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro. In 1987, Bertulazzi received a 27-year prison sentence in Italy for joining a subversive association and belonging to an armed group.

Following years as a fugitive, Argentine authorities first detained Bertulazzi in 2002. He was released months later and obtained refugee status in 2004. However, after his refugee status was revoked, he was re-arrested in 2024 and placed under house arrest in Buenos Aires. Argentina approved his extradition to Italy in July 2025 following the dismissal of his final appeal by the country's supreme court.