A former member of Italy’s Red Brigades escaped house arrest in Argentina by using a rope and harness to descend from a fifth-floor apartment, prompting a nationwide search as he awaits extradition to serve a 27-year prison sentence.

Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, escaped on Tuesday and remained at large on Wednesday, Argentine police officials told The Associated Press, according to Al Jazeera’s report.

Police described a route that took him onto a neighbouring home’s second-floor terrace, then down to a first-floor terrace. He crossed a vacant lot and climbed over a gate to reach the street.

Officials said the escape was not immediately detected because Bertulazzi had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor. They said he put it inside a device containing a thermal blanket to maintain its temperature, along with grease or animal fat, apparently intended to retain moisture. Explosives specialists examined the device because it had been made to resemble an explosive.

Argentina’s Security Ministry offered 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his capture.

The escape follows a long legal dispute over Italy’s efforts to secure his return. Italian courts convicted Bertulazzi in the 1980s of terrorism-related crimes carrying a combined 27-year sentence, according to Argentine court records cited in the report.

Argentine authorities have said Bertulazzi belonged to the Red Brigades’ Genoa branch and was involved in the logistics of the 1978 kidnapping of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro. The group killed Moro and was responsible for kidnappings and killings during Italy’s “Years of Lead” in the 1970s and 1980s.

Bertulazzi was first arrested in Buenos Aires in November 2002. An Argentine judge rejected Italy’s extradition request in 2003 because Italian law did not guarantee a new trial following his conviction in absentia. Argentina granted him refugee status in 2004.

President Javier Milei’s government revoked that status in 2024, and Bertulazzi was arrested again that August. Argentina’s Supreme Court approved his extradition in 2025.

Italian Interior Ministry undersecretary Wanda Ferro told local television she was certain Argentine police would make every effort to secure his handover. She said she hoped extradition could proceed “very quickly” if he is recaptured.

Sources