On a Tuesday in Argentina, a 74-year-old man who once belonged to Italy's Red Brigades lowered himself from a fifth-floor window and vanished into the country's cities, leaving behind a tampered ankle monitor and a long reckoning that began with the violence of Italy's Years of Lead. Four decades after the group's most notorious act, the kidnapping and killing of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro, the question of who answers for those years still travels across oceans and through courtrooms. Now the search turns on whether this aging fugitive can be found before the justice he has long avoided f
Former Red Brigades Member Escapes Argentine House Arrest by Rope, Sparking Nationwide Manhunt
The Red Brigades kidnapped and killed former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978, and Bertulazzi is linked to the logistics of that kidnapping; the escape itself caused no reported injuries.
A rope, a harness, and a fake explosive wrapped around an ankle monitor
Mark
Why does this escape matter beyond one man getting away?
Mimi
Because the legal fight was already over. The Supreme Court approved his extradition last year. The only thing left was the handover, and he walked out of it, or rather climbed out.
Mark
How did he manage to stay unnoticed for any length of time?
Mimi
The ankle monitor. Police say he put it in a device with a thermal blanket to keep its temperature steady, plus grease or animal fat, apparently to keep moisture in. So the monitor kept reporting normally.
Luke
Careful, though. That description comes from police officials, and the word "apparently" is doing work on the fat. We don't know how long he was gone before anyone noticed.
Mark
The device was made to look like an explosive. What do we know about that?
Mimi
Only that explosives specialists examined it. Nothing reported says it was dangerous, and no injuries were reported from the escape.
Luke
Right, and nobody has said whether the look was deliberate or a side effect. That's open.
Mark
Why was he in Argentina at all?
Mimi
A judge refused extradition in 2003 because Italian law didn't promise a retrial after a conviction in absentia. He got refugee status in 2004. Milei's government revoked it in 2024.
Luke
And his role is described by Argentine authorities as logistics in the Moro kidnapping. That's their characterisation; the source doesn't give us the details.
Mark
What should we watch?
Mimi
Whether the 20 million peso reward, about $13,000, turns up anything, and whether Italy gets the quick extradition Wanda Ferro says she hopes for.
Luke
And whether anyone explains how a monitored man got that far undetected. No one has yet.
Der Puls
- A 74-year-old former Red Brigades member slipped out of his fifth-floor house arrest by rope and harness, and was still unaccounted for the following day.
- He defeated his electronic ankle monitor by hiding it in a disguised, explosive-looking device, so no alarm sounded when he went.
- Police have launched a nationwide manhunt, and Argentina's Security Ministry has posted a 20 million peso reward for information leading to his capture.
- Italy hopes his recapture will clear the path for extradition to serve a 27-year sentence, but everything now hinges on whether he is found.
On a Tuesday in Argentina, a 74-year-old man who once belonged to Italy's Red Brigades lowered himself from a fifth-floor window and vanished into the country's cities, leaving behind a tampered ankle monitor and a long reckoning that began with the violence of Italy's Years of Lead. Four decades after the group's most notorious act, the kidnapping and killing of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro, the question of who answers for those years still travels across oceans and through courtrooms. Now the search turns on whether this aging fugitive can be found before the justice he has long avoided finally reaches him.
On Tuesday, a 74-year-old man climbed down from a fifth-floor apartment in Argentina using a harness and rope. By Wednesday he had not been found, and police were searching the country for him.
He is Leonardo Bertulazzi, a former member of Italy's far-left Red Brigades, who had been under house arrest while awaiting extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year sentence. Police say he descended in stages, moving from a neighbouring terrace to a lower one, crossing a vacant lot, and finally going over a gate to reach the street.
His escape went unnoticed at first because he had tampered with his ankle monitor, hiding it in a device made to look like an explosive. Authorities have offered a reward of 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his capture.
Bertulazzi's past reaches back to the Red Brigades' campaign of kidnappings and killings in the 1970s and 1980s, and to the 1978 murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro, in whose logistics he is said to have been involved. Italian courts convicted him in absentia, and he was first arrested in Buenos Aires in 2002. Refugee status granted in 2004 was revoked in 2024 under President Javier Milei, and Argentina's Supreme Court approved his extradition last year.
In Rome, Undersecretary Wanda Ferro said she hoped extradition would move quickly if he is recaptured. For now, everything depends on whether the police can find him.
On Tuesday, a 74-year-old man lowered himself from a fifth-floor apartment in Argentina using a harness and a rope. By Wednesday he had still not been found, and police were running a search across the country.
The man is Leonardo Bertulazzi, a former member of Italy's far-left Red Brigades. He had been under house arrest while awaiting extradition to Italy, where he is to serve a 27-year prison sentence. Argentine police officials described the escape to The Associated Press.
According to the police account, Bertulazzi made his way down in stages. He first reached the second-floor terrace of a neighbouring house, then climbed down to a first-floor terrace. From there he crossed a vacant lot and got onto the street by climbing over a gate.
The authorities did not notice he was gone right away, because he had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor. Officials said he placed it inside a device containing a thermal blanket, which kept the monitor at a steady temperature. Grease or animal fat was also in the device, apparently to hold in moisture. The device had been made to look like an explosive, and explosives specialists examined it. Argentina's Security Ministry has offered a reward of 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his capture.
The Red Brigades carried out a wave of kidnappings and killings in Italy in the 1970s and 1980s, a period known as the "Years of Lead." In 1978 the group kidnapped and killed former Prime Minister Aldo Moro. Argentine authorities have said Bertulazzi, who belonged to the group's Genoa branch, was involved in the logistics of that kidnapping.
Italian courts convicted him in his absence in the 1980s of terrorism-related crimes, producing a combined 27-year sentence, according to Argentine court records. He was first arrested in Buenos Aires in November 2002. In 2003 an Argentine judge rejected Italy's extradition request, because Italian law did not guarantee him a new trial after a conviction in absentia. In 2004 he was granted refugee status.
That protection ended under President Javier Milei. Argentina revoked the status in 2024 and re-arrested Bertulazzi that August. Last year the Supreme Court approved his extradition.
In Rome, Wanda Ferro, an undersecretary in Italy's Interior Ministry, said Argentine police were responsible for ensuring he was handed over. She told local television she was certain every effort would be made, and said she hoped extradition could happen very quickly if he is recaptured.
For now, the next development depends on whether police find him. Recapture would clear the way for the extradition Argentina's top court has already approved.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
I am certain that every effort will be made, and extradition should happen very quickly if he is recaptured.— Wanda Ferro, undersecretary in Italy's Interior Ministry (paraphrased)
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