Crimeupdated 23m ago3 min read
Archive photo · 23 March 2025Leonardo Bertulazzi Escapes House Arrest in Buenos Aires Using Harness and Rope
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74-year-old Leonardo Bertulazzi escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires using a fifth-floor harness descent. He awaits extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year sentence.
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House arrest escape in Buenos Aires
Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old former member of Italy’s far-left Red Brigades, escaped from house arrest in Argentina by climbing down from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope, prompting a nationwide search. Argentine police officials said Bertulazzi was still on the run on Wednesday after he descended onto the second-floor terrace of a neighbouring house, climbed down to a first-floor terrace, crossed a vacant lot and got onto the street by climbing over a gate. Authorities said they did not immediately notice he was gone because he had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor, and they said he placed it inside a device containing a thermal blanket to maintain its temperature, along with grease or animal fat.
The Associated Press reported that Argentina’s Security Ministry offered a reward of 20 million pesos, about $13,000, for information leading to his capture, as Italian courts had previously convicted him in absentia for his role in the kidnapping and death of a former Italian prime minister. The escape came as Bertulazzi faced extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year prison sentence, according to Argentine police officials told The Associated Press news agency.
How police say he evaded monitoring
Investigators said Bertulazzi wrapped the electronic ankle monitor in pork and surrounded it with a blood pressure cuff, a setup that investigators said would have prevented the system from timely detecting manipulation of the device. The investigation described a shift-change discovery, with the absence of the former terrorist noticed during the guard change of the federal agents and an urgent arrest warrant issued as search protocol began. Argentine authorities said Bertulazzi tampered with the ankle monitor by placing it inside a device containing a thermal blanket to maintain its temperature, along with grease or animal fat.
Wanda Ferro, an undersecretary in Italy’s Interior Ministry, said Argentine police were responsible for ensuring he was handed over, adding, "I am certain that every effort will be made," and she hoped the extradition could take place "very quickly" if Bertulazzi is recaptured. The investigation also sought to determine whether Bertulazzi received help preparing the descent from the fifth floor and leaving the area without being intercepted.
Extradition stakes and legal fallout
Argentina’s Supreme Court approved Bertulazzi’s extradition last year, and Italian courts had convicted him in the 1980s of "terrorism-related" crimes resulting in a combined 27-year sentence, according to Argentine court records. The sources said Bertulazzi’s refugee status in Argentina was revoked under right-wing President Javier Milei, and Argentine authorities re-arrested him in August after the revocation. A 2003 Argentine judge rejected Italy’s extradition request in 2003 because Italian law did not guarantee him a new trial after a conviction in absentia, and Bertulazzi was granted refugee status in 2004.
The escape shifted the immediate focus to locating him, and Argentina’s Security Ministry offered a reward of 20 million pesos for information leading to his capture while federal judge María Romilda Servini ordered raids on homes and locations linked to people who could provide information about his whereabouts. Bertulazzi’s family also framed the stakes, with his daughter Claudia Bertulazzi telling La Repubblica that they feared he would spend the rest of his life in prison "without the right to a new trial," after which she said his decision to flee followed.