Police in Buenos Aires have arrested a man wanted in Italy for decades. Leonardo Bertulazzi, 72, is linked to a kidnapping carried out by the Red Brigades. He faces a 27-year prison sentence in Italy after almost 44 years on the run.
Bertulazzi, who held refugee status in Argentina for years, was sentenced in absentia in the 1970s. He was found guilty of kidnapping Pietro Costa, a naval engineer from a wealthy Genoese family.
In 2002, Buenos Aires police arrested Bertulazzi after he entered the country on a false passport. However, he was released a few months later, and his extradition to Italy was blocked. In 2004, Argentina granted him refugee status, but this was revoked under President Javier Milei. “Bertulazzi is responsible for crimes that undermined democratic values and took many lives,” said the Buenos Aires government.
Who were The Red Brigades?
The Red Brigades was a Marxist guerrilla group active in the 1970s and 1980s. They kidnapped and killed several state officials, including former Prime Minister Aldo Moro. This era of political violence in Italy is known as the “Years of Lead.” Bertulazzi was part of the Genoa cell that kidnapped Costa, holding him for 81 days until a ransom was paid.
Years of Lead: Bologna Station Bombing
The ransom money was reportedly used to buy a flat in Rome. This flat later served as the hideout where Aldo Moro was held in 1978. Moro was abducted while travelling to parliament and held captive for 54 days before being murdered. His body was found in the boot of a car in central Rome.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked Argentine authorities for Bertulazzi’s arrest. She cited “intense and fruitful collaboration” between Italy, Argentina, and Interpol. Bertulazzi’s lawyers have appealed to Argentina’s National Commission for Refugees to stop his extradition.
Italy has previously tried and failed to extradite other Red Brigades members from France.
