Kidnapper, 74, escapes from house arrest in Argentina by abseiling from balcony

What the report says

Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old Italian former member of the far-left Red Brigades, has escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires while awaiting extradition to Italy, according to BBC World News. The BBC said he used a harness to abseil from a fifth-floor balcony and is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt in Argentina. Officials only noticed something was wrong when his electronic ankle monitor appeared to be stationary; the device was later found left behind in the apartment.

Bertulazzi was sentenced in absentia in Italy for the 1977 kidnapping of Italian naval engineer Pietro Costa, and the BBC reported that Italian media had said extradition was close after his latest appeal was rejected. He had first been arrested in Buenos Aires in 2002 after entering from Chile on a false passport, then received refugee status in 2004, before being re-arrested in 2024 under President Javier Milei’s government.

The case is significant because it involves a long-running effort to bring back a fugitive linked to one of Italy’s most violent militant groups. The BBC said police also considered whether the ankle tag had been tampered with in a way that might pose a safety risk, reflecting Bertulazzi’s background and prior bomb-making skills. More broadly, the episode highlights how extradition cases can intersect with security concerns and Argentina’s handling of foreign fugitives.