Buenos Aires Herald 
A former member of the Red Brigades, a disbanded Italian Marxist–Leninist armed guerilla group that operated in the 1970s and 80s, was arrested in Buenos Aires after being stripped of his refugee status.
Italian citizen Leandro Bertulazzi, 72, was sentenced in 1977 in his home country to 27 years of prison on charges of kidnapping, unlawful association, and possession and use of war weapons. A fugitive since 1980, Bertulazzi’s first official sighting in Argentina took place in 2002 when he was arrested due to an international warrant calling for his capture.
According to Argentine media reports, at that time the judiciary released him on the grounds that he had not been able to defend his case in Italy since he had been sentenced in absentia. Two years later, he obtained the protection from the National Refugee Commission that the government has now revoked. It is expected that Bertulazzi will now be extradited to Italy, where he will serve out his sentence.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni conveyed her “deep appreciation” to the Argentine authorities for the arrest of Bertulazzi, whom she said committed “terrorist offenses.” “The arrest of this fugitive member of the Red Brigades was made possible thanks to intense and fruitful collaboration between the Italian and Argentine judicial authorities and Interpol,” a communiqué by the Italian government said.
“The years of impunity for this dangerous criminal are over. In this Argentina led by President Javier Milei, what goes around comes around,” said an X post by Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich.
The Red Brigades, “Brigate Rosse” in Italian, was responsible for numerous violent incidents during Italy’s so-called Years of Lead (late 1960s to late 1980s), including the kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978. Moro, a Christian Democrat, was one of the ideologues of Italy’s “Historic Compromise,” a political accommodation between his party and the Italian Communist Party. The compromise was unpopular among the left, leading to an increase in far-left insurrection and attacks.
The Red Brigades was broken up by Italian investigators two years after Moro’s assassination.
According to the Italian website Leggo, in his trial in absentia, Bertulazzi was found guilty, among other crimes, of participating in the kidnapping of naval engineer Piero Costa in 1977. The money of Costa’s ransom was allegedly used to finance the Brigade’s activities. The news website said that 50 million lire were used to purchase an apartment in Rome where Aldo Moro was held prisoner before being executed.
