Argentine fugitive hides tracker in meat

Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old former member of Italy’s Red Brigades, escaped from house arrest in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. Argentine security authorities confirmed the breakout on Wednesday after police discovered his missing electronic tracking device.

The escape relied on a specific concealment method. A detective speaking to La Nación explained that Bertulazzi removed his ankle monitor and placed it inside a tube of pork. He also packed a blood pressure monitor with the meat, likely to regulate the temperature and mask the device’s signals.

After preparing the package, Bertulazzi climbed to the roof of his residence. He used a rope to descend five meters into a vacant lot behind the house. From there, he scaled a metal gate to reach the street and disappeared from view.

Police noticed the escape only when the ankle monitor stopped sending movement data. Officers rushed to the home and found the discarded equipment but no sign of the fugitive. Security footage timestamped 6:01 a.m. on November 10 shows Bertulazzi dropping from the building into a public road while cars drove past. The video captures him sitting on the pavement, appearing shaken, before continuing on foot.

Bertulazzi has spent much of the last two decades in Argentina. Local authorities first apprehended him in 2002, but he was released months later. He received refugee status in 2004, a protection that was eventually revoked. His re-arrest in 2024 placed him back under strict detention while he awaited transfer to Italy.

His legal status changed decisively in July 2025. Argentina’s supreme court rejected his final appeal and formally approved his extradition to Italy. He faces a 27-year prison sentence based on a 1987 conviction for joining a subversive association and belonging to an armed group.

The Red Brigades were a radical Marxist group active in Italy between 1969 and 1980. The organization is best known for the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former prime minister Aldo Moro. In response to the recent escape, the Argentine security ministry announced a $13,000 reward for information leading to Bertulazzi’s recapture.