Fugitive Italian communist militant Cesare Battisti captured in Bolivia after help from Brazil
- Cesare Battisti escaped from an Italian prison in 1981 and lived in France before fleeing to Brazil to avoid being extradited
- He has acknowledged membership in the group but has denied killing anyone
Cesare Battisti, a fugitive Italian communist militant sought by Rome for four murders attributed to a far-left group in the 1970s, was arrested in Bolivia and will be extradited to Brazil and then to Italy.
Italy has repeatedly sought the extradition of Battisti, who has lived in Brazil for years under the protection of former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), now in prison for corruption.
“Italian terrorist Cesare Battisti was detained in Bolivia (Saturday night) and will be soon brought to Brazil, from where he will probably be sent to Italy to serve a life sentence,” tweeted Filipe G. Martins, a senior aide on international affairs to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
During Brazil’s recent presidential campaign the far-right Bolsonaro – who took office on January 1 – vowed that if elected he would “immediately” extradite Battisti to Italy.
In mid-December Brazil’s outgoing president, Michel Temer, signed an extradition order for Battisti after a judge ordered his arrest.