Italian Fugitive Captured 3 Decades After Murder Conviction

Italian Fugitive Captured 3 Decades After Murder Conviction
Italian leftist militant Cesare Battisti gestures during an interview with AFP in Cananeia, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on Oct. 20, 2017. Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images
|Updated:

ROME—A left-wing Italian militant who was convicted of murder in his home country nearly three decades ago was arrested in Bolivia, authorities said Sunday, setting the stage for a climactic end to one of Italy’s longest-running efforts to bring a fugitive to justice.

The Italian government sent an aircraft to pick up Cesare Battisti, who was captured by Bolivian police working with Italian agents on the ground in Santa Cruz de La Sierra, Italian police said. The 64-year-old had been living in Brazil for years, but Brazil’s outgoing president signed a decree last month ordering his extradition, apparently leading to Battisti’s latest effort to elude authorities.