A 74-year-old former member of the Italian Marxist group the Red Brigades escaped from house arrest in Argentina, according to The Guardian, which reported that the country's security ministry confirmed the escape on Wednesday. The Guardian identified the man as Leonardo Bertulazzi and said he was awaiting extradition to Italy when he fled.

According to The Guardian, authorities placed Bertulazzi under house arrest in Buenos Aires in 2024. The newspaper's AFP-sourced report said he reportedly used a harness to flee custody. Its headline states that the former radical Marxist group member "scales balcony" before escaping.

The Guardian's full report is the source of these details on the house arrest and the harness.

BBC News reported that Bertulazzi, a former member of the Red Brigades, was about to be extradited to his home country of Italy when he escaped. The BBC headline says he escaped by "abseiling from balcony" and describes him as a kidnapper, 74. The BBC summary does not explain the basis for that description, and The Guardian's report does not use the term.

The two outlets agree on the central facts of the escape, but they differ on how it was carried out. The BBC headline describes abseiling, while The Guardian reported that Bertulazzi reportedly used a harness and scaled a balcony. Neither source, as summarized here, reports whether he has since been located or recaptured.

Sources: BBC News: Kidnapper, 74, escapes from house arrest in Argentina by abseiling from balcony; The Guardian: Ex-member of radical Marxist group scales balcony, escapes house arrest in Argentina.