A former Italian communist militant hunted for three decades over four murders in the 1970s, has been arrested in Bolivia wearing a fake beard and moustache.
Cesare Battist was arrested by an international police squad who tracked him down while he was on the run in Bolivia in disguise.
Italy has repeatedly sought the extradition of Battisti while he lived in Brazil for years under the protection of former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is now in prison for corruption.
The Italian government confirmed today he will be extradited to Rome 'in the coming hours'.
Battisti was arrested late on Saturday in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra near the Brazil border, Italian interior ministry sources confirmed, where he gave up without a struggle.
He escaped from an Italian prison in 1981 while awaiting trial on four counts of murder allegedly committed when he was a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism.
Italian former leftist activist Cesare Battisti, convicted in Italy for four murders, during an interview in the city of Cananeia, Brazil, last year
The 64-year-old was convicted in his absence in 1990, and is facing a life term for the deaths of two police officers, taking part in the murder of a butcher, and helping plan the slaying of a jeweller who died in a shootout which left his 14-year-old son in a wheelchair.
He admitted to being part of the group but denied responsibility for any deaths and has painted himself as a political refugee.
In 2004 he skipped bail in France, where he had taken refuge and joined dozens of left-wing Italian militants who enjoyed official protection from the French government.
He went to live clandestinely in Brazil until he was arrested in 2007 in Rio de Janeiro.
Bolivian police released this images of Battisti today after he was arrested late last night
After years in custody, then-president Lula issued a decree - later upheld by Brazil's Supreme Court - in 2010 refusing Battisti's extradition to Italy, and he was freed, angering Italy.
Battisti, who has a five-year-old Brazilian son, said he faced 'torture' and death if he were ever to be sent back to Italy.
While living on the run he reinvented himself as an author, writing a string of noir novels.
'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. By then the Italian ex-militant had disappeared and gone on the run.
'Battisti was arrested in the street, unarmed and he didn't resist, responded to police in Portuguese and showed a Brazilian document confirming his identity,' an Italian interior ministry source said. 'Now Italy is waiting for him.'
Italian state police said the arrest had been carried out by a joint team of Italian and Bolivian officers with the help of Italy's counter-terrorism section.
Italian militant Cesare Battisti escorted by police to the headquarters of the Federal Police in Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, after a federal judge ordered his detention
According to the Italian government sources, Battisti was spotted 'with certainty' in Santa Cruz last week and an operation was prepared with local authorities.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported the fugitive, wearing a false beard and moustache, was snatched in the street by a special Interpol squad.
An Interpol team had targeted their search in Santa Cruz before Christmas, closing in on the Italian fugitive in a few of the city's neighbourhoods, the paper said.
Italy's envoy to Brazil fired off a triumphant tweet upon hearing the news. 'Battisti has been arrested! Democracy is stronger than terrorism!' ambassador Antonio Bernardini wrote.
Battisti could be expelled 'within hours' from Bolivian territory, a Bolivian government source said, without giving details where he would be sent.
Italian authorities today dispatched a plane carrying police and secret service agents to Bolivia, the interior ministry said, in apparent preparation for a possible extradition.
Battisti leaves prison after the decision by the Supreme Court to reject the extradicton demanded by the Italian government in 2011
'Now it's necessary to work out if Battisti will make a stopover in Brazil or if he will be brought immediately to Italy. This is a problem that will be decided in the coming hours,' the Italian interior ministry source said.
Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini thanked the Italian and foreign police who captured 'a delinquent who did not deserve the comfortable life on the beach, and who should spend out the rest of his days in prison.'
Bolsonaro's son, Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, tweeted in Italian with a picture of Battisti: 'Brazil is no longer the land of bandits. Matteo Salvini, the 'little gift' is on its way.'
Italian police released a video of Battisti they said was taken hours before his capture, showing him seemingly oblivious to the surveillance cameras tracking him as he walked casually down the street in jeans, a blue T-shirt and sunglasses.
A still frame taken by a video released by the Italian Police today of Battisti walking in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
A subsequent image showed Battisti's mug shot under the seal of the Bolivian police.
'Cesare Battisti's long flight is over,' Justice Minister Alfonso Buonafede declared.
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said a government aircraft was expected to land Sunday afternoon in Bolivia, but it wasn't clear if Battisti had to first pass through Brazil. Italian and Brazilian authorities vowed to have Battisti extradited 'as quickly as possible.'
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called him a 'delinquent who doesn't deserve to live comfortably on the beach but rather to finish his days in prison.'
Brazil's new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, hailed Battisti's arrest, vowed to turn him over to Italy and denounced da Silva's government for having granted the Italian asylum.
'Finally, there will be justice for the Italian assassin and partner of ideas of one of the most corrupt governments to ever exist,' Bolsonaro tweeted in a reference to da Silva's Workers' Party.
The Brazilian security minister, Augusto Heleno, said Sunday that Battisti would be taken on a Brazilian plane to Brazil before he is sent to Italy, according to the G1 news portal.
Salvini praised Bolivian police and Brazil's new government for following through on the fugitive's case.
President Sergio Mattarella said Battisti should be returned to Italy to 'serve his sentence for the grave crimes that stained Italy and let the same be said for all fugitives abroad.'
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https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/13/italian-far-left-militant-arrested-disguised-in-a-fake-beard-while-on-the-run-in-bolivia/
Main photo article A former Italian communist militant hunted for three decades over four murders in the 1970s, has been arrested in Bolivia wearing a fake beard and moustache.
Cesare Battist was arrested by an international police squad who tracked him down while he was on the run in Bolivia in disguise.
Italy h...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/13/17/8468054-6586929-image-a-12_1547400104305.jpg
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