Two colors—lime and sand—signal the ongoing judicial inquiry into past abuses under Argentina’s brutal dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has denied a requested refund in a related matter involving Reverend Franco Reverberi Boschi who is tied to a trial in Argentina for crimes against humanity. The decision, made on January 10 and announced recently, anticipates a broader legal development next April. A new case in Italy targets former Colonel Carlos Malatto, another fugitive accused of participating in kidnapping, torture, and murder linked to Argentina’s dark period in the 1970s.
News of the extradition refusal in the Reverberi case was released by a civil society organization on March 24. Nordio reportedly refused the refund on health grounds, a move the group described as already reviewed by the Italian Supreme Court. The organization’s president noted these remarks in communications with this publication. [Citation: statements reported by Italian civil rights groups]
Judicial records reveal Reverberi Boschi, an 86-year-old man with heart conditions, was identified as a key figure in the Argentine crimes. A document signed by Nordio cites concerns that extradition could trigger psychological stress and may pose a risk to the patient’s cardiac health. The decision was framed as necessary to avoid unnecessary risk to his health while the legal process unfolds. [Citation: Italian court documents and official notes]
Priests and soldiers
The Reverberi Boschi case first drew public attention in 2010 during the Mendoza trials for crimes against humanity in northwestern Argentina. Reverberi Boschi appeared as a witness, but multiple victims later identified him as having been present in a clandestine detention center where they endured torture. Some testimonies depict him blessing weapons before or during the abuses, while others describe him administering or witnessing torture, with a Bible reportedly in hand. By the time investigators pursued him, Reverberi Boschi had already vanished from sight. [Citation: Mendoza trial records and eyewitness testimonies]
Similarly, Malatto faced pursuit after evading authorities in 2011 in San Juan and again disappearing until 2019. In that year, Italian reporters located him in a luxurious apartment in Messina, Sicily. Testimonies gathered in 1983 link Malatto to brutal repression alongside General Luciano Benjamin Menéndez and Major Jorge Olivera, a pattern that Italian prosecutors have repeatedly pursued. [Citation: Italian investigative reporting and court testimony]
Vulture Plan
The arc of the San Juan Court cases from 2011, 2015, and 2018 shows most defendants declared guilty, yet Malatto has not faced a standard trial in Argentina because in absentia proceedings are not permitted there. This has intensified the persistence of families and victims who pressed for accountability across the sea in Italy. Malatto now faces charges in Italy for killings attributed to him, naming eight victims: Juan Carlos Campora, Marie Anne Erize Tisseau, Jorge Bonil, Alberto Carvajal, Daniel Russo, Alfredo Leroux, Marta Saroff, and Florentino Arias. [Citation: Italian court decisions and victim advocacy records]
The broader historical pattern is not new to Italian courts. In 2011, Uruguayan officer Jorge Néstor Troccoli received a life sentence from Italy’s Supreme Court for involvement in the disappearance of Italian citizens. The Vulture Plan—reflected in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil during the 1970s and 1980s—was supported by the United States according to historical reviews. [Citation: Italian judiciary archives and historical analyses]