Nicaragua Severs Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Terrorist Dispute

The government of Nicaragua severed diplomatic relations with Italy on Thursday following a dispute over the extradition of Alessio Casimirri, a former Red Brigades militant. The rupture was triggered by remarks made by Italian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani during a forum in Madrid, where he described the Nicaraguan government as extremist and stated that Italy shares nothing in common with its vision.

Tajani condemned Nicaragua for providing protection to Casimirri, a convicted participant in the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro. He characterized the decision to grant Casimirri citizenship as an unacceptable act of granting immunity to a criminal. In response, Nicaragua sent a formal letter of protest to the Italian Embassy in Managua and condemned Tajani's comments as unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.

Casimirri fled to Nicaragua in 1983 and obtained citizenship in 1989. While he admits membership in the Red Brigades, he denies involvement in the attack on Moro. Italy continues to demand his extradition to serve his sentence, but efforts are blocked by the Nicaraguan constitution, which prohibits the extradition of its own nationals, and the absence of a bilateral extradition treaty between the two nations.