Former Colonel Pedro Antonio Mato Narbondo enjoying "free time" in Brazil. | Photo: Twitter/ @altreconomia

Brasilia, March 2 (RHC)-- In 2021, Italian judges sentenced former Colonel Mato Narbondo to life imprisonment for his role in the killings of Italian citizens in Argentina in June 1976.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Brazil (STJ) admitted a procedure sent by the Italian government requesting that the Uruguayan former Colonel Pedro Antonio Mato Narbondo serve in Brazil the sentence he received for his participation in the "Condor Plan" in the 1970s.

In carrying out this U.S.-led counterinsurgency operation, Latin American dictatorships committed crimes against humanity related to the mass murder of progressive social leaders and leftist politicians.

In her ruling, STH President Maria de Assis Moura summoned Mato Narbondo, who is a naturalized Brazilian, to testify so that he can defend himself against the Italian request.

In her decision, Judge De Assis Moura said: "Although the homicides took place in Argentina, the Italian Penal Code grants that country the jurisdiction to prosecute political crimes committed abroad, including crimes against human rights provided for in the conventions international."

While the Brazilian constitution does not allow the extradition of its citizens, it does authorize the former Colonel to serve his sentence in Brazil, which is precisely what Italy has requested.  Brazilian laws, however, do not admit life imprisonment. For this reason, Mato Narbondo could end up serving a lesser sentence than the one imposed by the Italian judges.