Italy judge issues warrants in "Plan Condor" case

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian judge on Monday issued arrest warrants for 140 Latin Americans suspected of involvement in a coordinated persecution of leftists and dissidents by Latin America's military rulers in the 1970s, Italian news agencies said.

Almost all of those on the list are living in Latin America and a number are already in custody there as part of investigations into the conspiracy known as "Plan Condor".

One man, Nestor Jorge Fernandez Troccoli, a former member of the Uruguayan secret services, was arrested in southern Italy, the Ansa and Agi news agencies reported.

The warrants involve Argentines, Bolivians, Brazilians, Chileans, Paraguayans and Peruvians.

They are suspected of complicity in the deaths of 25 Italian citizens killed in Latin American by military regimes in the 1970s, the news agencies reported.

Under Italian law, Italian magistrates can investigate the killings of Italian citizens overseas.

It was not clear if the action taken against those on the list who are living in Latin American or elsewhere outside Italy was symbolic or whether the judge would try to have them extradited to Italy.

Former Argentine leader Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and former Uruguayan President Juan Bordaberry were among those on the list, the Italian news agencies reported.

(Editing by Giles Elgood)