ROME (AP) — Italy is praising the capture in Bolivia of fugitive Italian communist militant Cesare Battisti and is vowing that he will "finish his days in prison" to serve murder convictions dating from 1990.

Bolivian police seized Battisti overnight. The Italian ambassador to Brazil, Antonio Bernardini, tweeted: "Battisti has been captured. Democracy is stronger than terrorism."

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini praised Bolivian police and Brazil's government. He called Battisti a "delinquent who doesn't deserve to live comfortably on the beach but rather to finish his days in prison."

Battisti 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. He was convicted in absentia in 1990.

He has acknowledged membership in the group but has denied killing anyone.