Fugitive Italian communist militant Cesare Battisti has been extradited to Italy after his capture in Bolivia nearly three decades after being convicted of multiple murders, ABC News reported.

His extradition was confirmed in a statement from the Government of Brazil, where Battisti lived for several years until recently fleeing to Bolivia after Brazil's outgoing President signed a decree ordering his extradition.

The development sets the stage for a climax to one of Italy's longest-running efforts to bring a fugitive to justice, after Bolivian police arrested Battisti, 64, on the weekend.

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he would "finish his days in prison" as soon as he steps on Italian soil.

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, and was subsequently given a life sentence in absentia.

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