Summary:

On 1 October 2024. Italian media reported that three agents of the External Intelligence and Security Agency (AISE) were poisoned during a dinner party in Hammamet. 

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One of the agents died while two were hospitalized in critical condition at the Anti-Poison Center in Tunis. The Tunisian Criminal Brigade opened an investigation into the incident and according to Agenzia Nova, Tunisian judicial sources have confirmed that the cause of death was “cyanide poisoning.” 

The Italian agents involved were reportedly part of a team that had participated in the investigations that culminated in the August 2024 arrest of Angelo Salvatore Stracuzzi, an accountant for the Sicilian Mafia (or La Cosa Nostra Mafia) who had recently settled in Hammamet after fleeing Palermo.  

Outlook: 

The poisoning of the Italian intelligence agents marks another incident reflecting the influence of Italian mafia and international criminal networks in Tunisia. 

Several arrests targeted Italian mafia members and criminals in recent years, the last of which included an Italian resident in Tunisia who was providing boats for irregular migrants. 

These arrests point to increasing cooperation between Tunisian security and its Italian counterpart, along with Interpol. However, the poisoning incident shows these criminal networks maintain the ability to retaliate in a targeted manner.  

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