Minister Ignazio La Russa’s remarks to reporters in Sicily Sunday, carried by the Italian news agency ANSA, was the first official confirmation that Abdel-Salam Jalloud had arrived in Italy. He didn’t say where Jalloud was staying.

Libyan rebels said Friday that Jalloud had defected, a blow for Qaddafi’s embattled regime. Jalloud helped Qaddafi come to power in a 1969 coup and for decades traveled the world representing Tripoli. He started clashing with Qaddafi in the 1990s.

Italian media have reported that Jalloud first fled to Tunisia, then to Italy on Saturday. Italian officials initially declined to comment on Jalloud’s whereabouts.