Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez has left the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas on Saturday, more than a year after seeking refuge there, his father told Agence France-Presse.

"I can confirm he left the embassy of his own free will and left Venezuela in secret," said his father, who is also called Leopoldo Lopez and lives in Spain.

Lopez Sr. said his son left the embassy "about two days ago" and secretly crossed the border into Colombia on Friday. 

He had since moved on to a third country and was making his way to Spain to be reunited with his wife and three children in Madrid. 

The activist had previously stubbornly refused to leave the residence even when his family fled to Spain last year.

Sunday arrival in Spain?

"We hope he will be here tomorrow," said Lopez Sr., who is a member of the European Parliament for Spain's rightwing opposition Popular Party.

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It is unclear how Lopez left the ambassador's residence, given the heavy state security presence permanently stationed outside the property.

Travel by land has grown increasingly difficult because of widespread fuel shortages and checkpoints manned by security forces nationwide.

Locked up or confined

Lopez was detained and jailed in 2014, when he led a protest movement against President Nicolas Maduro. He was released from prison but transferred to house arrest in 2017. 

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In April 2019, Lopez was able to leave house arrest and appeared on the street during a failed uprising led by Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president of Venezuela that year.

Shortly after, he sought refuge at the home of the Spanish ambassador.

The charismatic 49-year-old former mayor of Caracas has remained an influential figure in Venezuela's opposition during his long detention.

He is said to have been a mentor to Juan Guaido, the US-backed leader who claims that Maduro's 2018 reelection was not legitimate.

Guaido confirmed Lopez's escape from Venezuela, but didn't reveal how Lopez escaped. "Maduro, you can't control anything," he said.

jcg/mm (AP, AFP, Reuters)