Leopoldo López flees Venezuela vowing to continue fighting Maduro regime

Opposition figure had sheltered in Spanish ambassador's residence since a failed uprising against Nicolas Maduro in 2019

The prominent opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the nation's socialist president, his party has said.

The 49-year-old former Caracas area mayor had been holed up at the ambassador's residence since a failed military uprising he led in April 2019 aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro. He has been jailed, under house arrest or in a foreign embassy refuge for nearly seven years.