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The Americas

Former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez to Be Buried at Home

Associated Press
Published | Updated
Venezuela Perez Obit

In this undated photo released by Carlos Andres Perez's family, Venezuela's former President Carlos Andres Perez looks on at his home in Miami. Perez died on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010, in Miami of a heart attack, his daughter Maria Francia Perez said. (AP)

MIAMI – Relatives of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez have agreed that he will be buried in Venezuela, ending a bitter family feud, their attorneys said Wednesday.

A joint statement by attorneys for both sides said Perez's remains will return to Venezuela for burial as soon as the proper arrangements are made. It's unclear how long that will take. The feuding sides were Perez's estranged wife Blanca Rodriguez de Perez and her family against Cecilia Beatriz Matos Molero and her daughters, Maria Francia Perez-Matos and Cecilia Victoria Perez-Matos.

They agreed it is in the best interests of the families and of Perez's legacy to end the months-long litigation.

Perez was Venezuela's president from 1974-79 and 1989-93 and died in Miami in December at age 88.

The agreement came after weeks of closed-door negotiations and avoided a contentious trial that had been scheduled to begin earlier this month but was delayed while talks between the sides continued.

The struggle began when Perez's estranged wife claimed she had the right to take his body home to Venezuela. Matos, Perez's longtime companion in Miami, insisted he would never return with political arch-foe Hugo Chavez as president.

The court case, if it would have continued, hinged on whether Matos could show enough proof that Perez vowed never to return to Venezuela, alive or dead, as long as Chavez is president.

Perez left no written burial instructions. His body has been in a temporary crypt during the dispute.

Chavez, meanwhile, has been battling cancer. He said Tuesday that he's improving after undergoing a second round of chemotherapy in Cuba and boasted that he's never felt healthier. The socialist leader has scaled back the length of his speeches recently, saying he is under strict doctors' orders.