Body of Venezuelan ex-president going home

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

The body of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez finally began the journey home Monday, more than nine months after he died in exile in Miami and following settlement of a tense family feud over his final resting place.

Perez's casket, wrapped in a Venezuelan flag, was loaded into a hearse at a mausoleum where the remains had been kept temporarily since June. Alex Gonzalez, attorney for Perez's estranged wife and family in Venezuela, said the body would be flown to Caracas on Tuesday.

A public viewing is scheduled Wednesday, followed by a funeral mass and burial on Thursday, Gonzalez said. There are no plans for Venezuelan government involvement or any kind of state funeral.

Perez died in Miami on Dec. 25 at age 88, triggering a lengthy legal battle over whether he would be buried in Venezuela or the U.S. Perez, who left no written burial instructions, was president of Venezuela from 1974-79 and again from 1989-93.

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1725716