Trade union leader Carlos Ortega, who fled from prison one year ago and was granted political asylum by the Peruvian government, is presently in Lima, reported Venezuelan ambassador Armando José Laguna.

"We handle information about Mr. Ortega being here in Peru. As a matter of fact, we have pictures of him in a restaurant here in Lima," the diplomat told AFP.

Laguna noted that so far, his embassy had no official information about the case of Ortega, former president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV), and added that the mission was waiting for a related notice from Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs José García Belaunde.

García Belaunde said on the eve that Ortega had been granted asylum "for humanitarian reasons."