OTTAWA, 3(AP) - A Cuban diplomat who went into hiding at the Cuban Embassy in Canada after being expelled from the United States left the compound Thursday escorted by Canadian police.

Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Michael O'Shaughnessy confirmed that Jose Imperatori, 46, had left the embassy. He refused to provide any further details.

Phone calls to the embassy reached an answering machine.

Canadian officials have said Imperatori was in the country illegally because the transit visa he received upon arrival Saturday had expired. They were unable to arrest him because he was in the embassy, but they said Imperatori would be permitted to fly out of the country.

Imperatori stayed in the embassy more than four days, refusing to eat solid food to protest his expulsion, according to embassy officials.

He was declared persona non grata by Washington last week for allegedly helping a U.S. Immigration Service worker accused of spying for Cuba. U.S. officials flew Imperatori to Canada on Saturday, where he took refuge in the Cuban Embassy instead of proceeding to Havana.

Ted Killory, a Washington lawyer representing Imperatori, said his client wanted to go back to the United States immediately instead of proceeding to Havana. Killory said Imperatori has offered to testify at the trial of Mariano Faget, the alleged spy he is accused of helping.

A U.S. State Department official said this week that Imperatori could be invited back to testify at the Faget trial, but U.S. officials insisted Imperatori must first go to Cuba.

Imperatori resigned as vice-consul of Cuba's Interests Section in Washington after being accused last week of providing information to Faget, who was arrested in Miami on allegations of spying for Havana.

In Florida, Faget acknowledged meeting with Imperatori, but said the two spoke only about business opportunities.

``We only met for half an hour, and it had nothing to do with my job, nor did we discuss anything that related to the Immigration and Naturalization Service,'' Faget told WPLG-TV in an interview aired Tuesday night.

AP-NY-03-02-00 1333EST

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.

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