A Cuban diplomat accused of spying in the U.S. has left Canadian soil, bound for Cuba.

José Imperatori had been on hunger strike in the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa since Saturday when FBI agents expelled him from the U.S.

Thursday afternoon, a convoy of RCMP vehicles escorted Imperatori straight from the embassy on Main Street to a part of the airport reserved for government and military flights.

A jetliner registered to Cubana, Cuba's state airline, was already fuelled and waiting for him.

Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the plane had just arrived from Cuba and was headed straight back to Havana.

Imperatori was expelled from the U.S. last week after he was accused of relaying information on Cuban dissidents to the regime of Fidel Castro.

Canada gave him a 48-hour transit visa to return home to Cuba via Montreal. There are no direct flights from the U.S. to Cuba.

Instead, Imperatori went to the Cuban embassy in Ottawa where he went on a five-day hunger strike. He said he had been falsely accused and wanted a chance to clear his name.

Canada refused to renew his visa and told Cuba he was expected to leave the country immediately.