Former Angolan President Dos Santos Dies in Spain

Jose Eduardo Dos Santos stepped down from power in 2017. His party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which has been ruling the nation since 1975.

On Friday, the Government of Angola confirmed the death of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who had been in Barcelona (Spain) connected to life support since June.

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"The Executive of the Republic of Angola bows, with the greatest respect and consideration, to the figure of a statesman of great historical dimension, who governed the destiny of the Angolan nation for many years with clairvoyance and humanism", President Joao Lourenco's administration said.

Dos Santos had lived in Barcelona since 2019. In the last week of June, he suffered a respiratory arrest and was transferred to a hospital, where he remained in an induced coma. Since then, his family entered into internal conflicts due to strong disagreements about the steps to follow.

Some of his relatives believed that the 79-year-old politician may have been the victim of a conspiracy to kill him and prevent him from giving his support to the opposition in August elections.

In this sense, one of his daughters filed a complaint on Monday for a possible crime of attempted murder, omission of the duty of relief and injuries due to serious recklessness.

After ruling Angola for 38 years, Dos Santos stepped down from power in 2017. Joao Lourenco succeeded him as President after winning elections for his party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has been ruling the nation since its independence from Portugal in 1975.

"Fathers never die because they are the truest love that children know in all their lives. They live forever within us," his daughter Tchize dos Santos said, as reported by Al Mayadeen.