A US diplomat ordered this week to leave Bolivia allegedly for plotting against the government of the Andean nation has left the country.

Francisco Martinez left the Latin country on Thursday onboard an American Airlines flight. On Monday, he had been given 72 hours to leave the country.

The expulsion of Martinez was described by the charge d'affairs at the US embassy in La Paz, Kris Urs, as unfair and arbitrary.

He was falsely accused, Urs said.

President Evo Morales accused Martinez of "coordinating contacts" with a Bolivian police officer accused of infiltrating the state oil company on behalf of the CIA.

The United States has rejected the claim as baseless.

Also in September, Morales expelled the US ambassador to La Paz, Philip Goldberg, accusing him of conspiring against his government. The move was followed two months later by another expulsion -- that of the US Drug Enforcement Administration representatives in Bolivia.

Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Cuba as regional leftist allies have created a unified front against the hegemonic policies of the United States in the region.

RB/AA