Spanish tourist's husband 'plotted her murder to claim on her life insurance'

María Liz Cristaldo López, 35, was shot as she tried to run from the scene of a robbery in the densely-populated La Lechuga district of the city of Maracaibo.

She had been conned by a taxi driver transporting her and her husband, Jesús González, 36, who was injured in the struggle that saw them relieved of their mobile phones, gold jewellery, money and other personal effects.

González, originally said to be a Chilean national but now reported to be from the north-western region of Galicia in Spain, is said to have been in cahoots with a Venezuelan man and his partner to kill the young woman for financial gain, according to the Secretary of State for Public Order and Safety, Jairo Ramírez.

The Venezuelan Crime and Forensic Police Investigation Unit (CICPC) in the state of La Zulia where the murder took place said they arrested a man called Miguel who admitted he and the woman's husband had been planning 'from Spain, for a long time' how to make her death look like a random murder in order for González to claim on her life insurance policy.

According to his confession, the bogus taxi driver and the others involved in the killing were hitmen who had been hird or the sum of 2,000 euros.

Although González has denied any connection with his wife's death, the CICPC has records of calls between him and Miguel, and a hitman identified only by his nickname of 'El Tribilín'.

The couple were married in August and this was their second holiday in Venezuela, investigators reveal.

They had taken a non-registered taxi on Monday from their hotel, but instead of travelling to their intended destination were taken to a strip of wasteland off the main drag in the La Lechuga neighbourhood.

Five individuals robbed them and told them to run away and not look back.

As they fled, shots were fired, one of which hit María Liz in the head.

She was alive but unconscious when she was taken to hospital, but later died from her injuries.

María Liz lived in Madrid with her husband and was a Spanish national, although her parents were born in Paraguay.

Venezuela is one of the most crime-ridden countries in Latin America, with 11,000 people murdered last year - a figure charities believe could be closer to 25,000 - yet it is also a popular tourist destination with its sun-drenched beaches and islands, and verdant national parks, including the Orinoco river delta.