The painting, "Odalisque in Red Pants," is to be returned from the United States within three to five weeks.

 

　　Raul Grioni is president of Venezuela's Cultural Patrimony Institute,

 

　　"Our understanding is that when it is shown that the painting belongs to us, because we hadn't had the chance to present this paperwork before, then the U.S. State Department will facilitate the repatriation of the art work."

 

　　Venezuelan authorities say the 1925 painting, which is valued at about 3 million US dollars, was stolen from the Caracas museum in 2000.

 

　　It was found in July when a couple tried to sell it to undercover FBI agents at a hotel in Miami Beach.

 

　　The two were sentenced last month at a US federal court in Miami for attempting to sell the stolen work.

 

　　The US State Department contacted Venezuelan officials to begin the process of returning the Matisse painting after the trial concluded.

 

　　The painting will arrive at the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art once officials complete necessary requirements to ship it and verify its authenticity.