PANAMA CITY, Panama--Deposed President Eric Arturo Delvalle fled from his house on foot hours after government agents warned him to get out of the country, his brother-in-law said Saturday.

"Delvalle left the house last night to protect himself," Delvalle's brother-in-law Raul Diaz told reporters. He declined to say where the former president was but added: "He must be in Panama."

Diaz said the former president had slipped away on foot to avoid arrest and deportation by military strongman Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega.

Diaz said security agents under Noriega's command told Delvalle to leave Panama Friday shortly after Noriega had the president removed from office.

Noreiga engineered Delvalle's ouster after Delvalle called on Noriega to resign Thursday. Noriega had been indicted in the United States on drug charges.

Meanwhile, a national strike called by the main opposition group got off to a slow start Saturday.

A family friend of Delvalle, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an army colonel and a captain discovered Delvalle's escape when they came to his home Saturday morning.

Soldiers came to Delvalle's house at 8 a.m. and were met at the door by Delvalle's wife, Mariela. While the soldiers were telling her they wanted to take Delvalle, the president escaped out a back door, according to U.S. officials in Washington.

In Washington, State Department sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Delvalle's departure and said he had been in telephone contact with U.S. Ambassador Arthur Davis in Panama City. They said his children and grandchildren were in the American embassy in Panama City. Delvalle is still recognized by the United States as president of Panama.

Panama's ambassador in Washington, Juan B. Sosa, who has sided with Delvalle in his clash with Noriega, said the former president was "in a safe and sound place."

Diplomatic sources, speaking on condition they not be identified, said Noriega's government was likely to bring criminal charges against Delvalle in the near future.

Early Friday, the National Assembly voted to oust Delvalle hours after he announced his plan to fire Noriega, chief of the Defense Forces and the power behind Delvalle's civilian government.

Noriega has accused the United States of engineering Delvalle's failed attempt to assert civilian control of Panama.

Deprived of power, Delvalle told reporters Friday night: "I don't have a seat of government, nor military support, but I do have 2 million Panamanians who are tired and bored of living under a regime that one man has governed capriciously...because of that I call for national resistance to paralyze the entire country starting Monday."