Two Cuban doctors who went to Venezuela to help in relief efforts after the devastating floods in December have requested political asylum.

The doctors told reporters in Caracas they wanted to emigrate to improve their living standards.

The doctors arrived in Venezuela as part of a team of one-hundred Cubans who treated victims of the mudslides and floods, which killed thousands of people.

Many have stayed on to continue providing health care in the worst affected areas along Venezuela´s Caribbean coast. The Venezuelan authorities said they would study the request for asylum.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service