Sri Lanka’s struggling president moved out into the country early Wednesday to the Maldives, a likely precursor to his decision to resign following months of massive demonstrations against his island nation’s worst-ever economic depression.

After leaving his country estate in Colombo just before crowds overran it, Gotabaya Rajapaksa planned over the weekend to step down on Wednesday and pave the way for a “peaceful transition of power.” Rajapaksa has protection from imprisonment as president, and he is thought to have wished to travel abroad until going down to stop getting imprisoned.

According to immigration sources, he, his wife, and a bodyguard one of four passengers aboard an Antonov-32 military plane that began taking off from Sri Lanka’s main international airport.

When they arrived in the Maldives, they were escorted by police to an unknown place, according to an airport official in Male.

The 73-year-old leader, dubbed “The Terminator,” had been held up for more than 24 hours in an embarrassing standoff with immigration officials in Colombo.