Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos told Colombian media on Wednesday that the legendary Colombian writer does not have cancer as some media sources have reported.
Santos reportedly joined the growing chorus denying the Noble Laureate’s cancer when he spoke to Colombia’s Caracol network.
“It is not true… that his cancer has come back. He suffered from pneumonia, at an advanced age, and that pneumonia is under control,” he said.
“I endorse what the family said to please respect their privacy,” added the Colombian head of state.
The Mexican newspaper El Universal published a story on Monday alleging that the 87-year-old literary great was once again battling cancer.
Garcia Marquez, who has lived in Mexico for the last 50 years, successfully defeated lymphatic cancer about 12 years ago.
His family has since denied the claim, saying he was recovering from pneumonia instead. Nevertheless, his family called his state of health “very fragile.”
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered to be one of the most important authors of the 20th century. He won the Noble Prize for literature in 1982.
Some of his most recognized works are “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” “Autumn of the Patriarch,” and “Love in the Time of Cholera.”
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