Colombian author and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez was put under close surveillance by the Mexican secret service during the 1970’s for his involvement in leftist politics and his ties with Cuba.
Marquez, who has lived in Mexico since the early 60’s, was the subject of espionage between 1967 and 1985 by the now defunct Mexican Security Directorate (DFS) who suspected him of harboring leftist ideologies and collaborating with the Cuban government as an “agent of propaganda,” claimed Colombian media on Sunday.
According to DFS documents, Marquez gave the rights to his book ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’ to the Cuban government which allegedly confirmed that “besides being pro-Cuba and pro-Soviet,” Marquez was “a propaganda agent serving the Intelligence Directorate of Cuba.”
One of the largest files held by Mexican authorities appears to relate to the role Marquez played as mediator between the Latin American Left and the government of former French President Francois Mitterand between 1981 and 1995.
Mexico emphasized that the DFS never ‘tapped’ the Colombian author’s more intimate activities but maintained a consitent watch over his telephone conversations.
