Uruguayan leftist writer Galeano dies at 74

Uruguayan leftist writer Eduardo Galeano, author of the seminal book "Open Veins of Latin America," died Monday in Montevideo at the age of 74.

He had been battling lung cancer for several years and was hospitalized last week at the Casmu Hospital, local media reported.

"Open Veins of Latin America," published in 1971 on ravages of colonialism in Latin America, has long been a must read among Spanish speakers in the region and became a bestseller again in 2009 after then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave a copy to his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama.

Among his other well-known books, translated into some 20 languages, are "The Book of Embraces" and "Memory of Fire," which earned him comparisons to Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

As a leading voice of the region's leftist movement, Galeano's books once were banned by right-wing military governments in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

He was forced into exile after Uruguay's military regime seized power in 1973 and returned in 1985 after the left-leaning Broad Front alliance won presidential elections.

Galeano was last seen publicly on Feb. 26, visited at home by Bolivian President Evo Morales, who said Monday that "the world has lost ...an illustrious personality in the liberation of Latin American peoples."

Galeano's death was also mourned by many regional leaders including Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica. Endi