France, April 14 -- Peruvian authorities on Monday declared a day of mourning with flags to fly at half mast on government buildings following the death of the Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa.

The essayist and author of celebrated novels as The Time of the Hero and Feast of the Goat died onSunday. He was 89.

"It is with deep sorrow that we announce that our father, Mario Vargas Llosa, passed away peacefully in Lima today, surrounded by his family," read a letter signed by his children Álvaro, Gonzalo and Morgana, and posted by Álvaro on social media platform X.

"His departure will sadden his relatives, his friends and his readers around the world, but we hope that they will find comfort, as we do, in the fact tha...