TEHRAN -- Iranian actor and director Sirus Hemmati said that Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez has left his homeland to live in Mexico.

Quoting members of the London-based Kali Theater troupe, he said that Marquez made the decision to leave his country after the threat of war between Colombia and Venezuela rose over the past two years.
“In addition, the bad situation in Colombia concerning its domestic affairs and lack of national security are other reasons for Marquez’s decision,” Hemmati told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Wednesday.
Hemmati has recently directed an Iranian theater troupe in performing “Day of a Soldier” during their 20-day sojourn in Colombia.
He also planned to meet Marquez during his stay in Colombia, but the meeting was never held because of Marquez’s emigration.