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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Plans in the Dominican Republic to award a literary prize to Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa have angered some people, including a member of the president's Cabinet.
Dominican and foreign academics selected Vargas Llosa to receive the Pedro Henriquez Urena Prize at an April book fair. The prize has typically been presented by the country's culture minister.
Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo said late Monday it would be inappropriate to honor Vargas Llosa because of statements the author made about a controversial Dominican court ruling on immigration in 2013. Others echoed his criticism.
The Nobel Prize-winning author was a prominent critic of a ruling that disenfranchised thousands of people born in the Dominican Republic to non-citizens. Some effects were later addressed by legislation.
Vargas Llosa could not immediately be reached for comment.
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