Carlos Fuentes, author of The Old Gringo, dies at 83

Carlos Fuentes, one of Latin America's best-known authors and a critic of governments in Mexico and the US, died yesterday after a literary career spanning more than five decades. He was 83.

Fuentes wrote more than 20 novels and several collections of short stories. His best-known works include The Death of Artemio Cruz, The Old Gringo and The Crystal Frontier.

The Old Gringo was the first US bestseller by a Mexican author and in 1989 was made into a film starring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda.