President Barack Obama offered his condolences Thursday on the passing of Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez, whom he called one of the world’s “greatest visionary writers.”

The Colombian-born author of “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” “Love in the Time of Cholera” and more died Thursday at the age of 87.

Obama’s statement on Márquez’s death:

"With the passing of Gabriel García Márquez, the world has lost one of its greatest visionary writers – and one of my favorites from the time I was young.  Affectionately known as 'Gabo' to millions of his fans, he first won international recognition with his masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude.  I once had the privilege to meet him in Mexico, where he presented me with an inscribed copy that I cherish to this day.  As a proud Colombian, a representative and voice for the people of the Americas, and as a master of the 'magic realism' genre, he has inspired so many others – sometimes even to pick up the pen themselves.  I offer my thoughts to his family and friends, whom I hope take solace in the fact that Gabo’s work will live on for generations to come."

(Politico)