BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian caricaturist Mihai Stanescu, censored for mocking the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, has died at 78.

Daiana Stanescu said her father died early Saturday in Bucharest following a long illness.

Under communism, Stanescu made fun of Ceausescu's policy of exporting Romanian produce to pay off its foreign debt. In 1982, he won a prize in Japan that protected him from possible persecution at home.

But reflecting the atmosphere of fear at the time, only four people came to his next book launch, including his two daughters. Authorities then withdrew his book from the market.

After communism, Stanescu opened a shop selling trinkets of his caricatures and created the name "Bookarest" for the capital's book fair. In all, he published a dozen books, including two in France.

Funeral plans were not yet announced.