Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia [Paperback]

Garry Leech (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2010

Independent journalist Garry Leech has spent the last eight years working in the most remote and dangerous regions of Colombia. Unlike other Western reporters, most of whom rarely leave Bogotá, Leech learns the truth about conflicts and the U.S. war on drugs directly from the source: farmers, male and female guerrillas, union organizers, indigenous communities, and many others.

Beyond Bogotá is framed around the eleven hours that Leech was held captive by the FARC, Colombia's largest leftist guerrilla group, in August 2006. Drawing on unprecedented access to soldiers, guerrillas, paramilitaries, and peasants in conflict zones and cocaine-producing areas, Leech's documentary memoir is an epic tale of a journalist's search for meaning in the midst of violence and poverty. This compelling account provides fresh insights into U.S. foreign policy, the role of the media, and the plight of everyday Colombians caught in the middle of a brutal war.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

In this arresting hybrid of journalism and memoir Leech relates his experiences investigating political, economic, and drug-related stories throughout Latin America. The narrative is organized into 11 chapters, which parallel the 11 hours Leech was detained by the FARC, a Colombian guerrilla group, in 2006. Each chapter begins with details of Leech's captivity, which serve as introductions to broader stories, including the civil unrest and massacres in 1980s El Salvador; his meetings with government officials and paramilitary and guerrilla groups vying for power in Panama, Colombia, and other nearby countries; and the wavering effectiveness of the U.S. war on drugs. Along the way, Leech highlights the rampant human-rights violations in the region, the fumigation of cocaine plants, which also destroys other crops, and the large displaced civilian populations often caught in the cross fire. This enlightening book, which mixes a readable level of detail and background with personal narrative, should be in every library, public and academic.—Sarah Statz Cords, Reader's Advisor Online
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Eye-opening . . . excellent reportage—highly recommended for would-be journalists as well as those interested in geopolitics.—Kirkus Reviews

"In this remarkable saga, Garry Leech conveys brilliantly and with vivid insight the magical qualities of this rich and tortured land, and the struggles and torment of its people."—Noam Chomsky

"That havoc within Colombia is portrayed with angry passion by the determined Garry Leech, that now rare beast in the jungle of journalism prepared to put his own life at the service of the truth. . . . A remarkable and captivating personal account of the drug war that unfolds mostly in Colombia.—Gavin O'Toole, Latin American Review of Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807061484
• ISBN-13: 978-0807061480
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Colombia

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I only wish he'd written it earlier, February 25, 2009

By 

Caminante (New York (State)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia (Hardcover)

I am writing my capstone paper on the War on Drugs in the Andes, and a classmate reccomended this book. I wish Leech had written it earlier, because I was looking all over for a decent summary on the War on Drugs in Colombia, and now one shows up just when I have finished the history section of the paper.

At any rate, Leech provides excellent information about FARC, the paramilitaries, a mining company called Drummond, coca fumigation, the links between the Colombian army and the paramilitaries, the mainstream media, indigenous people and campesinos...and probably more that I can't remember off the top of my head. He has interviewed quite a few members of most groups (the exception being the mining company), so one gets a good feel for the attitudes of the people involved.

What I find most interesting is Leech's assesment of the mainstream media. He says that most journalists to not venture far from Bogota, and so do not get the perspectives of those living in the more remote regions. He also charges (and I think rightly) that the mainstream media has paid more attention to FARC than the paramilitaries, who have done most of the killings and abuses(although he, again rightly, does not excuse FARC for committing its share of the killings and abuses).

I have found this book to be quite helpful, and reccomend it highly to anyone else who wants to learn about Colombia.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courage Under Detention, March 2, 2009

By 

Brian Kodi - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia (Hardcover)

Mr. Leech has been on a multi-year mission to report on the U.S. government's "escalating role in Colombia's civil conflict and military interventions", and on the atrocities committed in Colombia's war on drugs and the FARC, Colombia's largest leftist guerrilla group. To accomplish this goal, Mr. Leech has spent most of his time in rural areas and outside of the relatively safe capital of Colombia, Bogota, where most mainstream foreign media confine themselves to. Mr. Leech believes the mainstream media report news that is predominantly influenced by the Colombian government and military, the U.S. embassy, and business elites.

Once again, as has been the case in numerous other countries both in South America and elsewhere, Washington's foreign policies are rife with militaristic reactions to undesirable conditions such as coca cultivation, and there is little done in the way of addressing the root causes of rampant illegal cocaine production and distribution which are almost always social and economic in nature. Thrown into the mix is the ill conceived and aggressive displacement of locals, often by the paramilitary forces to pave the way for multinational corporations to conduct their operations, e.g. Occidental Petroleum, Drummond Company Inc. et al. As a result, Colombia is host to the world's worst population displacement conundrum.

Five billion dollars of aid and eight years of the controversial Plan Colombia announced by then president Bill Clinton has failed to reduce cocaine production. Plan Colombia was originally proposed by Colombian President Andres Pastrana in 1999. With the U.S. involvement and aid to Colombia's government, the focus quickly shifted to counternarcotics and the strengthening and utilization of military forces.

Unfortunately, Mr. Leech comes across as a FARC sympathizer, and his coverage of the crimes perpetrated during the decades old war between the FARC and the Colombian government and paramilitary forces is lopsided. An armed struggle against any government almost always leaves all parties, including innocent bystanders worse off.

Mr. Leech's stories are told in the backdrop of his capture and eleven hour detention by the FARC, in a simple diary format. Whether one agrees with his scathing criticism of the U.S. and Colombian government policies or not, Mr. Leech deserves much respect for his courageous journalistic effort with great personal sacrifice and risk to his life.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book, November 30, 2009

By 

FeWolf - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia (Hardcover)

I found the book to pretty much on the mark, as some one who spent several years in the Central and South American area or operation, the only thing that I find distrubing is the author's options on the subject, I felt he was leaning to the left on many of the issue, while he does address many of the issues in the area, he missed the main mark. Corruption is a way of life in the area from the top to the bottom, until the Government is fixed, the issue will continue. I suggest reading "Hunting Pablo Escobar", another good read, both should be read to give thought too