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Garry Leech
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Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia Hardcover – December 3, 2008

by Garry Leech (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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Independent journalist Garry Leech has spent the last eight years working in the most remote and dangerous regions of Colombia, uncovering the unofficial stories of people living in conflict zones. Beyond Bogotá is framed around the eleven hours that Leech was held captive by the FARC, Colombia's largest leftist guerrilla group, in August of 2006. He recalls nearly thirty years of travel and work in Latin America while weaving in a historical context of the region and on-the-ground reporting with each passing hour of his detention.

More than $5 billion in U.S. aid over the past seven years has failed to end Colombia's civil conflict or reduce cocaine production. Leech finds that ordinary Colombians, not drug lords, have suffered the most and that peasants and indigenous peoples have been caught in the crossfire between the armed groups. Meanwhile, more than thirty Colombian journalists have been murdered over the last three decades, making Colombia one of the most dangerous countries in which to practice journalism. Consequently, the majority of the Western media rarely leave Bogotá to find the real story. Leech, however, learns the truth about the conflict and the U.S. war on drugs directly from the source: poor coca farmers whose fields and food crops have been sprayed with toxic aerial fumigations, female FARC guerrillas who see armed struggle as their only option, union organizers whose lives are threatened because they defend workers' rights, indigenous peoples whose communities have been forcibly displaced by the violence, and many others.

Leech also investigates the presence of multinational oil and mining companies in Colombia by gaining access to army bases where U.S. soldiers train Colombian troops to fight the guerrillas in resource-rich regions and by visiting local villages to learn what the foreign presence has meant for the vast majority of the population.

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, as well as a humanizing firsthand account that supplies fresh insights into U.S. foreign policy, the role of the media, and the plight of everyday Colombians caught in the midst of a brutal war.
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  1. Print length
    280 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Beacon Press
  4. Publication date
    December 3, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    5.7 x 1 x 8.7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    080706145X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0807061459
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This book was great. Brought me tears and made me wonder what would be happening next. I don’t want to ruin the context but it is worth buying.
    Helpful
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  • Peter Corrigan
    4.0 out of 5 stars War on Drugs..Drugs won.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent view from the ground on the realities of the 'War on Drugs' in Colombia. Makes me utterly sick to think we were dropping poison on poor farmers to stop rich college kids and hollywood stars inthe U.S. from snorting powder up their noses. Throw some of the users in jail for 30 years and see how fast the 'war' ends. Which will never happen of course so why bother with the other end? The War is over, declare defeat and go home. People will do drugs, let them face the consequences themselves. I do think he goes out of his way to minimize and exculpate the actions of the FARC which is the main reason I dropped one star, which I doubt will bother Mr. Leech one bit. But for man to risk life itself to tell the story as he sees it from the actual ground is something to admire. Well done.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jacqueline Hendricks
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I needed the information for a novel I've written and the first hand account of Colombia was perfect. I was rewarded with a piece of the world I knew little about. In America we often think drugs and drug dealers as some group of folks in a bubble, but this side of all that business is so important. I wish many people would read this and increase their understanding of the drug business.
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  • FeWolf
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book
    Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    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
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  • Joanie
    4.0 out of 5 stars It definitely reads like a novel but obviously it's all true
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Read this on the way to and in Bogota trying to brush up on the history while in Colombia. It definitely reads like a novel but obviously it's all true. Makes me want to read more on the subject.
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  • Michael G. Workman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overall
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    A very good book probing the conflict in Colombia in a way many other journalists do not, however the author could have devoted more time to actions committed by the FARC such as car bombings and kidnappings.
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  • Bill Goodman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Product received as advertised. Will use vendor again.
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  • Richard Long
    4.0 out of 5 stars Drug wars in Colombia
    Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting book for anyone interested in the Colombian drug wars and anti terrorist
    campaigns in the recent past. The author reports from areas that other journalist
    refuse to enter and lets us know the connections of the Colombian military and
    paramilitaries in the horrendous human rights abuses that have occurred
    in that country. Also discussion of the United States involvement.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Tim F.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid account of strife in Colombia, but . . .
    Reviewed in Canada on July 6, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    A wonderfully written account of the author's 20-year experience in Colombia, Beyond Bogotá reveals what you will seldom read in conventional media. Garry Leech has done what few reporters have: spoken to the Colombian people - in cities but also in the forgotten countryside. Colombian paramilitary activity and the closely related activities of the regular army (and US forces) are revealed for what they are: savage conduct at the service of the powers that be that has gone un-noticed and under-reported for too long.
    At the same time, in the light of the latest books such as Jhon Pinchao's tale of his escape from FARC captivity, or "Out of Captivity" the account of three US contractors liberated in July 2008, Beyond Bogotá is partial to the FARC, describing them as egalitarian and somewhat principled.
    The FARC, the AUC paramilitaries and the Colombian regular army are all guilty of gross abuses of human rights and none (FARC included!) merit much pity frankly.
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