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Beyond Bogota

Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia

Author: Garry Leech

A firsthand account of Colombia’s turmoil by a journalist who was held captive by rebel guerrillas

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 Bogota 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 Bogota 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.

“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 . . . inspiring in their courage and dedication in the face of terror from within and from outside. Leech shows how our insatiable greed and easy resort to violence play no small part.” —Noam Chomsky

“Garry Leech belongs in the company of a handful of war correspondents—Patrick Cockburn, Robert Fisk, Christian Parenti—who have been risking life and limb to bring to light the catastrophic human and environmental consequences of U.S. foreign policy. In prose that is clear, calm, and vivid, Leech relates the harrowing experience of being kidnapped by the largest rebel group in America’s forgotten war in Colombia. Beyond Bogot¬¨‚àë is thus an extraordinary portrait of grace under pressure-not only of the author himself, but of ordinary Colombians fighting for social justice and a negotiated peace to total war. Leech’s unforgettable story is part of their story, and part of ours as well.” —Forrest Hylton, author of Evil Hour in Colombia

“If you really want to know what life is like for rural Colombians who are living through the horrors of the country’s brutal-and under-reported-internal conflict, read this book. Having reported from Colombia myself, I can vouch for Garry Leech’s honesty-and bravery. This no-frills book grips you from first page to the last.”
—Sue Branford, journalist, former Latin American analyst for BCC World Service and co-author of Chemical Warfare in Colombia: The Costs of Coca Fumigation

“Leech’s Beyond Bogot¬¨‚àë is critical to understanding the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ waged by the U.S. government in Colombia. To hear the government line about U.S. involvement in Colombia, stay tuned to the establishment media. If you want the truth about the reality on the ground there, read this book.” —Dahr Jamail, author of Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq

“Garry Leech has seen more of Colombia than almost anyone, often at great personal risk. In Beyond Bogot¬¨‚àë, a gripping and inspired book, he tells us what he saw and heard. Leech has created an essential volume for anyone who wants to understand Colombia’s conflict, or indeed the U.S. role in Latin America.” —Adam Isacson, Director of Programs, Center for International Policy (Washington DC)

Reviews

Review: Latin American Review of Books - May 11, 2009

"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. Beyond Bogotá is a remarkable and captivating personal account of the drug war that unfolds mostly in Colombia. The author also describes it as a search for meaning in the midst of violence and poverty."

Review: London Progressive Journal - February 1, 2009

"Exciting . . . enlightening . . . journalism in its purest form."

Review: Truthdig - January 5, 2009

“[S]uspense and drama remain present throughout the book …. [Leech] writes with the raw passion and vivid energy of a wartime correspondent who regularly risks his life to cover stories ignored by major international media outlets. While most writers on Colombia only talk abstractly about policy, Leech goes into villages, speaks with people on the front lines and peels back the skin. . . . Demonstrating considerable courage and persistence, Leech managed to visit the hottest areas of Colombia’s conflict, survive shootouts and detentions, interview high-ranking leaders of the FARC and the AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) and visit coca farms and cocaine labs. He describes all this with compelling narrative and evocative characters, taking the reader with him on his investigative adventures. While his descriptive ability makes the reading enjoyable, it is his conclusions that leave the strongest impression....This book is an excellent way to familiarize oneself with a multifaceted conflict that sadly shows no sign of letting up soon.”

Review: Kirkus - November 1, 2008

"Eye-opening look at the drug war in Colombia . . . Excellent reportage—highly recommended for would-be journalists as well as those interested in geopolitics."

Review by: Sarah Statz Cords, Library Journal - September 15, 2008

"In this arresting hybrid of journalism and memoir Leech relates his experiences investigating political, economic, and drug-related stories throughout Latin America. . . This enlightening book, which mixes a readable level of detail and background with personal narrative, should be in every library, public and academic."

Listen to Garry Leech on the Jim Bohannon show
Listen to Garry Leech on KUCI - Weekly Signal
Listen to Garry Leech on the Leonard Lopate Show

Beyond Bogota

Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia

Reviews

Goodreads reviews

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