Garry Leech

I think if goes without saying Columbia is one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist. Why an independent journalist would go there specifically to be a "drug war journalist," as Leech has called himself, is beyond me but it is a story that needs to be told. Beyond Bogota is about the eleven hours Garry Leech was detained by FARC, Fuerzas Amradas Revolutionarias de Columbia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia). Interspersed between the eleven hours is Leech's past history traveling around Latin America. Incredible as it seems Leech's eleven hour detainment wasn't his first. In 1982 he was captured by militants in El Salvador because he didn't have permission to be investigating their drug trafficking operations. But, it his mission to research the effects of landmines on small communities in Columbia that was especially moving. In 2002 he visited the town of Zaragoza and met landmine victims. His description of how a landmine is built and detonated is devastating, especially when you consider how easy small children can set them off.… (más)

I requested this from the Early Reviewers Programme as I have a great interest in Latin America, being a Hispanic Studies graduate.

Journalist Garry Leech takes us through the history of the Colombian guerrilla group, emerging out of the La Violencia up to today. Told in chronological order, we can see that while the FARC has changed both in itself and in the perception of others - as best shown in chapter 5 : 'Narco-guerrillas' to Narco-terrorists' – the reason for its success appears to have remained constant, the government's lack of interest in the poorer areas of the country. Another important issue covered in the book is that of US intervention in Colombia, ostensibly due to the war on drugs.

The FARC is not something that is often covered impartially, so I found Leech's measured text refreshing, while he did not shy from informing the reader of the FARC's ruthless methods, he also showed us the wider Colombian context, one in which both government troops and paramilitary groups should also be held accountable for the vast number of killings and internal displacements.

While I have read quite a few articles about the FARC, I appreciated Leech's methodical explanations, starting with its beginnings and moving through its different important periods right up until the present day. By placing the FARC in context, both politically and socially, the reader is able to see how the guerrilla group has hung on in Colombia for half a century.

My main criticism would be its length, while it is great as an introduction, I would have liked to have gone into more detail, though this would be a good book for someone who wants to get an outline of the FARC.… (más)