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The Devil Underground
They called him the Gold Czar. In the lawless Colombian gold-mining town of Segovia, he was rarely spoken of in more than a whisper. But investigators were convinced he was behind the gangland killing of several local mine owners—a massacre that many believed was responsible for the nightmarish wave of violence that turned the town into one of the world’s murder capitals. The question was: Could they prove it?
Journalist Nadja Drost traveled to Segovia in 2012 to investigate the murders herself, and spent the next year and a half immersed in a Wild West populated by motorbike-riding assassins, prostitutes paid in gold, and victims who turn out to be not so innocent—a place where the only law, as a paramilitary commander tells her, is that “the bigger fish eats the smaller fish.” The Devil Underground is at once a gripping detective story, an intrepid dispatch from an underreported war, and a groundbreaking investigation into the sordid supply chain that produces the precious metal Americans wear on their fingers and around their necks.
Reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.
Praise for "The Devil Underground"
"Nadja Drost is an intrepid reporter and a masterful storyteller. Her new piece dives deep into the sordid, violent world of gold-mining, and emerges with dark, hard-won truths. An unforgettable story." —Daniel Alarcón, Executive Producer of Radio Ambulante
Journalist Nadja Drost traveled to Segovia in 2012 to investigate the murders herself, and spent the next year and a half immersed in a Wild West populated by motorbike-riding assassins, prostitutes paid in gold, and victims who turn out to be not so innocent—a place where the only law, as a paramilitary commander tells her, is that “the bigger fish eats the smaller fish.” The Devil Underground is at once a gripping detective story, an intrepid dispatch from an underreported war, and a groundbreaking investigation into the sordid supply chain that produces the precious metal Americans wear on their fingers and around their necks.
Reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.
Praise for "The Devil Underground"
"Nadja Drost is an intrepid reporter and a masterful storyteller. Her new piece dives deep into the sordid, violent world of gold-mining, and emerges with dark, hard-won truths. An unforgettable story." —Daniel Alarcón, Executive Producer of Radio Ambulante
- GenresCrimeNonfiction
91 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2014
5 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 26, 2015
Reads like a very long journal article from Rolling Stone and the ilk. Totally full of information about a town in Columbia that you've probably never heard of before. It's a worthy read if only to give you a different perspective of how people live and die in other places.
October 3, 2016
An interesting short read of a town in Colombia and it's dance with Gold and the devils it brings along. If you think that drugs are responsible for all the violence and murder in this South American country this book will change your view.
December 12, 2014
good investigative reporting. interesting, kept me enthralled throughout.
March 13, 2020
3.75 rounded up to 4. This is a really interesting read. The reporting is impressive and the storytelling is pretty solid. Deeper character development could’ve added a lot to this story.
February 20, 2015
Good, informative investigative journalism about Colombia.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews