Laurence Blair

Laurence Blair is an award-winning writer and journalist. He is the author of Patria: Lost Countries of South America published by Bodley Head in 2024. Since 2014, he has reported from across Latin America for outlets including the BBC, Economist, Financial Times, Guardian, New York Times and National Geographic. He has reported on archaeological discoveries in Chile’s Atacama Desert and coup attempts in Bolivia; rafted down Amazonian rivers with former guerrillas in Colombia and helicoptered into drug plantations with Paraguayan special forces; trekked over the Andes with Argentine gauchos, journeyed to remote islands off the coast of Peru, and walked with Venezuelan refugees into the lawless jungle of the Darien Gap. Born and raised in Dorset, southwest England, he studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford before moving to South America. As a speaker and commentator on Latin American current affairs, he has chaired and participated in panels at the UK Parliament and Canning House in London, and appeared on news channels including Al Jazeera, the BBC, and CNN. He currently lives in Asunción, Paraguay.