The explosive story of the illegal gold trade from South America, and
the three Miami businessmen who got rich on it—until it all came
crashing down.
In March of 2017, a team of federal agents
arrested Juan Pablo Granda, Samer Barrage, and Renato Rodriguez, or as
they came to be known, "the three amigos." The trio—first identified
publicly by the authors of this book—had built a $3.6 billion dollar
business in metals trading, mostly illegal Peruvian gold mined in the
rain forest.
Their arrest and subsequent prosecution laid bare more than a scheme between a few corrupt traders. Dirty Gold
lifts the veil on a massive and very illegal international business
that is more lucrative than trafficking cocaine, and often just as
dangerous.
As this award-winning team of current and former Miami Herald
reporters shows, illegal gold mines have become a haven for Latin
American drug money. The gold is sold to metals traders, and ultimately
to scores of unwitting Americans in their jewelry and phones. By
following the trail of these three traders, Dirty Gold leads us into a sprawling criminal underworld that has never before been in full view.
