Rory Carroll Rory Carroll ( born 1972 ) is an Irish journalist working for " The Guardian " who has reported from , among other locations , the Balkans , Afghanistan , Iraq and Latin America . He is currently based in Los Angeles as U . S . West Coast correspondent for " The Guardian " . His book on Hugo Chávez , " Comandante " , was published in March 2013 . Early life and career . Born in Dublin , Carroll is a graduate of Blackrock College , Trinity College and Dublin City University . He began his career at " The Irish News " in Belfast , working as a reporter and diarist from 1995 to 1997 , when he was named young journalist of the year in Northern Ireland ' s media awards . He moved to London to work as a researcher on two Channel 4 documentaries , " Getting Away with Murder " and " The Devil Amongst Us " . In November 1997 he joined " The Guardian " as a reporter , covering stories in Britain and returning to Northern Ireland to cover the peace talks . From 1999 , he was deployed as a foreign correspondent in Yemen . and Serbia for the aftermath of the Kosovo war . In late 1999 he was posted to Rome as Southern Europe correspondent for " The Guardian " , where he wrote on topics such as The Vatican , Silvio Berlusconi , Macedonia , immigration and human trafficking from northern Africa , and the Middle East . After 9 / 11 he reported from Pakistan and Afghanistan . His report from Qalaye Niazi , where a wedding party was bombed by US planes , fuelled criticism of the Pentagon ' s air campaign . He broke the news about the UK ' s first overseas combat deployment since the first Gulf War . Africa correspondent . In 2002 Carroll was posted to Johannesburg as Africa correspondent for " The Guardian " . He wrote about the massive problems facing Zimbabwe and South Africa , as well as the continent ' s food and public health problems . His interview with a Liberian female rebel commander ( nicknamed " Black Diamond " ) , prompted Hollywood interest in making a film about her life , but it has not materialized . His article about rape in Congo provided the introduction to an essay by Cherie Blair for a Human Rights Watch volume on torture . Carroll ' s article about Hamilton Naki that appeared in " The Guardian " in 2003 was cited by the " New York Times " as the original source of their erroneous reporting in 2005 about the role Hamilton Naki played when the first heart transplant was performed at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town , South Africa in 1967 . Iraq correspondent . Carroll took over " The Guardian " ' s Baghdad bureau in January 2005 . He covered the US occupation , suicide bombings , the formation of Iraqi military and police units , growing sectarian tension , and the death of several friends , including Marla Ruzicka . On October 19 , 2005 he was abducted in Baghdad after carrying out an interview with a victim of Saddam Hussein ' s regime in Sadr City . The interview had been arranged with the assistance of the Baghdad office of Moqtada al - Sadr . Carroll was released unharmed by his captors a day later after the British , Irish and Iranian governments , among others , lobbied for his release . " The Guardian " published Carroll ' s account of the kidnapping soon after . Latin America correspondent . In April 2006 he was appointed " The Guardian ' s " Latin America correspondent , based in the newspaper ' s Caracas bureau . His report about oil exploration in Peru ' s Amazon was disputed by the oil company Perenco . A series he wrote in 2010 on Mexico ' s drug war was longlisted for the Orwell prize . An article about aid tourists in Haiti stirred debate in the aid community over whether well - meaning amateurs should visit disaster zones . Carroll ' s reporting from Caracas was criticised by " Red Pepper " in 2008 for what was judged to be a trend of misrepresentation of the Venezuelan reality and its leader , Hugo Chávez . Carroll also said that he is " not a champion of impartiality " , but he says he is open - minded : " I see a government that is doing some good things and some bad things " . " I try to give a sense of how bizarre and funny some things are , " . . . " like when Chávez , on his own [ weekly ] TV show , Aló Presidente , ordered the mobilisation of 9 , 000 soldiers and tanks to the Colombian border . On the one hand that ' s a serious story , but there is bombast too . . . mobilisation on that scale never happened . " On 3 July 2011 , " The Observer " published an article by Carroll featuring an interview with Noam Chomsky concerning the detention of Maria Lourdes Afiuni , an arrested Venezuelan judge , in which Chomsky criticised the government of Hugo Chávez . Chomsky said in an email exchange with the Znet blogger Joe Emersberger that the report was " deceptive " because of the omission of his comparison of the case of Bradley Manning with the arrested Venezuelan judge , among other points , and rejected the assertion that Venezuela was less democratic than before Chávez took office : " I don ’ t think so , and never suggested it . " The article did in fact cite Chomsky mentioning the Manning case . Chomsky made no direct complaint to " The Observer " . The newspaper reproduced the entire transcript of Carroll ' s exchange with Chomsky the following day on its website . Chomsky said the transcript appeared accurate . " The Observer " ' s reader ' s editor , Stephen Pritchard , investigated complaints on Chomsky ' s behalf and found that there was no case to answer with the exception of the headline , which was too strong . It was subsequently amended . In an article published in March 2013 , shortly after Chávez died , Carroll said that the former Venezuelan President left an " ambiguous legacy of triumph , ruin and uncertainty " . " Whither his ' 21st - century socialist revolution ' , a unique experiment in power fuelled by charisma and bountiful oil revenues ? " US West Coast correspondent . In April 2012 " The Guardian " posted Carroll to Los Angeles to cover the west and southern US . Carroll ' s interview with Rodney King , published at the beginning of May 2012 , on the 20th anniversary of the LA riots was one of the last before King died . Book on Hugo Chávez . " Comandante " was published on March 7 , 2013 — two days after the announcement of Chávez ' s death — by Penguin Press in the US and by Canongate in the UK . Translations are underway for editions in Brazil , China , Mexico , Spain , Italy , Estonia and Poland . It was named by " Foreign Policy " magazine as one of the 25 books to read in 2013 . John Sweeney in " The Literary Review " called the book “ a well - considered and painfully fair epitaph ” but said it was encumbered with respect for chavistas ' aspirations .