PODCAST · news
Americas Decoded
by Tim Padgett
Bi-weekly foreign affairs commentary that dissects Latin America, the Caribbean and their key relationship with the U.S. through the latest political, economic and cultural news in the region - and pulls no punches. Go to WLRN.org/Decoded to watch the Americas Decoded YouTube show. Tim Padgett is the Americas Editor for WLRN, South Florida's NPR member station. He has reported on Latin America for more than 35 years — including for Newsweek as its Mexico City bureau chief and for Time as its Latin America and Miami bureau chief — from the end of Central America's civil wars to the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations. He has interviewed more than 20 heads of state.
Episodes
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TPS: Haitians get deported, but Trump bromance spares Salvadorans
Opinion: In a move that would be both humane and hypocritical, President Trump appears to be extending deportation protection for Salvadorans — while moving ahead with the expulsion of Haitians.Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans in the U.S. has expired – but the Trump administration...
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Trump's real crime isn't taking Venezuela's oil — it's blocking their elections
Opinion: The rotting effects of Venezuela's half century of oil corruption made its industry easy prey for President Trump. But the real outrage is blocking the re-democratization that could fix that very flaw.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that...
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Democratic Socialists decry Trump — but disregard tyrants in Latin America
Opinion: Democratic Socialists will complain if right-wing President Trump tries to block their election in America — but they rarely if ever denounce left-wing election theft in Latin America.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says says that Democratic...
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Machado’s Odyssey: Why Trump blocks Venezuelan hero’s return home
Opinion: In this season of Odyssey-mania, it's hard to ignore the frustrated Homeric wanderings of Venezuelan democracy leader María Corina Machado — and the pseudo-god who's decreeing them.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says says there are two…
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Trump's anti-immigrant crusade is morphing America into Mexico
Opinion: A Mexican tourist ran away from ICE and to his death in Florida this month. Did he fear that U.S. immigration enforcement has become as predatory as law enforcement back in Mexico?On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says the Trump administration...
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Trump shares Venezuela's earthquake failure with its regime
Opinion: Because President Trump insists he "runs" Venezuela, he shares in its regime's abysmal response to last month's earthquakes — and bears the onus for the country's reconstruction.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that the Venezuelan’s...
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The World Cup and the dead Haitian teen that soccer couldn’t save
Opinion: The World Cup should dedicate Haiti's games to a Port-au-Prince boy who embraced soccer — the game, not the greed — as sanctuary from the gangs that killed him last month.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that modern soccer’s soul has...
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Cuba: As in Venezuela, Trump likely seeks deportations - not democracy
Opinion: Prediction markets are betting President Trump will order military action in Cuba, but not regime change. They know his priority is to make countries more ripe for deportation – than democracy.Trump appears likely to order a U.S. military strike on Cuba but, as has happened in Venezuela,...
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As in Jamaica, elites in Haiti must break ties with gangs
Opinion: To observe this month’s Haitian Flag Day, the members of Haiti's political and business elite who've sponsored violent gangs should reflect on the damage they've done - and hope it’s not irreparable.The fallout from a deadly spasm of armed violence in Jamaica in 2010 began a process of...
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Hormuz Redux? In Venezuela and Cuba, Trump risks another debacle
Opinion: In Venezuela and Cuba, President Trump risks repeating the miscalculation he's made in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz: thinking bold strikes automatically yield regime change.Iran’s response to the U.S. military strikes – the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, shutting down much of the...
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Biden of Brazil? Lula's geriatric re-election bid risks return of Bolsonarism
Opinion: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is 80 and running for re-election, an egotistical move that may open the door to another reactionary Bolsonaro presidency — this time the son's. The main candidate Lula will face in Brazil’s presidential elections in October is right-wing...
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Trump's war on birthright citizenship evokes the Dominican Republic's cruelty
Opinion: President Trump's bid to intimidate the Supreme Court on birthright citizenship risks reminding the justices — and the world — of the Dominican Republic's own thuggish repeal 13 years ago. Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court hearing. But WLRN’s Americas...
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Beyond politics, Venezuela's World Baseball Classic triumph brings patriotic joy
Opinion: Venezuela's first World Baseball Classic title win, against the U.S. in Miami, packed political symbolism — but, more importantly, also a joyful reminder of the country's character. Venezuela’s historic win in Miami, as the U.S. follows its removal of Nicolás Maduro with an unashamed…
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For Cuba’s regime to fall, Miami exiles should listen to the likes of Jamaica
Opinion: Cuban regime change may take more time and effort than expected. So Cuba’s exile command should try being diplomats - not demagogues. A U.S. oil blockade is pinning Cuba’s dictatorship against the wall. But on the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett…
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Cuba, Venezuela: U.S. pushes China model, tunes out exile leaders
Opinion: President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio seem to have tuned out Venezuelan and Cuban exile leaders — as well as their own rhetoric about blocking China's influence in the Americas.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that for all…
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Oil-starved Cuba can strike a deal with Trump — as his tyranny tutor
Opinion: As the U.S. cuts off global oil to Cuba, the island's communist regime could get President Trump to back off by offering something he's showing special interest in: dictatorship instruction. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett suggests that with...
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Trump’s Greenland, Venezuela ambitions: the Monroe Doctrine returns
Opinion: President Trump may be following a brazen and brutish version of the Monroe Doctrine on issues like Greenland — but the world shouldn't be shocked that Monroe still lingers in U.S. policy. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett explains that the…
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Maduro is out, but Venezuelans are still in shackles
Opinion: President Trump's so-called "law enforcement" capture of Venezuela's dictator Nicolás Maduro will be regarded a failure if it doesn't mean democracy restoration — which may require more U.S. military force. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett…
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In a year of migrant misery, who was the Americas’ cruelest leader?
Opinion: President Trump and his deportation crusade. Nicolas Maduro and his disastrous dictatorship. Haiti’s gang confederation and its evil violence. As another year of migrant crisis in the Americas draws to a close – who was the cruelest leader of all? On the latest episode of Americas…
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Trump on Honduras: Unlike Maduro, the right is never wrong
Opinion: President Trump's pardon of former Honduran president and convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández follows a time-honored exile doctrine: that Latin American conservatives are never guilty. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says…
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Can Haiti’s historic World Cup win help end gang rule?
Opinion: Haiti's remarkable qualification for the 2026 soccer World Cup won't rescue it from the country's gangs — but it reminds us that Haiti undoubtedly is worth saving from that monstrous evil.Qualifying for next summer’s World Cup – it’s first in over half a century – won’t rescue Haiti from...
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In Caribbean stand-off, Trinidad is stuck between Maduro & Trump
Opinion: Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister should be applauded for steering away from Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro — but questioned for steering into President Donald Trump's potential legal whirlpool.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says PM Kamla...
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A Nobel question: Should Venezuela's democracy be saved by Trump's military?
Opinion: María Corina Machado deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for leading Venezuela’s nonviolent democracy movement — but what does it mean if that effort’s success relies on a U.S. military incursion?Machado’s win took place hours after President Donald Trump announced his Gaza peace deal – a...
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The Bad Bunny Superbowl fury reveals hypocrisy on all sides
Opinion: The hysteria over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl gig that we’re hearing from English-only militants shows a disregard for America's historical reality — but so does a Spanish-only mindset that many immigrants here still embrace.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor…
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Could LatAm, Caribbean use Trump’s new war doctrine on the U.S.?
Opinion: If President Trump can use his questionable new war doctrine to blow alleged Venezuelan narco-boats out of international waters, then Caribbean and Latin American nations could also put their military firepower to work. So, American gun traffickers and drug consumers, beware – you’re now...
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Venvasion: Will drugs be Trump’s Venezuela WMD?
Opinion: The U.S. military strike on a suspected Venezuelan narco-boat raises a troubling question: is Trump looking to use drugs as his version of weapons of mass destruction?On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett worries that small victories like the…
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Venezuela, Mexico: Trump’s cartel military threats
Opinion: President Donald Trump is threatening to unleash the U.S. military on drug cartels in Mexico and Venezuela — but sending troops to take down traffickers usually ends badly.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, Tim Padgett looks at the longstanding U.S. urge to have the military…
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Milei’s Argentina shows Trump triumph without tariffs
OPINION: Donald Trump admires Argentine President Javier Milei — so why is Trump pushing tariffs and economic policies so divorced from the ‘Milei Miracle’? WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett continues to grimace at Milei’s vulgar and reactionary demagoguery, but admits that “his economic…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Bi-weekly foreign affairs commentary that dissects Latin America, the Caribbean and their key relationship with the U.S. through the latest political, economic and cultural news in the region - and pulls no punches. Go to WLRN.org/Decoded to watch the Americas Decoded YouTube show. Tim Padgett is the Americas Editor for WLRN, South Florida's NPR member station. He has reported on Latin America for more than 35 years — including for Newsweek as its Mexico City bureau chief and for Time as its Latin America and Miami bureau chief — from the end of Central America's civil wars to the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations. He has interviewed more than 20 heads of state.
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Tim Padgett
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Americas Decoded have?
Americas Decoded currently has 28 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Americas Decoded about?
Bi-weekly foreign affairs commentary that dissects Latin America, the Caribbean and their key relationship with the U.S. through the latest political, economic and cultural news in the region - and pulls no punches. Go to WLRN.org/Decoded to watch the Americas Decoded YouTube show. Tim Padgett is...
How often does Americas Decoded release new episodes?
Americas Decoded has 28 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Americas Decoded?
You can listen to Americas Decoded on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Americas Decoded?
Americas Decoded is created and hosted by Tim Padgett.
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