Central America in Minutes

Episode 74: Costa Rican authorities find 200 migrants deported there from the U.S. in 2025 were subject to de facto deprivation of liberty, passport retention, discrimination, and physical injury due to the prolonged use of shackles.Despite a constitutional mandate to promote home ownership, El Salvador has a shortage of around 400,000 homes, with many living in precarious housing called mesones.In Panama, hundreds protest the reopening of an open-pit copper mine with a thermoelectric power plant, falling short of international commitments on decarbonization.This episode was written by Gabriel Labrador,  Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Yuliana Ramazzini, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 73: One year after her arrest by the Salvadoran regime, Ruth López’s family, international organizations, and groups in exile call for her release and for information on her health.Audio published by Hondurasgate and amplified by international media allege an international plot in favor of Juan Orlando Hernández, but skip journalistic due diligence.Guatemala’s new attorney general ends the eight-year tenure of Consuelo Porras, sanctioned by more than 40 countries and known for criminalizing journalists, judges, and political foes. This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Gabriel Labrador, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 72: Laura Fernández is sworn in as president of Costa Rica, promising an El Salvador-style crackdown on crime. The Israeli government says Costa Rica is willing to open an embassy in Jerusalem. rU.N. experts demand proof of life for Nicaraguan Indigenous leader and political prisoner Brooklyn Rivera. They denounce forced disappearances, inhumane conditions, and dozens of remaining political prisoners under the Ortega-Murillo regime.New reporting shows the government of El Salvador tried to acquire spyware through an international web of intermediaries around 2024, after the deployment of Pegasus against civil society was revealed in the country in early 2022.This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Leyrian Colón Santiago, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 71: Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo names Gabriel García Luna, a career judicial official working for the Executive, as attorney general. After years of selective justice, he will take office May 17 barring legal challenges.In Guatemala, the murder of journalist Carlos Humberto Cal Ical draws calls for a swift investigation and end to impunity, amid growing threats to the press from governments and criminal groups alike across Central America.El Faro announces that the Treasury Ministry in El Salvador froze personal assets of partners of the company that founded El Faro three decades ago, as part of a long-running tax crackdown.This episode was written by Gabriel Labrador and Roman Gressier, with sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 70: El Salvador begins a mass trial of 486 alleged MS-13 members following a dramatic rewriting of judicial procedure. The men will be tried for collective, not individual crimes. New penalties of life in prison will take effect on Sunday.After months of avoiding direct confrontation with Washington, Ortega calls Trump “mentally deranged” just as new U.S. sanctions are imposed on his inner circle for human rights abuses and issues related to the gold mining sector.Guatemala’s internationally sanctioned attorney general is cut out of the final list of nominees for the next AG, appearing to upend her reelection bid — until the Constitutional Court rules a last-second do-over, keeping her still in play.This episode was written by Gabriela Cáceres, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Leyrian Colón Santiago, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 69: Amid major strain on the public health system, Bukele announces Google’s A.I. system Gemini will help oversee case loads for chronic illnesses. He is billing El Salvador as “the world’s premier testbed for real-world A.I. deployment.”In Guatemala, Plaza Pública reports that the U.S. Embassy tried to influence the elections of constitutional magistrates. Two lobbying groups work against President Bernardo Arévalo in Trump’s Washington.Costa Rican authorities confirm a Nicaraguan citizen as a main perpetrator in the murder of former Nicaraguan military commander Roberto Samcam. Samcam had identified him as a middle man between Nicaraguan intelligence and contract killers.This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Roman Gressier, with sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 68: On Wednesday, former president Juan Orlando Hernández claimed a U.S. appeals court declared him “innocent” of drug trafficking charges. But the court in fact dismissed his appeal because Trump’s November 2025 pardon had made it a moot point.Costa Rican President-elect Laura Fernández has announced her first decrees in May. Mining rights are a priority, and she’ll set the agenda for three months in the legislature. Her first cabinet meeting will be in the National Stadium.During Holy Week in Nicaragua, more than 6,000 religious processions were banned, which U.S. authorities described as religious persecution. The regime rejected the criticism despite ongoing reports of religious restrictions and exiled clergy.This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Gabriel Labrador, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 67: International human rights experts condemn U.S. boat strikes against civilians accused of drug trafficking. To date, at least 163 people have been killed and no evidence of drug smuggling has been provided in any of the attacks.Costa Rica joins almost all governments in Central America to sign migration agreements to receive third-country nationals deported from the United States. Costa Rica commits to receiving 25 third-country migrants per week.Today the state of exception in El Salvador turns four years old. On the heels of international findings of potential crimes against humanity, the Bukele-controlled legislature approves life in prison for a slate of severe crimes, including for minors.This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Graciela Barrera, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

SPECIAL, Episode 66: I always imagined the end of the maras playing out differently. Since I am a pathological romantic, I imagined people in the street in some sort of march with drums and tears of joy. Or going to leave flowers at a monument for the victims of so much darkness… But no.This special episode shares an audio column by El Faro special investigations reporter Carlos Martínez, translated by William Palomo from Alma de Izote, and narrated by El Faro English editor Roman Gressier. Sound design by Omnionn.Find Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 65: With crimes against humanity in El Salvador on full international display, Bukele denounces the reports as a “coordinated” conspiracy. Trump’s pick as ambassador to El Salvador, former DHS official Troy Edgar, goes before the Senate.China’s future in Honduras hangs in the balance with the new Trump-backed president, Nasry Asfura. In his election campaign, he promised to restore relations with Taiwan, which were cut in 2023, but the administration is keeping its options open.Yuliana Ramazzini, Gabriela Cáceres, and Roman Gressier wrote this episode, with sound design by Omnionn. Find Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 64: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned the state of Honduras for trying to uproot the Afro-Indigenous Garifuna community from Cayos Cochinos at the behest of a tourism conglomerate and a European TV spinoff of Survivor.Guatemalan political elites battle over a top court tainted by allegations of corruption and insider dealing. With all five seats up for grabs this week, both Arévalo and his enemies claim only they really understand where Trump stands.The human rights organization Cristosal reports 245 cases of political persecution in El Salvador. They identify a web of judicial and extrajudicial attacks leading to exile, self-censorship, and even death.This episode was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Gabriel Labrador, and Roman Gressier, with sound design by Omnionn.Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 63: A federal judge denounces intimidation and death threats on social media after suspending Trump’s rollback of TPS for Haiti. An appeals court allows Trump to cancel the program for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal as litigation continues.In Guatemala, an internationally sanctioned judge annuls the 1993 arrest warrant for coup president Jorge Serrano Elías, a fugitive in Panama. The same judge oversees terrorism charges against Indigenous leaders who fended off a coup effort in 2023.Costa Rica denounces the theft of tens of millions of dollars of gold extracted every year by Nicaraguan miners. The government inches toward a proposal to reactivate open-pit mining across an area 100 times larger than the illegal mining operation.This episode was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Gabriel Labrador, and Roman Gressier, with sound design by Omnionn.Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 62: U.N. experts tie internationally sanctioned Guatemalan AG Consuelo Porras to an illegal adoption scheme during the armed conflict. They make the allegations public on the same day she runs for constitutional magistrate.The Bukele-controlled Assembly in El Salvador claims it is running a 2026 “austerity” budget for legislative operations, but is keeping line items under lock and key. After Trump’s invasion of Venezuela, the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua reinstates visa requirements for Cuba, heeding yearslong calls from the U.S. to cut off a migration route.This episode was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Gabriel Labrador, with editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 61: Costa Rican authorities arrest the fifth suspect in the murder of prominent Nicaraguan exile Roberto Samcam, in a brazen case underscoring fear and insecurity for refugees in Costa Rica. Some have decided to leave the country.A Guatemalan court orders —yet again— the release on house arrest of newspaperman Jose Rubén Zamora in the second of two cases that had kept him in prison awaiting retrial on internationally condemned charges of money laundering.Over 94,000 Salvadorans have been arrested and at least 470 died in prison under the state of exception, per an independent count. Polls show Bukele’s high popularity, but also growing fears of voicing opinions in public, for fear of arrest.This episode was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Roman Gressier with sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 60: The Trump administration sends mixed signals to Nicaragua on trade, sanctions, and anti-narcotics while the Ortega-Murillo regime signs new commercial agreements with Russia and China.Costa Rican President-elect Laura Fernández wins the election by sweeping margin and promises continuity with the Rodrigo Chaves administration’s agenda. She says she will consider a state of exception modeled after El Salvador. Guatemala signs a trade agreement with the United States, promising to buy 50 million gallons of ethanol every year. Guatemala and El Salvador agree to replicate Trump trade sanctions on third countries. This episode was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Roman Gressier with sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 59: In exchange for select exemption from Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Bukele signs a trade deal promising the U.S. mining and energy access and calling on El Salvador to co-sign Trump’s trade sanctions.In Honduras, Tito Asfura takes office on promises to cut back the state, while the National Party proposes Bible readings in schools. Honduras asks to return to a World Bank forum to resolve disputes with international investors. Nicaragua and Spain expel each others’ ambassadors in Managua’s escalating feud with international bodies. Stepping up its passport repression against dissidents and their relatives in Nicaragua, the Sandinista regime prohibits dual citizenship.  This episode of Central America in Minutes was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Roman Gressier with sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 58: UCR pollsters place Laura Fernández, Minister of the Presidency under Rodrigo Chaves, with 40% of the vote. If that lead holds on February 1, Chaves’ “heir” will win the presidency outright without a runoff.Days before the transfer of power in Honduras, the National Party takes the reins of Congress and President-elect Tito Asfura meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The National and Liberal Parties set the groundwork for a legislative alliance.Spanish authorities release Salvadoran photojournalist and asylum seeker Diego Rosales after his detention at the Bukele regime’s request. The Salvadoran Journalists’ Association calls for an end to persecution of journalists under the state of exception.This episode of Central America in Minutes was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Roman Gressier with sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 57: Honduran President Xiomara Castro orders a controversial last-second electoral recount and calls for dialogue with Trump. Meanwhile, President-elect Tito Asfura meets with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Israeli ambassador in Washington.Before the February 1 election iBefore the February 1 election in Costa Rica, the electoral tribunal rejects a request to prevent Bukele from attending the ground-breaking of a CECOT-style megaprison while President Rodrigo Chaves claims the tribunal is pursuing his allies.This episode of Central America in Minutes was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and edited by Roman Gressier. Sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 56: After the U.S. invasion of Venezuela, the Nicaraguan dictatorship tightens state surveillance, Nayib Bukele mocks Maduro to settle a score, and Panama calls for the Venezuelan opposition to be put in charge.The White House declares a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, shaking up its envoys to Central America. Trump taps a billionaire couple who donated to his 2020 campaign for Costa Rica and a top deportations official for El Salvador.A new report in Plaza Pública shows the number of undocumented migrants passing through Tapachula, the Mexican town bordering Guatemala known in the Biden years as “prison city,” dramatically fell by three quarters between 2024 and 2025.This episode of Central America in Minutes was produced with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. It was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Roman Gressier. Sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Ep. 55, SPECIAL with LATINO USA: This year, the White House falsely claimed that millions of U.S. taxpayers’ dollars were funding “sex changes” in Guatemala — a lie used to justify gutting USAID, which has provided aid worldwide for over 60 years.In this episode produced with Latino USA, we travel to Guatemala to uncover the truth, hear from local organizations caught in the controversy, and learn how losing USAID funding has affected these LGBTQ+ organizations and damaged U.S. credibility abroad.This episode was produced by Reynaldo Leaños Jr. It was edited by Mitra Bonshahi and Peniley Ramírez and mixed by Julia Caruso. Fact-checking by Roxana Aguirre. Fernanda Echavarri is the managing editor of Latino USA.Production for El Faro English by Omnionn, with editing by Roman Gressier and photography for the web version by Carlos Barrera.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 54: On Thursday, four days after the Honduran election, representatives of two major parties denounced irregularities in the preliminary vote tally, which as of Friday morning gave the lead to Trump’s candidate Tito Asfura over Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party.In Honduras, electoral disputes have been waged with violence for almost two decades. Why has that not happened yet? El Faro English reports from Tegucigalpa that seven political, electoral, and diplomatic sources point to party negotiations to avoid violence, in exchange for a majority alignment in Congress.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Roman Gressier, with additional reporting from Sergio Arauz. Sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and iHeart podcast platforms.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 53: One woman had no family left in Guatemala. Some men were snatched from their jobs. Every deportee was distraught, confused, or angry. When Guatemalans flip the coin of abandonment, they often find brutality on the other side.This seventh issue of Central America Monthly seeks to answer the question: What comes after deportation?In our podcast today, we present the Letter from the Editor.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 52: Nayib Bukele has dealt with three U.S. administrations. He went from conservative darling to pariah under the early Biden years’ anti-corruption agenda. Outlasting and outmaneuvering the Democrats, Bukele bet on Trump’s return, catapulting him back to the seat of U.S. power.This special November episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Roman Gressier. Sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and iHeart podcast platforms.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 51: In Honduras, questions about a militarized election deepen. The head of the Joint General Staff wants to run a parallel vote count on November 30. Meanwhile, the attorney general’s office announces its newest investigation into the National Electoral Council.In a new coup effort in Guatemala, an internationally sanctioned judge orders the removal of the president, two-dozen legislators, and a mayor elected with Arévalo’s party. But the Constitutional Court issues a biting rebuke and reverses the order.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Gabriel Labrador, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Roman Gressier. Sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and iHeart podcast platforms.

Ep. 50, SPECIAL with LATINO USA: Thousands of immigrant children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border during the first Trump administration. And while a court ruled the government should reunite these families, hundreds still remain apart.In this episode, we travel to Guatemala to meet a father who was deported from the U.S. without his 14-year-old son. In theory the families should be able to reunify on U.S. soil. Lawyers and advocates are working tirelessly to track down missing families. But in practice, the new Trump administration is making these reunifications even more complicated.This podcast episode was produced by Latino USA and co-published in partnership with El Faro English.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 49: Guatemala’s former minister of governance, whose office oversees the police and prisons, resigns and leaves the country after the public learns of the escape from prison of twenty 18th Street gang members.In El Salvador, a new Law Against Money Laundering in fact significantly loosens controls. Attorney general Rodolfo Delgado argues compliance officers relied too heavily on press reports in sanctioning individuals accused of money laundering.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Gabriel Labrador and Roman Gressier. Sound design by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and iHeart podcast platforms.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 48: Crackdown tactics emerging from El Salvador’s Casa Presidencial and the U.S. White House have something in common: the willingness to sow fear and enact cruelty onto a population deemed criminal or expendable.This sixth issue of Central America Monthly focuses on a single question: What is really happening in the world's most publicized prison system? Evidence of barbarism and state crimes emerging from Salvadoran prisons could constitute crimes against humanity.In our podcast today, we present the Letter from the Editor.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 47: Five months before new magistrates are chosen, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Guatemala has been raided yet again amid arrests, a guilty plea, and accusations of bribery. Next year, the top seats at the TSE, high courts, and other crucial institutions are up for grabs.In Costa Rica, President Rodrigo Chaves skirts an effort by the Legislative Assembly to strip him of his immunity on corruption allegations — and his presidential candidate Laura Fernández says she will shield him from an array of probes with a top cabinet spot if she wins the February 1 election.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Gabriel Labrador and edited by Roman Gressier. Production and soundtrack by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and iHeart podcast platforms.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 46: Salvadoran-born journalist Mario Guevara is set to be deported today, Friday, after his arrest in June, while covering protests in Georgia against the immigration raids of Trump’s first months. He was the only known journalist detained by ICE on U.S. soil.This special October episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and edited by Roman Gressier. Production and soundtrack by Omnionn. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and iHeart podcast platforms.

Ep. 45, SPECIAL with LATINO USA: She was in labor, fainted, and woke up in handcuffs.In El Salvador, nearly 200 women have been incarcerated in the last 26 years after having obstetric emergencies, like miscarriages and stillbirths. Maria Hinojosa and producer Monica Morales-Garcia travel to the country to speak with women who have been incarcerated under El Salvador's anti-abortion laws, some of the strictest in the world.Through interviews, documents, and archival materials, this investigation paints a clear and disturbing picture of the women who suffer most when a country stretches the definition of abortion beyond its meaning and then bans them all without exception.This podcast episode was produced by Latino USA and co-published in partnership with El Faro English.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 44: On September 8, Temporary Protected Status for Hondurans and Nicaraguans came to an end, leaving more than 50,000 immigrants, who have been in the United States for over two decades, at risk of deportation.The Guatemalan Constitutional Court refused to grant provisional parole to publisher Jose Rubén Zamora, bouncing the decision of whether he will continue in pre-trial detention rather than house arrest back to lower court.Guatemalan outlet No-Ficción reports that the Arévalo administration purchased $10.3 million in military equipment from Israeli companies named by a Trump-sanctioned U.N. special rapporteur as part of an “economy of genocide” in Gaza.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 43: With under three months until election day in Honduras, alarm bells are sounding: lawfare and institutional capture threaten the credibility of the process amid efforts to veto civil society as electoral monitors. The chief campaign finance auditor has no budget.In a country where political violence has stained elections for the better part of two decades, four mayoral candidates have already been assassinated. Parts of the two largest cities remain under a state of exception suspending rights, while the leading parties dabble in early accusations of fraud.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 42: Recent accusations by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi about an “air bridge” for Venezuelan drug traffickers in Guatemala and neighboring countries draws sparring between the Guatemalan president and attorney general over who is really leading interdiction efforts.In Nicaragua, an opposition leader detained for more than a month is announced dead in custody and denied his right to a funeral, in yet another case in recent months of political violence toward prominent critics of the dictatorship.New reporting by El Faro English identifies the first Salvadoran to die in Bukele’s prisons under the state of exception: Walter Sandoval, a man who within three days of his arrest went from a clean bill of health to showing signs of torture in a coroner’s report. His is the first of at least 435 known in-custody deaths.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 41: A former magistrate and security chief was arrested by Costa Rican authorities and the DEA in their first extradition on drug trafficking charges. U.S. authorities also accuse him of informing the Rodrigo Chaves administration in 2023 of his ability to “guarantee the entry of cocaine into the country.”In El Salvador, as Nayib Bukele names an Army captain as minister of education, breaking a decadeslong tradition of civilian power, the Presidency takes command of public hospitals, including the power to compel services from private providers in a sector whose unionists are a motor of protest.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Roman Gressier and Yuliana Ramazzini with production by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon at support.elfaro.net.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 40: In Guatemala, six officials were sentenced to prison for the gruesome 2017 death of 41 girls in a fire in the Hogar Seguro children’s home. Abuses and inhumane conditions leading up to the fire compounded with officials’ apathy to rescue them, stirring indignation in Guatemala over state complicity.The U.S. State Department claimed in its annual report that there were “no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in El Salvador in 2024, omitting widespread reports of  torture in prisons, political prisoners, and police persecution causing an exodus of human rights defenders, dissidents, and journalists.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Yuliana Ramazzini and Ramiro Guevara. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound production by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 39: El Salvador’s Canal 10 has been transformed into a vehicle for institutional propaganda. Since its relaunch in 2020, the public television channel has been remade from a cultural station into a mouthpiece for President Nayib Bukele — a space without dissent, without opposition, without debate.This extended August episode of Central America in Minutes was produced by Nelson Rauda and Daniel Reyes, and adapted in English by Yuliana Ramazzini. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 38: A prisoner exchange between the United States, El Salvador, and Venezuela sends 252 men deported by the Trump administration and imprisoned in Salvadoran megaprison CECOT back to Venezuela, in exchange for 10 U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.A new investigation by InSight Crime reports that at least 23 environmentalists were killed in the country between 2023 and 2024. Since 2011, when Pepe Lobo declared Honduras open for business, deforestation and forest fires have increased at an alarming rate due to criminal interests.The Guatemalan Teachers’s Union, headed by internationally sanctioned unionist Joviel Acevedo, camped out across the Central Plaza demanding higher salaries. But they were fined and evicted as President Bernardo Arévalo locked horns with Acevedo, who exiled prosecutors say is protected by the attorney general.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Edward Grattan, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Yuliana Ramazzini. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound production by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 37: Cristosal, a leading human rights organization in Central America, announces that it is closing operations in El Salvador under threat of political arrest and administrative harassment under a “Russia-style” Foreign Agents Law that dealt a frontal blow to civil society.In Nicaragua, three days before the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, the regime renames the archive illegally confiscated from Central American University. Meanwhile, Ortega and Murillo completely restructure the national university system to flex their total control over higher education.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Victoria Delgado, with additional reporting by Edward Grattan. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound production by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 36: In correspondence with U.N. enforced disappearance investigators, the Salvadoran government claimed the jurisdiction and ultimate fate of the 238 Venezuelans imprisoned in CECOT falls on the U.S. government — even as the Trump administration has claimed the opposite.As the U.S. government cancels TPS deportation protections for Nicaraguans and Hondurans, Daniel Ortega says little in public while quietly receiving a military deportation flight. Xiomara Castro announces she will seek a diplomatic solution with Trump while continuing to avoid direct confrontation.In an interview with El Faro English, Guatemalan sociologist Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj, a founder of Semilla a decade ago, calls the new rupture in President Bernardo Arévalo’s party a sign of “lack of leadership and organic political work.”This episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Edward Grattan, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Yuliana Ramazzini, with production by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 35: For the first time in decades, a growing number of political exiles are fleeing El Salvador. In Guatemala, the justice system is the spearhead of attacks against those pursuing corruption. Following the murder of a Nicaraguan exile, the U.N. denounces a “high risk of life and physical safety” for dissidents beyond Nicaraguan borders.This special July episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Roman Gressier and Leyrian Colón Santiago and produced by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 34: In a regional tour, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced agreements for Guatemala and Honduras to receive third-country asylum claims, and in Panama, to pay for flights to continue deporting migrants, including from Venezuela and Colombia.In Costa Rica, investigators examine whether a Nicaraguan government-backed hit squad is targeting exiles on the heels of the murder of former military officer and opposition member Roberto Samcam.New reporting from El Faro English shows how the Trump administration is seeking to dismiss charges against multiple MS-13 gang leaders and deport them to El Salvador before they can testify about Nayib Bukele’s secret former gang negotiations.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Edward Grattan and  Roman Gressier and produced by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 33: The Panamanian government arrested Secretary General of the Banana Industry Workers Union Fransisco Smith four days after an agreement was announced between union leaders, the National Assembly and President Raúl Mulino to amend social security reforms driving the country into nation-wide protest.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written by Edward Grattan and Roman Gressier and produced by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 32: In El Salvador, three top military officers are convicted for the emblematic 1982 murder of four Dutch journalists, marking the first conviction of high-ranking military officials in the country for crimes committed during the civil war.In Honduras, digital outlet Contracorriente reports that the Xiomara Castro administration has launched a media campaign during the electoral season promoting the image of a new supermax facility emulating El Salvador’s CECOT prison.Despite international pressure, Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras expands charges against two Indigenous leaders of the 2023 mobilizations against an electoral coup. The E.U. sanctions the Foundation Against Terrorism, a close ally in Porras’ lawfare against civil society.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Roman Gressier and Edward Grattan, with production by Omnionn. Help us shine a brighter beacon on Central America at support.elfaro.net. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 31: Rosario Murillo holds the reins in Nicaragua. By their own decree, she and Daniel Ortega are now “co-presidents” ruling without the separation of powers, not even on paper. Three moments help explain Murillo’s rise — but just how durable is her newfound power?This special June episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Roman Gressier with audio production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 30: In Costa Rica, evidence collected by the press and prosecutors of Rodrigo Chaves rigging a public-relations contract leads the Supreme Court to discuss the possible removal of his immunity — an unprecedented corruption probe against a sitting president.In Honduras, President Xiomara Castro will be interim defense minister after ruling-party presidential candidate Rixi Moncada leaves for the campaign trail. Moncada’s exit blunts her direct conflict of interest as former head of the armed forces, an institution under scrutiny for its handling of the primaries.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Roman Gressier with audio production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. Additional reporting from Ramiro Guevara. El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 29: The attorneys general of El Salvador and Guatemala meet and agree to increase cooperation, in the most public show of support from the Bukele regime for Consuelo Porras. Weeks after Guatemalan prosecutors threatened to launch an investigation into USAID funding to independent media, the Salvadoran legislature approves a Foreign Agents Law to choke off international aid to critical civil society groups.In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo modify the recently rewritten constitution to eliminate the right to double-citizenship. Around the seventh anniversary of the start of the mass uprising against the regime, the Inter-American Court issues a sweeping report on migratory repression in the last two years of dissidents and former political prisoners.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Roman Gressier with audio production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. Additional reporting from Ramiro Guevara. El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 28: In El Salvador, Nayib Bukele sends the Military Police to disperse families in front of his personal residence, as they pleaded not to be evicted from their homes. As the regime arrests another lawyer accompanying families threatened by displacement, Bukele claims international interference against his government, reactivating a 2021 plan to place high taxes on donations to civil society organizations.On Thursday, El Faro’s 27th anniversary, we launched Central America Monthly, a digital magazine where we will seek deeper, sharper answers to pressing questions in our region. The inaugural issue includes a judicial chronicle from Guatemala, our exclusive video interview on gang leaders’ decade-long relationship with Bukele —the publication of which set off a firestorm of government retaliation in El Salvador— and more.This episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Roman Gressier with audio production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 27: Even if Jose Rubén Zamora, who is 68 years old, successfully defends himself at retrial in the original case against him, he looks set to face years of legal challenges as the hydra of spurious accusations against Guatemala’s former top publisher continues to grow.On April 21, the Bernardo Arévalo administration said they are finishing chalking up a journalist-protection policy for the Executive Branch. Press advocates warn that any safeguards can only have a limited effect without an end to persecution and change of leadership at the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The attorney general selection process is set to end in May 2026.This special May episode of Central America in Minutes was written and narrated by Roman Gressier with audio production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help us continue shining a light on Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 26: It may have come as a surprise in the U.S. when Trump and Bukele shrugged off a court order to bring back wrongfully deported immigrant Kilmar Ábrego. In El Salvador, presidential non-compliance has been business as usual since 2020.El Faro is on vacation for Holy Week. Today, in a shorter episode, we share the perspectives of two Salvadoran columnists from our flagship El Faro English newsletter. Subscribe here.El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help fund independent journalism in Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 25: The U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua names Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo, and dozens of regime officials in a report on crimes against humanity. It’s their second major release in two months, compounding U.N. evidence-gathering on the Ortega-Murillo regime as the 2018 state repression turns seven years old.Days before Nayib Bukele is set to meet with Donald Trump at the White House, the State Department certifies his government as respectful of human rights and softens the advisory for U.S. citizens traveling to El Salvador. The DOJ puts a senior attorney on leave for not “zealously advocating” for the administration’s policy of deportations to El Salvador.El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.Help fund independent journalism in Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.