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.