Episode 86: In the last year, in its push for countries to receive third-country nationals, the U.S. deported over 2,000 Mexicans to Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica.

Trump reinstates the U.S. travel visas of three Salvadoran officials close to Bukele but pulls the visas of members of the board of Costa Rica’s newspaper of record.

An Argentine advisor to right-wing politicians in Latin America, including the president of Honduras, is arrested in Bolivia on charges of attempted femicide.

This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Gabriel Labrador, and Yuliana Ramazzini. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.

Listen to Central America in Minutes on the KPFA Pacifica Evening News and participating Pacifica Network radio stations. You can also stream the show on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 85: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth touts military cooperation with Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala, but tip-toes around ties to El Salvador, despite reports of logistical support for U.S. boat strikes.

The Honduran Ambassador in Washington calls the termination of TPS for thousands of Nicaraguans and Hondurans living in the United States a “humanitarian crisis.”

El Salvador’s security minister announces the arrest of a fugitive Salvadoran gang leader whom El Faro interviewed last year on Bukele’s dealings with gangs.

This episode was written by Gabriel Labrador, Leyrian Colón Santiago, Graciela Barrera, and Yuliana Ramazzini. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.

Listen to Central America in Minutes on The KPFA Pacific Evening News and participating Pacifica Network radio stations. You can also stream the show on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 84: Multiple reports indicate that U.S. boat strikes, which have killed 221 people, “almost certainly” received logistical support from Salvadoran soil.

In Guatemala, two high-profile Indigenous leaders are granted house arrest pending trial on terrorism and other charges stemming from their resistance against 2023 coup efforts.

Costa Rica declares security spending a state secret as President Laura Fernández locks horns with the Judicial Branch, accusing magistrates of an “institutional coup.”

This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Gabriel Labrador. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.

Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 83: Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández returns to his country after Trump pardoned him last year. He now faces criminal charges of embezzlement.

A couple recently forced to return to Guatemala is found dead in a field outside Retalhuleu, near the Mexican border. U.S. self-deportation totals are disputed.

Seven months before national elections, Salvadoran opposition leader Claudia Ortiz urges her party to stay open to alliances, but party leaders remain more selective.

This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Leyrian Colón Santiago, Megan Mandrachio, and Gabriel Labrador. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.

Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 81: Daniel Ortega’s announcement that “there will be no more elections” in Nicaragua sparks a wave of regional and international criticism.

A Salvadoran fisherman’s body shows signs of violent death in prison that were ignored in an autopsy. He is one of over 500 confirmed deaths in custody under the state of exception.

Benedicto Lucas, a former Guatemalan general accused of genocide against the Maya Ixil people, is granted house arrest. His trial has been frozen for two years.

This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Megan Mandrachio. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 81: While Salvadoran TPS recipients hold their breath for a last-second renewal, Bukele meets with Trump after launching a bid for a third term.

The Nicaraguan regime begins a new phase of persecution by selling off exiles’ properties and secretly revoking the licenses of an estimated 2,000 lawyers.

Former President Juan Orlando Hernández is expected to return to Honduras on July 26, where he will face charges of fraud and money laundering before a Honduran court.

This episode was written by Megan Mandrachio, Leyrian Colón Santiago, and Gabriel Labrador. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 80: Salvadoran human rights attorney Ruth López’s family fears for her life. They finally visited her following more than 400 days in prison.

Guatemalan prosecutors stop trying to revoke the house arrest of newspaperman Jose Rubén Zamora, easing up on an emblematic case of lawfare against journalists in Latin America.

Nicaragua has received dozens of third-country deportees since Donald Trump returned to office. Other Central American countries have, too, but Managua has been a low-key partner.

This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Gabriel Labrador. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 79: Nayib Bukele registers to run for a third term in El Salvador’s 2027 election after scrapping term limits. If he achieves his goal, he’s set to stay in power until 2033.

Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Guatemala, heralded by the opposition, steps down without public explanation following months of turmoil over U.S. policy in Guatemala.

Trump's threat to “take back the canal” looms over Panama as concerns grow about the country's neutrality and whether there will be enough water to keep the canal operational.

This episode was written by Megan Mandrachio, Gabriel Labrador  and Leyrian Colón Santiago. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 78: A string of U.S. officials departs Trump’s mission to the OAS amid ideological tensions and a financial crisis that are roiling the hemisphere’s oldest multilateral.

The World Bank projects El Salvador’s economy will grow in 2026 by a hair. The ruling party celebrates, while economists say it’s fueled by tens of millions of dollars in remittances.

A year after the murder in Costa Rica of Nicaraguan refugee Roberto Samcam, prosecutors finally file charges against the suspects. A trial is expected to begin in 2027.

This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Leyrian Colón Santiago and Megan Mandrachio, who’s interning with El Faro English from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn. Stream Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 77: Honduras expands the definition of terrorism to include legally registered organizations and cracks down on protests tied to land conflict.

Costa Rican President Laura Fernández proposes a reform to slow Nicaraguan migration. Amid mounting criticism, she asserts Nicaraguans have the government “they chose.”

In our magazine Beacon: an investigation in El Salvador; an interview with Guatemala’s defense chief; chronicles from Louisiana and the Balkans; and fiction on Mars.

This episode was written by Yuliana Ramazzini, Gabriel Labrador, 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.