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.

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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.