Central America in Minutes

Episode 92: Weeks before the midterms, Senate Democrats press Trump’s nominee for ambassador to El Salvador on human rights. Nicaragua refuses to accept the new confirmed U.S. ambassador.

A Guatemalan journalist is murdered in the western highlands close to Mexico. His murder adds to the list of 32 journalist deaths recorded in the past thirteen years.

A document obtained by El Faro shows Costa Rica closed a probe into the murder of a Nicaraguan exile. A trial against the alleged perpetrators is expected in the coming months.

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

Listen to Central America in Minutes on the KPFA Pacifica Evening News and participating Pacifica radio stations. Or stream it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 91: Between El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, over two-fifths of the population go hungry. Decreasing rainfall and the rising cost of basic goods fuel food insecurity.

A Guatemalan man dies in a car accident while fleeing from ICE in Michigan. DHS said they were actually pursuing another Guatemalan wanted by U.S. immigration authorities.

Electoral repression in Nicaragua leads to differing views within the international community and the Nicaraguan opposition, including over what they want from the U.S.

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

Listen to Central America in Minutes on the KPFA Pacifica Evening News and participating Pacifica radio stations. Or stream it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 90: Guatemala receives a first shipment of U.S. weapons after decades of red tape, billing it as a diplomatic signal in anti-drug trafficking cooperation.

In Honduras, Garifuna communities protest at the Supreme Court for respect for Inter-American Court rulings. But a Spanish reality show resumes filming in a protected nature reserve.

The government of El Salvador acknowledges that a Salvadoran man deported from the United States, has been imprisoned for a year and a half, despite facing no criminal charges.

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

Listen to Central America in Minutes on the KPFA Pacifica Evening News and participating Pacifica radio stations. Or stream it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 89: Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano is detained by ICE despite his asylum case, adding to the list of exiles arrested under the Trump administration.

An exiled Nicaraguan campesino leader survives an assassination attempt in Costa Rica, where the government has not commented on a string of attacks and murders.

In Panama, unions and social organizations uncover police espionage which they allege is aimed at breaking resistance to mining and other policies under President José Raúl Mulino.

This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Gabriel Labrador. 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. Or stream it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Episode 88: TPS for El Salvador was set to expire this week, but DHS temporarily extended protections from deportation until a final decision is made “at the appropriate time.”

DHS awards private contracts to collect fines from deported Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Mexicans for immigrant law violations. The fines add up to $423 million dollars.

September 5 marked two years since 135 former Nicaraguan political prisoners were suddenly flown to Guatemala. Over two-dozen still live stateless in precarious conditions.

This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, Gabriel Labrador, and Carlos Barrera. 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 87: As extreme climate hits Central American crops, countries issue alerts and states of emergency while Nicaragua declares that the effects will be “limited.”

Buoyed by high popularity and his constitutional rewrite allowing indefinite reelection, Nayib Bukele will seek a third term in 2027 facing no major opposition.

Amid budget rollbacks and public sparring with the Judiciary, President Laura Fernández denies that “Bukelization” is taking place in her country.

This episode was written by Gabriel Labrador, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Leyrian Colón Santiago. 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 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.