Podcast
Central America in Minutes
Hosted by El Faro English · EN
Central America in Minutes is a short-form podcast from El Faro English delivering reported briefings and analysis on the politics shaping our region.
15episodes
Episodes
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Trump Diplomats Depart an OAS Mission in Turmoil
6d ago00:08:52Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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Honduras Cracks Down on Protests Tied to Land Conflicts
2w ago00:09:30Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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Nicaraguan Political Prisoners Keep Dying in Regime Custody
3w ago00:09:47Tap to summarizeEpisode 76: In Nicaragua, the United States sanctions more than 100 officials after naming the Ortega-Murillo regime as responsible for the death of political prisoner Brooklyn Rivera.In Guatemala, the new attorney general halts the three-year prosecution of a group of journalists and columnists for obstruction of justice, in a landmark win for press freedom.In El Salvador, search groups question official homicide figures due to differences in how murders are registered in the country.This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Gabriel Labrador, 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.
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Arévalo Downplays Report of Imminent Joint U.S. Military Strikes
4w ago00:07:59Tap to summarizeEpisode 75: In Guatemala, Arévalo downplays New York Times reporting that joint military strikes against cartels are set to begin in June as U.S. officials push to put boots on the ground.In Nicaragua, six relatives of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera are detained by Sandinista police while claiming his body. Rivera had died in regime custody.In El Salvador, a campaign to save a major city forest gathers over half a million signatures. The government moves ahead with plans to build a new convention center.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.
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Sweeping Abuses in Costa Rica Against U.S. Deportees
May 2900:09:02Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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Political Prisoner Ruth López Hits One Year in Bukele’s Dungeons
May 2300:09:22Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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A Friend to Trump, Netanhayu, and Bukele Takes Office in Costa Rica
May 1500:09:04Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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Guatemala Turns the Page After Eight Years of Consuelo Porras
May 800:09:14Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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Mass Trial for Collective Gang Crimes Begins in El Salvador
Apr 2400:08:46Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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Remember Bitcoin? Now Bukele’s All In on A.I.
Apr 1700:08:52Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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