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.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Arévalo Downplays Report of Imminent Joint U.S. Military Strikes
5d 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.
Transcribe →
Sweeping Abuses in Costa Rica Against U.S. Deportees
2w ago00:09:02Tap 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.
Transcribe →
Political Prisoner Ruth López Hits One Year in Bukele’s Dungeons
3w ago00:09:22Tap 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.
Transcribe →
A Friend to Trump, Netanhayu, and Bukele Takes Office in Costa Rica
4w ago00:09:04Tap 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.
Transcribe →
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.
Transcribe →
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.
Transcribe →
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.
Transcribe →
After Trump Pardon, Hernández Appeals to Court of Public Opinion
Apr 1000:09:27Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
Transcribe →
Mounting Civilian Death Toll in U.S. Boat Strikes
Mar 2700:08:34Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
Transcribe →
At the End of the Maras
Mar 2000:07:10Tap to summarizeSPECIAL, 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.Find Central America in Minutes on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.
Transcribe →