The World from PRX

El Salvador

Six individuals stand in formal attire inside an elegant room with a large painting and ornate decor.
Israel and Lebanon meet for direct talks for the first time in over 30 years
Full Episode
49:52
Trump and Bukele make a ‘deal within a deal’
7:57
El Salvador’s strongman Bukele tightens grip on country
10:57
El Salvador’s critics forced into exile
6:22
Immigration
As El Salvador courts its exiles, some begin to return
4:56
Rwanda and DRC sign draft peace deal
Full Episode
48:18
El Salvador courts its exiles with incentives and safety — and many are listening
4:56
El Salvador detains lawyer and human rights defender
Full Episode
48:27
Lawyer and human rights defender arrested in El Salvador
4:44
El Salvador president Bukele meets President Trump on deportations
1:02
Bukele’s obsession with comparing El Salvador to Mexico
4:25
Deportees arriving at Salvadoran megaprison face uncertain future
5:01
Environmental activists acquitted in El Salvador
6:02
Vendors sell images of President Nayib Bukele during El Salvador's election campaign.
Elections
Nayib Bukele’s popularity steers him toward an unprecedented second term as president of El Salvador
A police officer searches and checks the documents of a man living in the Kiwanis Community, during a preventive patrol in search of gang members in Soyapango, El Salvador, Aug. 16, 2022, amid a state of exception.
Conflict & Justice
El Salvador imprisons dozens of foreign visitors in crackdown on crime
On May 1, two large marches weaved across San Salvador in commemoration of International Workers Day. 
Leaders
El Salvador president’s popularity soars with controversial approach to crime
People sit along Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte, El Salvador.
Economics
El Salvador’s bitcoin experiment rides on choppy seas as currency fluctuates
The cover to "Solito" by Javier Zamora.
Books
New memoir speaks to the trauma of migration and the potential for healing
A young man is detained by the police, a suspect in a homicide near a market in San Salvador, El Salvador
Violence
El Salvador declares state of emergency amid killings
In this photo provided by US Navy, the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) returns home to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility
Top of The World
Aukus security pact sparks Chinese and French ire
A bank machine is shown in a small building with blue lighting with two people sitting on a bench nearby.
Business, Economics and Jobs
Early stumble as El Salvador starts Bitcoin as currency
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is shown looking to his right while walking and wearing a dark face mask with a solider stands in the distance.
Top of The World
US top diplomats visit Persian Gulf to reassure allies
An array of bitcoins
Top of The World
El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender
Harris at the podium in Guatemala on a diplomatic visit
Biden administration
Addressing migration requires long-term commitment, says analyst on Harris visit to Guatemala
A display of a variety of guns on a table made from unauthorized parts
Violence
President Biden set to further regulate ‘ghost guns’
A large scenic river with sloping mountains on either side.
Environment
An unlikely eco-alliance in postwar El Salvador
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is shown wearing a dark suit and purple tie with the logo for the White House behind him.
Migration
Homeland Security chief defends US handling of migrant increase at border
A man is shown holding a sign that reads "Not 1 more deportation" while speaking to Joe Biden who is holding a microphone.
Biden administration
Biden expands quick bid to undo Trump’s immigration policies
A Honduran migrant woman carries a child on her back as they travel with other migrants by foot along a highway in Chiquimula, Guatemala,  Jan. 16, 2021, in hopes of reaching the U.S. border
How the Biden administration might undo some of Trump’s immigration policies
A woman protects her baby from the rain as Hurricane Iota approaches Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, Nov. 16, 2020.
Top of The World
Hurricane Iota lashes Central America; Trump considered Iran strike options; SpaceX Dragon docks at ISS
Children line up to enter a a temporary shelter in Florida, Feb. 2019.
Top of The World
545 migrant children still separated from families; Nigerian protesters break curfew; Nagorno-Karabakh beset by coronavirus
A man rides a scooter past the flags of the US, United Arab Emirates, Israel and Bahrain along a road in Netanya, Israel, Sept. 14, 2020.
Top of The World
Israel, UAE, Bahrain to sign historic agreement; US presidential candidates spar over climate; federal court rules against TPS
A young boy is shown holding a large white sign that says, "Unite here! Local 11, Protect TPS!" on it.
Justice
Court: Trump can end temporary legal status for 4 countries
A black and white headshot of author Roberto Lovato
Books
A Salvadoran American’s memoir ‘comes full circle’ on a family history of violence, struggle
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro is shown buttoning his suit jacket and walking with security detail on either side.
Top of The World
Brazilian Supreme Court orders probe into Bolsonaro; El Salvador prison crackdown risks coronavirus spread; Harvard student creates PPE supply chain from China to Boston
Hundreds of inmates are shown wearing only underware and sitting crammed together in rows.
Justice
El Salvador lines up semi-naked gang members for grim prison photos
A worker wears a protective face mask works while cleaning the interior of a public bus, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Guatemala City, Guatemala, March 15, 2020.
COVID-19
In Central America, efforts to slow spread of coronavirus could lead to ‘autocratic tendencies’
Camila Díaz, 29, had unsuccessfully sought asylum in the US before she was fatally beaten in El Salvador in January 2019. 
Immigration
ICE deported a trans asylum-seeker. She was killed in El Salvador.
People hold bright yellow signs reading "Defend TPS" in front of the White House in Washington, DC.
The Trump administration extended TPS for Salvadorans. But this activist says the fight is not over.
A woman and a young girl stand together on the banks of a river.
How Trump’s bilateral deals with Central America undermine the US asylum system
Evelyn Hernández, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a suspected abortion, is hugged by a woman.
Sexual violence
El Salvador abortion laws offer warning for the US, lawyer says
A girl and a woman carry bags and have their back turned to the camera on a city street
Immigration
Why it’s harder to win asylum, even in New York
A coffee farmer is shown walking through a nursery with a rake in his hand.
Climate Change
In El Salvador, climate change means less coffee, and more migrants
A green military truck drives on a road.
US Diplomacy
State Dept. list of corrupt Central American government officials is a ‘sham,’ rep. says
US border patrol apprehending migrants
Immigration
As judge halts US ‘remain in Mexico’ policy, returned migrants wonder what’s next
several people with backpacks around a bus entrance. A young girl is held and looks toward the camera.
Immigration
Trump’s aid cuts to Central American countries could total $700 million
A close-up photo of a mother and her daughter, who is wearing pink, at a bus station.
Immigration
Why are so many migrant families arriving at the southern US border?
A woman holds a visibly distraught woman with her face in her hand.
Immigration
Arizona volunteers form ‘underground’ network to house migrants released by ICE
A group of migrants cross a shallow river and met with border agents in green uniforms.
Immigration
Some Salvadoran migrants look to other nations for refuge as US tightens border
A young child is shown holding a doll by the arm.
Global Politics
Arizona monastery, motel turned into migrant shelters
Two young women carry a small coffin between them. Black and white photo.
Conflict & Justice
Why US-backed aid to Venezuela harkens back to a dark history of covert operations
A closeup photo of a blonde woman wearing a blue shirt beside her husband, whose face has been blurred for privacy.
Americans’ immigration emergency: Their spouses could be deported or exiled if they seek green cards
A boy sits with his back to the camera, wearing a baseball cap
This teen migrated to the US border to escape gangs. He hopes to join his mom in the US.
Nayib Bukele speaks at a podium.
Global Politics
Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s young social media star — and next president
A headshot of Bay Area teen Crista Ramos, who is suing the federal government. She wears a red shirt, has long dark hair, and looks directly into the camera.
California teen leads lawsuit to keep hundreds of thousands of immigrants in US
a female prisoner holds her baby in a room with laundry hanging
Women & Gender
Salvadoran women bond serving long sentences for the ‘crime’ of miscarriage
Daniel Alemán wears a black shirt in a room with two paintings on the wall and a blurry bouquet of flowers.
Conflict & Justice
The kids aren’t alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
Leo Cerda is shown, adorned with indigenous wears in a crowd of activists in San Francisco.
Climate Change
Hear these voices from the front lines of climate change
Horse on dry lake
Climate Change
Climate change is contributing to the migration of Central American refugees
Caravan
Culture
What it’s like to be trans when both language and laws refuse to recognize your identity