Dr. Ricardo J. Valencia
@ricardovalp.bsky.social
🇸🇻🇺🇸 Associate Prof California State Fullerton. Columnist elfaro.net. RT≠like,endorsement. Posts are my own. Go Dodgers!
I’m pretty sure I’ll be putting together a class on Media and Immigration.
November 7, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I’m pretty sure I’ll be putting together a class on Media and Immigration.
Thanks to Adam Isaacson for the invite to the
@wola-org.bsky.social podcast! We discussed how the Bukele propaganda bubble was created and how we can fight to protect democracy against dictators like him.
www.wola.org/multimedia/p...
@wola-org.bsky.social podcast! We discussed how the Bukele propaganda bubble was created and how we can fight to protect democracy against dictators like him.
www.wola.org/multimedia/p...
Piercing the Propaganda Bubble in El Salvador - WOLA
Ricardo Valencia explains why the current popularity of El Salvador’s authoritarian president rests on a surprisingly fragile foundation.
www.wola.org
October 22, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Thanks to Adam Isaacson for the invite to the
@wola-org.bsky.social podcast! We discussed how the Bukele propaganda bubble was created and how we can fight to protect democracy against dictators like him.
www.wola.org/multimedia/p...
@wola-org.bsky.social podcast! We discussed how the Bukele propaganda bubble was created and how we can fight to protect democracy against dictators like him.
www.wola.org/multimedia/p...
Mario Guevara’s deportation was cruel and unjust. But don’t expect him to back exiled journalists — in the U.S., he served the powerful. In El Salvador, he might do the same for Bukele as a propaganda asset.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/atlanta/...
www.cbsnews.com/amp/atlanta/...
Journalist Mario Guevara speaks on deportation and time in ICE custody: "They destroyed my family"
Journalist Mario Guevara says the separation from his family following his deportation has left him devastated.
www.cbsnews.com
October 6, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Mario Guevara’s deportation was cruel and unjust. But don’t expect him to back exiled journalists — in the U.S., he served the powerful. In El Salvador, he might do the same for Bukele as a propaganda asset.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/atlanta/...
www.cbsnews.com/amp/atlanta/...
Reposted by Dr. Ricardo J. Valencia
I am proud to be born a Muslim.
I am proud to be born in Somalia.
I am proud to have become an American.
None of you can change that no matter how much you rage tweet.
Drink some water and touch grass.
I am proud to be born in Somalia.
I am proud to have become an American.
None of you can change that no matter how much you rage tweet.
Drink some water and touch grass.
September 20, 2025 at 12:43 AM
I am proud to be born a Muslim.
I am proud to be born in Somalia.
I am proud to have become an American.
None of you can change that no matter how much you rage tweet.
Drink some water and touch grass.
I am proud to be born in Somalia.
I am proud to have become an American.
None of you can change that no matter how much you rage tweet.
Drink some water and touch grass.
Reposted by Dr. Ricardo J. Valencia
"More professors in the United States have been fired for controversial views in the past week than any other week in all of American history."
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Censorship Is the Authoritarian’s Dream
The right to free expression must include the right to say horrible and evil things.
www.insidehighered.com
September 19, 2025 at 10:24 AM
"More professors in the United States have been fired for controversial views in the past week than any other week in all of American history."
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
This explains why the German Chancellor almost called Trump a full-blooded German
www.dw.com/en/germany-u...
www.dw.com/en/germany-u...
Germany updates: Talks with Taliban ongoing for deportations – DW – 09/15/2025
Germany's interior minister has confirmed direct talks with Afghanistan's rulers to facilitate "regular" deportations. Meanwhile, Chancellor Merz has declared 'war' on antisemitism. Follow for the lat...
www.dw.com
September 16, 2025 at 11:55 PM
This explains why the German Chancellor almost called Trump a full-blooded German
www.dw.com/en/germany-u...
www.dw.com/en/germany-u...
👀 Brown skin? 🗣️ Speaking Spanish? 🧹🛠️ Working in manual labor or low-wage jobs? 📞 Call ICE.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner
Trump's actions are in direct tension with a 1935 ruling that upheld restrictions on the president's ability to remove FTC commissioners without cause.
www.nbcnews.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:17 PM
👀 Brown skin? 🗣️ Speaking Spanish? 🧹🛠️ Working in manual labor or low-wage jobs? 📞 Call ICE.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
Chema Tojeira, a vital figure in El Salvador’s history, has passed. In 1989, he bore the heavy task of identifying the UCA martyrs, killed by a military squad.As a student at UCA, I got to know his wisdom and humility through a small reading group. His quiet strength made me want to be a Jesuit.
September 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Chema Tojeira, a vital figure in El Salvador’s history, has passed. In 1989, he bore the heavy task of identifying the UCA martyrs, killed by a military squad.As a student at UCA, I got to know his wisdom and humility through a small reading group. His quiet strength made me want to be a Jesuit.
Great piece by @lrb.co.uk
Torture chambers like Bukele's CECOT aren't unique—nor is their use by global powers. What’s unique is that he keeps his in plain sight, even turning it into a tourist attraction. Bukele himself has posted on social media the very evidence of his decay.
www.lrb.co.uk
Torture chambers like Bukele's CECOT aren't unique—nor is their use by global powers. What’s unique is that he keeps his in plain sight, even turning it into a tourist attraction. Bukele himself has posted on social media the very evidence of his decay.
www.lrb.co.uk
September 5, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Great piece by @lrb.co.uk
Torture chambers like Bukele's CECOT aren't unique—nor is their use by global powers. What’s unique is that he keeps his in plain sight, even turning it into a tourist attraction. Bukele himself has posted on social media the very evidence of his decay.
www.lrb.co.uk
Torture chambers like Bukele's CECOT aren't unique—nor is their use by global powers. What’s unique is that he keeps his in plain sight, even turning it into a tourist attraction. Bukele himself has posted on social media the very evidence of his decay.
www.lrb.co.uk
Professional liers. I lived in DC and did all that.
Stephen Miller on DC residents: "For the first time in their lives, they can use the parks, they can walk on the streets. You have people who can walk freely at night without having to worry about being robbed or mugged. They are wearing their watches again."
August 27, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Professional liers. I lived in DC and did all that.
Weird that two of the cities with the highest homicide rates in the US are in Red states, but don't get presidential threats
Trump reiterates his threat to send the National Guard to Chicago.
In comments to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump repeatedly decried the nation’s third-largest city as “a disaster” and “a killing field."
In comments to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump repeatedly decried the nation’s third-largest city as “a disaster” and “a killing field."
Trump reiterates threat to send National Guard to Chicago
The administration has zeroed in on Chicago as the next target in its effort to address crime with military deployments.
www.politico.com
August 25, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Weird that two of the cities with the highest homicide rates in the US are in Red states, but don't get presidential threats
It's interesting to see how heavily elite universities rely on federal funding for their research. While I support this investment, perhaps a larger share should go to state schools, which educate the vast majority of Americans.
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
At Harvard, Trump administration cuts hit young scientists hard
More than 700 graduate students and nearly 800 postdoctoral researchers at Harvard get salaries, stipends or tuition support from federally funded research.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 24, 2025 at 3:32 PM
It's interesting to see how heavily elite universities rely on federal funding for their research. While I support this investment, perhaps a larger share should go to state schools, which educate the vast majority of Americans.
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
We are the luckiest species because we have dogs as friends. We don't deserve them. They are angels.
August 23, 2025 at 5:35 AM
We are the luckiest species because we have dogs as friends. We don't deserve them. They are angels.
Good!
Owner of Woofy Acres dog rescue charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty trib.al/k8SHVGr
Owner of Woofy Acres dog rescue charged with 16 counts of animal cruelty
More than 100 dogs, many from Orange County, allegedly were neglected at the San Bernardino County shelter and dozens had to be euthanized.
trib.al
August 16, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Good!
Mi opinion en El Faro: "Hoy, la principal exportación de Bukele es un modelo de represión brutal, empaquetado como éxito gubernamental. El problema es que esa propaganda, eficaz en redes sociales, también lo expone a procesos internacionales por crímenes de Estado".
beta.elfaro.net/opinion/buke...
beta.elfaro.net/opinion/buke...
Bukele, el dictador que vende orden pero siembra incertidumbre
El 31 de julio de 2025, la Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador —controlada en su totalidad por el presidente Nayib Bukele y sus aliados— aprobó una reforma constitucional que autoriza la reelección pr...
beta.elfaro.net
August 13, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Mi opinion en El Faro: "Hoy, la principal exportación de Bukele es un modelo de represión brutal, empaquetado como éxito gubernamental. El problema es que esa propaganda, eficaz en redes sociales, también lo expone a procesos internacionales por crímenes de Estado".
beta.elfaro.net/opinion/buke...
beta.elfaro.net/opinion/buke...
La frontera, el borde,
August 12, 2025 at 9:57 PM
La frontera, el borde,
Apparently, the new way to travel as a brown person is carrying a passport—even within California.
August 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Apparently, the new way to travel as a brown person is carrying a passport—even within California.
Apparently, Sheinbaum’s pragmatic approach to Trump has proven far more effective than the one led by emotionally driven Canadian men
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Canada is trying to salvage its relationship with Mexico after falling out with Trump
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scrambling to save his country's relationship with Mexico after it disintegrated late last year when Canadian officials suggested they'd be better off negotiating a trade deal with the Trump administration alone.
www.reuters.com
August 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Apparently, Sheinbaum’s pragmatic approach to Trump has proven far more effective than the one led by emotionally driven Canadian men
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Andry—a man with no criminal convictions in either the U.S. or El Salvador—was imprisoned under Bukele’s regime, where he reports enduring human rights violations, including sexual assault. It’s time to end U.S. support for a third-world fascist dictator.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySs...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySs...
EXCLUSIVE: Andry Hernández Romero Tells His Story
YouTube video by The Bulwark
www.youtube.com
August 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Andry—a man with no criminal convictions in either the U.S. or El Salvador—was imprisoned under Bukele’s regime, where he reports enduring human rights violations, including sexual assault. It’s time to end U.S. support for a third-world fascist dictator.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySs...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySs...
"Because it is with this same imperialism that present-day simulators attempt to make the real, all of the real, coincide with their models of simulation.."Baudrillard
August 7, 2025 at 2:12 AM
"Because it is with this same imperialism that present-day simulators attempt to make the real, all of the real, coincide with their models of simulation.."Baudrillard
As I mentioned at the @uniondemcomm.bsky.social conference, Bukele was disturbingly sadistic and relentless in promoting his gulag—live-streaming human rights abuses for the world to see. Fascist!
August 7, 2025 at 1:55 AM
As I mentioned at the @uniondemcomm.bsky.social conference, Bukele was disturbingly sadistic and relentless in promoting his gulag—live-streaming human rights abuses for the world to see. Fascist!
They said the same with crypto
And here I was thinking the way to solve hunger was food.
August 1, 2025 at 3:51 PM
They said the same with crypto
Reposted by Dr. Ricardo J. Valencia
One was beaten unconscious. Others were covered in bruises, struggling to walk or vomiting blood. Another said he’d been sexually assaulted.
These are the stories of 16 former detainees who were deported to El Salvador’s mega prison.
These are the stories of 16 former detainees who were deported to El Salvador’s mega prison.
‘Welcome to hell’: Inside the megaprison where the U.S. deported migrants
Interviews with 16 former detainees of El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center offer the most complete view yet of conditions inside the notorious prison.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 31, 2025 at 6:50 PM
One was beaten unconscious. Others were covered in bruises, struggling to walk or vomiting blood. Another said he’d been sexually assaulted.
These are the stories of 16 former detainees who were deported to El Salvador’s mega prison.
These are the stories of 16 former detainees who were deported to El Salvador’s mega prison.
Reposted by Dr. Ricardo J. Valencia
NEW: Now That They’re Free: Venezuelan Men Sent to CECOT on What They Endured and Reuniting With Their Families, by @propublica.org and partners
Now That They’re Free, Venezuelan Men Want the World to Know What They Endured in CECOT
Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration say they endured months of physical and mental abuse inside a Salvadoran prison. Though happy to be home, they say the fact that they were released ...
www.propublica.org
July 30, 2025 at 11:33 AM
NEW: Now That They’re Free: Venezuelan Men Sent to CECOT on What They Endured and Reuniting With Their Families, by @propublica.org and partners