Roman Gressier
@romangressier.com
I’m a journalist in Guatemala City, the editor of El Faro English @elfaroenglish.bsky.social, and the host of our Friday podcast, #CentralAmericaInMinutes.
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Roman Gressier
@romangressier.com
· Jun 15
🗞️Silencing Dissent: The Return of Political Prisoners in El Salvador
Today, Central America Monthly identifies a playbook of repression in El Salvador and Nicaragua: total power, police states, foreign-agents laws, exiles, and political prisoners. beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Today, Central America Monthly identifies a playbook of repression in El Salvador and Nicaragua: total power, police states, foreign-agents laws, exiles, and political prisoners. beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Issue No. 2 — June 15, 2025
This second issue of Central America Monthly identifies a common playbook of repression by the dictatorships in El Salvador and Nicaragua: their total power, police states, foreign-agents laws, exiles...
beta.elfaro.net
Read the second issue of Central America Monthly, our digital magazine dedicated to political prisoners in El Salvador and the repressive parallels between the Salvadoran and Nicaraguan dictatorships 👇
Reposted by Roman Gressier
This week marks fifty episodes of #CentralAmericaInMinutes. We launched the first episode exactly a year ago this past Saturday! Stream on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon, and YouTube. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
October 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
This week marks fifty episodes of #CentralAmericaInMinutes. We launched the first episode exactly a year ago this past Saturday! Stream on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon, and YouTube. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
El Salvador missed a deadline from the Inter-American Commission to find a man missing since March, when he was deported to CECOT. At least three other Salvadoran families have filed complaints at the IACHR for forced disappearance, reports @periodistagl.bsky.social. beta.elfaro.net/en/el-salvad...
El Salvador Misses Deadline from Inter-American Commission to Find Man Deported to CECOT
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had given El Salvador until October 18 to locate a 24-year-old Salvadoran missing since March, when he was deported to the CECOT megaprison. At least thre...
beta.elfaro.net
October 21, 2025 at 4:36 PM
El Salvador missed a deadline from the Inter-American Commission to find a man missing since March, when he was deported to CECOT. At least three other Salvadoran families have filed complaints at the IACHR for forced disappearance, reports @periodistagl.bsky.social. beta.elfaro.net/en/el-salvad...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
🗞️ Everyday Cruelty: Death, Torture, and Starvation in Bukele’s Prisons
Read Issue No. 6 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Read Issue No. 6 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
October 15, 2025 at 8:01 PM
🗞️ Everyday Cruelty: Death, Torture, and Starvation in Bukele’s Prisons
Read Issue No. 6 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Read Issue No. 6 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Mothers of hundreds of those captured during the “state of emergency” march in protest, demanding better conditions for the prisoners in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 9 December 2024.
October 6, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Mothers of hundreds of those captured during the “state of emergency” march in protest, demanding better conditions for the prisoners in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 9 December 2024.
Reposted by Roman Gressier
By Carlos Barrera, for El Faro, NPR, awarded in the #WPPh2025 Contest: worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2025/Carlos-Barrera/25
Life and Death in a Country Without Constitutional Rights | World Press Photo
Mothers of hundreds of those captured during the “state of emergency” march in protest, demanding better conditions for the prisoners. San Salvador, El Salvador.
worldpressphoto.org
October 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
By Carlos Barrera, for El Faro, NPR, awarded in the #WPPh2025 Contest: worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2025/Carlos-Barrera/25
Reposted by Roman Gressier
📊 En 2025 las denuncias por extorsión en Guatemala suman 18,340, casi el doble respecto a años anteriores. No solo se denuncia más, sino que los hechos ocurren con mayor frecuencia. 🚨 Más detalles 👇
Extorsiones se duplican en cinco años: ¿más denuncias o más crímenes? - Con Criterio
Guatemala vive un repunte de homicidios y extorsiones en 2025. Expertos analizan si hay más denuncias o más crimen, y el Gobierno busca respuestas urgentes y declarar terroristas a las pandillas.
concriterio.gt
September 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
📊 En 2025 las denuncias por extorsión en Guatemala suman 18,340, casi el doble respecto a años anteriores. No solo se denuncia más, sino que los hechos ocurren con mayor frecuencia. 🚨 Más detalles 👇
Reposted by Roman Gressier
🚨 El consumo interno de drogas en Guatemala se ha disparado y con ello la violencia entre pandillas. El narcomenudeo ya no solo es tránsito, ahora se disputa en calles y barrios. 🎧Escúchalo 👇 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dpdShbkzvFajFi3c0oiHb?si=oQ9ZHQVdQd2Vjd1QFS1yzw
September 29, 2025 at 7:03 PM
🚨 El consumo interno de drogas en Guatemala se ha disparado y con ello la violencia entre pandillas. El narcomenudeo ya no solo es tránsito, ahora se disputa en calles y barrios. 🎧Escúchalo 👇 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dpdShbkzvFajFi3c0oiHb?si=oQ9ZHQVdQd2Vjd1QFS1yzw
Reposted by Roman Gressier
This week,The BS rec’d a letter from MARIO GUEVARA, the only known journalist detained on US soil by ICE.
For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell.
The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell.
The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
September 20, 2025 at 12:43 AM
This week,The BS rec’d a letter from MARIO GUEVARA, the only known journalist detained on US soil by ICE.
For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell.
The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell.
The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
In a letter to the @bittersouth.bsky.social, journalist Mario Guevara—a legal resident of the U.S. who’s been jailed for 100 days without any pending criminal charges and who’s currently fighting an ICE deportation order—recounts the harrowing details of his detention in an Atlanta federal prison.
This week,The BS rec’d a letter from MARIO GUEVARA, the only known journalist detained on US soil by ICE.
For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell.
The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell.
The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
September 22, 2025 at 9:24 PM
In a letter to the @bittersouth.bsky.social, journalist Mario Guevara—a legal resident of the U.S. who’s been jailed for 100 days without any pending criminal charges and who’s currently fighting an ICE deportation order—recounts the harrowing details of his detention in an Atlanta federal prison.
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Support Central America Monthly: If you find value in this exercise in seeking sharper journalistic answers to key questions in our region, become a crowdfunder today. On the 15th of every month, we promise to keep bringing you uncomfortable truths. support.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Support Central America Monthly: If you find value in this exercise in seeking sharper journalistic answers to key questions in our region, become a crowdfunder today. On the 15th of every month, we promise to keep bringing you uncomfortable truths. support.elfaro.net
Reposted by Roman Gressier
The Tertulia: Expert on authoritarianism Ruth Ben-Ghiat's study of the political strategies and impact of the most prominent authoritarians, as diverse as Mussolini, Gaddafi, Putin, and Pinochet, identifies common threads and strategies to combat them. beta.elfaro.net/en/the-tertu...
Countering the Strongman
Expert on authoritarianism Ruth Ben-Ghiat published in 2020 an acclaimed comparative study of the political strategies and impact of the most prominent authoritarian leaders from Mussolini to our day....
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The Tertulia: Expert on authoritarianism Ruth Ben-Ghiat's study of the political strategies and impact of the most prominent authoritarians, as diverse as Mussolini, Gaddafi, Putin, and Pinochet, identifies common threads and strategies to combat them. beta.elfaro.net/en/the-tertu...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
By Invitation: A foreign tsunami is arriving in the form of investments new settlers on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, reports Álvaro Murillo. At the epicenter of this trend, a town called Nosara, there are ten swimming pools for every social welfare home. beta.elfaro.net/en/by-invita...
Guanacaste in English: Dollars and Luxury Inundate Costa Rica’s Most Touristy Province
A foreign tsunami is arriving in the form of investments, travelers, and new settlers on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. The real estate business exploded after the pandemic and is now expanding, attracte...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
By Invitation: A foreign tsunami is arriving in the form of investments new settlers on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, reports Álvaro Murillo. At the epicenter of this trend, a town called Nosara, there are ten swimming pools for every social welfare home. beta.elfaro.net/en/by-invita...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Essay: This is an intimate story of a man condemned to die in pain amid the precariousness of El Salvador’s public health system, where healing depends on the patient’s economic capacity, writes deputy editor Sergio Arauz. This is the story of my father's death. beta.elfaro.net/en/spotlight...
To Die of Hospitals in El Salvador
This is an intimate story of a man condemned to die in pain amid the precariousness of El Salvador’s public health system, where healing depends on the patient’s economic capacity, regardless of how c...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Essay: This is an intimate story of a man condemned to die in pain amid the precariousness of El Salvador’s public health system, where healing depends on the patient’s economic capacity, writes deputy editor Sergio Arauz. This is the story of my father's death. beta.elfaro.net/en/spotlight...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
El Faro Editorial Board: When the interests of authoritarians conflict with the public interest, theirs always prevail. The Salvadoran government made two agreements that clash head-on; the latter is a deal to save a criminal: Nayib Bukele. beta.elfaro.net/en/el-faro-w...
The Art of the Deal… to Save a Criminal
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
El Faro Editorial Board: When the interests of authoritarians conflict with the public interest, theirs always prevail. The Salvadoran government made two agreements that clash head-on; the latter is a deal to save a criminal: Nayib Bukele. beta.elfaro.net/en/el-faro-w...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Central American Lens: Gangs kept Salvadorans on their knees for more than two and a half decades. This phenomenon gripped a country reeling from mass deportations in the 1990s, taking root in the most precarious and forgotten communities. beta.elfaro.net/en/central-a...
Twenty-Five Years of Horror
Gangs kept Salvadorans on their knees for more than two and a half decades. This phenomenon gripped a country reeling from mass deportations from the United States in the 1990s, taking root in the mos...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Central American Lens: Gangs kept Salvadorans on their knees for more than two and a half decades. This phenomenon gripped a country reeling from mass deportations in the 1990s, taking root in the most precarious and forgotten communities. beta.elfaro.net/en/central-a...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
The Case File: One died, eight remain in the U.S., and 18 are purportedly imprisoned in Bukele’s jails, writes MS-13 investigator Carlos García. The case files of these veteran leaders of MS-13 show abundant evidence of their secret agreements with Bukele for years. beta.elfaro.net/en/case-file...
Twenty-Seven MS-13 Bosses as Pawns between Bukele and Trump
One of these men, according to information not confirmed by the Salvadoran government, died; eight remain in the United States, awaiting trial or deportation back to Bukele; and 18 are purportedly imp...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The Case File: One died, eight remain in the U.S., and 18 are purportedly imprisoned in Bukele’s jails, writes MS-13 investigator Carlos García. The case files of these veteran leaders of MS-13 show abundant evidence of their secret agreements with Bukele for years. beta.elfaro.net/en/case-file...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
The Case File: As leaders of MS-13, the most murderous gang in post-war El Salvador, face charges in New York as leaders of a terrorist organization, Trump and Bukele turned them into political pawns for “geopolitical reasons,” writes editor-in-chief Óscar Martínez. beta.elfaro.net/en/a-region-...
Gangsters and Suits: The Most Murderous Mafia of Postwar El Salvador
Twenty-seven leaders of MS-13, the most murderous criminal gang in post-war El Salvador, which had more than 40,000 members in El Salvador and a presence in 40 of the 50 states of the United States, a...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The Case File: As leaders of MS-13, the most murderous gang in post-war El Salvador, face charges in New York as leaders of a terrorist organization, Trump and Bukele turned them into political pawns for “geopolitical reasons,” writes editor-in-chief Óscar Martínez. beta.elfaro.net/en/a-region-...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
From 2021: Congressman Óscar Nájera admits Honduras is a narcostate. He spent three decades representing a province along the cocaine corridor. But his career reached its end last month, writes director @carlosdada.bsky.social. The Cacique of Colón lost his immunity. beta.elfaro.net/en/from-the-...
In Honduras, a Friend of Drug Lords Loses His Seat in Congress
Congressman Óscar Nájera admits that Honduras is a narcostate. He knows it because he has spent three decades representing a prominent province along the cocaine corridor. He knows it because he is an...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
From 2021: Congressman Óscar Nájera admits Honduras is a narcostate. He spent three decades representing a province along the cocaine corridor. But his career reached its end last month, writes director @carlosdada.bsky.social. The Cacique of Colón lost his immunity. beta.elfaro.net/en/from-the-...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Podcast: Under three months until election day in Honduras, lawfare and institutional capture threaten credibility, campaign auditors have no budget, candidates have been assassinated, and parties are already dabbling in accusations of fraud. beta.elfaro.net/en/case-file...
Podcast: Six Threats to the Election in Honduras
With under three months until election day in Honduras, alarm bells are sounding: Lawfare and institutional capture threaten credibility of the November 30 elections amid efforts to veto civil society...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Podcast: Under three months until election day in Honduras, lawfare and institutional capture threaten credibility, campaign auditors have no budget, candidates have been assassinated, and parties are already dabbling in accusations of fraud. beta.elfaro.net/en/case-file...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Interview: Honduran journalist Óscar Estrada suspects the elections are being soiled with narco-donations to all parties. “The conditions before 2021 have not changed,” he reasons, adding that US courtrooms have left cartel operations mostly unscathed. beta.elfaro.net/en/spotlight...
“I believe every presidential candidate in Honduras since 2013 has taken drug money”
Honduran journalist Óscar Estrada suspects this year’s elections are being soiled with narco-donations to all political parties. “The conditions before 2021 have not changed,” he reasons in this inter...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Interview: Honduran journalist Óscar Estrada suspects the elections are being soiled with narco-donations to all parties. “The conditions before 2021 have not changed,” he reasons, adding that US courtrooms have left cartel operations mostly unscathed. beta.elfaro.net/en/spotlight...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Letter from the Editor: It can be said about El Salvador like it can be said about Honduras: There is evidence that all three political machines of the last three decades partnered with organized crime for their political benefit, writes @romangressier.com. beta.elfaro.net/en/letter-fr...
No Hands Are Clean
It can be said about El Salvador like it can be said about Honduras: There is evidence that all three political machines of the last three decades secretly partnered with organized crime for their pol...
beta.elfaro.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Letter from the Editor: It can be said about El Salvador like it can be said about Honduras: There is evidence that all three political machines of the last three decades partnered with organized crime for their political benefit, writes @romangressier.com. beta.elfaro.net/en/letter-fr...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
🗞️ Rumblings in Honduras: Final Stretch to Elections Marked by Old Faces and Older Vices
Read Issue No. 5 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Read Issue No. 5 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
September 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
🗞️ Rumblings in Honduras: Final Stretch to Elections Marked by Old Faces and Older Vices
Read Issue No. 5 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Read Issue No. 5 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
📰 Trump Knew First: How His Ambassador Sat on Evidence of Bukele’s Gang Pacts — Five Years Ago
Read Issue No. 4 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Read Issue No. 4 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
August 15, 2025 at 10:08 PM
📰 Trump Knew First: How His Ambassador Sat on Evidence of Bukele’s Gang Pacts — Five Years Ago
Read Issue No. 4 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Read Issue No. 4 of Central America Monthly: beta.elfaro.net/en/monthly/i...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
Walter Sandoval had a clean bill of health when he entered the police station in Ahuachapán. Just 72 hours later, his corpse showed signs of torture. His was the first of hundreds of known in-custody deaths under the state of exception in El Salvador. beta.elfaro.net/en/el-salvad...
Walter Sandoval, First Victim of the State of Exception, Died in Prison within 72 Hours
Walter Vladimir Sandoval Peñate had a clean bill of health when he entered the police station in Ahuachapán. Just 72 hours later, on April 3, 2022, his corpse showed signs of torture. His was the firs...
beta.elfaro.net
August 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Walter Sandoval had a clean bill of health when he entered the police station in Ahuachapán. Just 72 hours later, his corpse showed signs of torture. His was the first of hundreds of known in-custody deaths under the state of exception in El Salvador. beta.elfaro.net/en/el-salvad...
Reposted by Roman Gressier
🚨NEW: Further stories of the horrors inflicted on people the Trump admin imprisoned in El Salvador without trial are emerging.
Three men describes how they were punished by guards — stripped naked, beaten for six days straight as men and women watching laughed and mocked them.
Three men describes how they were punished by guards — stripped naked, beaten for six days straight as men and women watching laughed and mocked them.
July 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM
🚨NEW: Further stories of the horrors inflicted on people the Trump admin imprisoned in El Salvador without trial are emerging.
Three men describes how they were punished by guards — stripped naked, beaten for six days straight as men and women watching laughed and mocked them.
Three men describes how they were punished by guards — stripped naked, beaten for six days straight as men and women watching laughed and mocked them.