Bi-weekly foreign affairs commentary that dissects Latin America, the Caribbean and their key relationship with the U.S. through the latest political, economic and cultural news in the region - and pulls no punches. Go to WLRN.org/Decoded to watch the Americas Decoded YouTube show. Tim Padgett is the Americas Editor for WLRN, South Florida's NPR member station. He has reported on Latin America for more than 35 years — including for Newsweek as its Mexico City bureau chief and for Time as its Latin America and Miami bureau chief — from the end of Central America's civil wars to the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations. He has interviewed more than 20 heads of state.
TPS: Haitians get deported, but Trump bromance spares Salvadorans
Opinion: In a move that would be both humane and hypocritical, President Trump appears to be extending deportation protection for Salvadorans — while moving ahead with the expulsion of Haitians.Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans in the U.S. has expired – but the Trump administration has chosen not to terminate it. With Haitians being deported to a country ruled by homicidal gangs, WLRN’s Americas Editor Tim Padgett says we finally may have some clarity on when it’s not appropriate to expel TPS holders.That would be: when their home country’s authoritarian leader is kissing the ring of President Donald Trump.This commentary represents the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the editorial position of WLRN.You can watch the video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN News’s YouTube channel at WLRN.org/Decoded.Subscribe to Tim’s Substack to receive his weekly digital commentaries at WLRN.org/AD.Sign up for his Americas Report newsletter at WLRN.org/newsletters.WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
8 Sept 2026
Trump's real crime isn't taking Venezuela's oil — it's blocking their elections
Opinion: The rotting effects of Venezuela's half century of oil corruption made its industry easy prey for President Trump. But the real outrage is blocking the re-democratization that could fix that very flaw.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that decades of corruption and mismanagement had made Venezuela’s nationalized oil industry ripe for the takeover President Trump just orchestrated. So the real outrage is that Trump intends to use the deal not just to hasten the flow of petroleum to the U.S. – but to stall the return of democracy to Venezuela.You can watch the video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN News’s YouTube channel at WLRN.org/Decoded.Subscribe to Tim’s Substack to receive his weekly digital commentaries at WLRN.org/AD.Sign up for his Americas Report newsletter at WLRN.org/newsletters.WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
21 Aug 2026
Democratic Socialists decry Trump — but disregard tyrants in Latin America
Opinion: Democratic Socialists will complain if right-wing President Trump tries to block their election in America — but they rarely if ever denounce left-wing election theft in Latin America.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says says that Democratic Socialists are hypocritical for questioning President Trump’s interventions in Latin America while ignoring the human rights repression brought on by left-wing regimes like Cuba’s, Venezuela’s and Nicaragua’s.You can watch the video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN’s YouTube channel on WLRN.org/Decoded.Subscribe to Tim’s Substack to receive his weekly digital commentaries and new episodes of Americas Decoded, at WLRN.org/AD.Sign up for his Americas Report newsletter on WLRN.org/newsletters.WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
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