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Under the Shadow Update 3 | Honduras. Hernández, Convicted Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

A New York court has found former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández guilty of drug trafficking and weapons possession. It’s a huge verdict that will likely see the former president imprisoned for life.

In the last episode of Under The Shadow, host Michael Fox looked deeply at Hernández’s time as president from 2014 to 2022, which many came to call a narco-dictatorship. He won office in a fraudulent election, consolidated unprecedented power, pushed a neoliberal sell-off, and carried out widespread human rights abuses.
In this Update 3, Fox looks at the New York trial that convicted him. What went down, what it meant, and what it means going forward for Honduras. And most important, what was missing — namely the role of the United States and Canada in propping up the Hernández regime.
For this update, we speak with Karen Spring, the co-coordinator of the Honduras Solidarity Network and host of the Honduras Now podcast. She was in the New York courtroom throughout Hernandez’s trial.
Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened — a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox. Recorded in San Salvador, El Salvador.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Guests: Karen Spring

Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Ep. 7 | 2009 Honduras. Part II: Legacy of a Coup Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

In June 2009, Honduras faced a devastating coup that shattered the country’s fragile democracy and sunk the country into violence, repression, and a decade-long narco-dictatorship.
But the people fought back.
In this continuation of Episode 7, host Michael Fox looks at the fallout of the 2009 coup in Honduras, walking from 2009 into the present. He takes us to Tegucigalpa to dive into the fraudulent U.S.-backed elections that ushered in a narco-dictatorship, as well as the resistance movement that, after years of struggle, ultimately did what it set out to do: remove the coup regime and return democracy to Honduras.
This is Part 2 of a two-part episode looking at the 2009 coup in Honduras and the aftermath.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Guests:
Bertha Oliva, COFADEH
Grahame Russell, Rights Action
Adrienne Pine
Felix Molina
Jesse Freeston
Karen Spring
Alex Main, CEPR
Karla Lara
Edited by Heather Gies.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck.
Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox
Click here to watch Jesse Freeston’s documentary, Resistencia, about the campesino struggle in the Aguan Valley.
Karen Spring covered the New York trial of Honduran former president Juan Orlando Hernández. Visit Honduras Now for updates, or follow @springkj and @HondurasNow on Twitter.

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Under the Shadow Ep. 7 | 2009 Honduras. Part I: La Resistencia. Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

In June 2009, a devastating coup shattered Honduras’s fragile democracy and sunk the country into violence, repression, and a decade-long narco-dictatorship.
But the people fought back.
In this episode, host Michael Fox dives into the tremendous resistance to the 2009 coup. He looks at the government of ousted president Manuel Zelaya, the Latin America Pink Tide movement of the 2000s, and the push back against Zelaya from Honduran elites and the United States.
This is Part 1 of a two-part episode looking at the 2009 coup in Honduras and the aftermath.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Guests:
Bertha Oliva, COFADEH
Grahame Russell, Rights Action
Adrienne Pine
Felix Molina
Jesse Freeston
Karen Spring
Alex Main, CEPR
Edited by Heather Gies.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck.
Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox
Watch Jesse Freeston’s documentary, Resistencia, about the campesino struggle in the Aguan Valley. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/resistenciacp
Karen Spring is currently covering the New York trial of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández. Visit Honduras Now for updates, or follow @springkj and @HondurasNow on Twitter.

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Ep. 6 | USS Honduras Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

In the 1980s, Honduras was ground zero for U.S. operations in Central America. It was a base of operations for the U.S.-trained, funded, and backed Contras, in their war against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. And it was a staging ground for U.S. military involvement and CIA missions in the region.

Within the country, that meant using the same strategy seen throughout the rest of the region: state repression, disappearances, torture, and the overwhelming presence of the United States.

In this episode, host Michael Fox visits Honduran family members of the disappeared and the walls of the largest U.S. military base in Central America.

Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.

In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Guests:
Bertha Oliva, COFADEH
Adrienne Pine
Karla Lara
Grahame Russell, Rights Action

Edited by Heather Gies.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck.
Voice Actors: Andalusia K. Soloff
Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Update 2 | Bukele, Presidente Feb 07, 2024

Show notes

El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele has been reelected. While the official results aren’t yet in, with 70 percent of the ballots counted, Bukele has received an astounding 83 percent of the votes. He declared victory on Sunday night over X, formerly Twitter.
Host Michael Fox was on the ground for the election. He takes us there and sits down for an in-depth conversation with Dartmouth assistant professor of Latin American Studies Jorge Cuellar.
They look at the vote. Concerns for the country’s democracy. Bukele’s reelection, his image, plans, and what it all means going forward.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.
Recorded in San Salvador, El Salvador.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Guests: Jorge Cuellar.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck.
Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox
Use of Michael’s election day report, courtesy of the The World.

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Update 1 | Arévalo, Presidente Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

Guatemala's new president Bernardo Arévalo was inaugurated on January 14. But it did not come off without a hitch. Outgoing opposition lawmakers did their best to try to stymie the swearing-in of Arévalo and some of his party members. Arévalo’s supporters rallied in Guatemala City.
As we looked at in Episode 2, Bernardo Arévalo is the son of Guatemala's first democratic leader Juan José Arévalo, who ushered in the Guatemalan Spring. Bernardo Arévalo has promised to lift Guatemala once again, but… even after winning the election, he faced constant legal maneuvers, led by the attorney general, that aimed to overturn the results and block his inauguration.
In this update to our reporting on Guatemala, host Michael Fox speaks with political scientist Jo-Marie Burt. She was on the ground in Guatemala City for Arévalo’s inauguration. In this update, she takes us there, and looks at what it means for Arévalo’s incoming government.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened — a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Guests: Jo-Marie Burt

Edited by Heather Gies.

Sound design by Gustavo Türck.

Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Ep. 5 | El Salvador. Rebel Radio. Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

Today, we look at Radio Venceremos—a grassroots guerrilla radio station that broadcast throughout El Salvador’s Civil War, denounced violent state repression, and inspired a nation.

In this episode, Michael Fox travels to San Salvador, where he visits the Museum of Word and Image, the home of the archives of Radio Venceremos. He hears from former members of the radio about the revolutionary project and the U.S. and Salvadoran military attempts to shut it down.

We look at what the museum means today, and also at its struggle to protect and preserve the past.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Guests:
Carlos Henríquez Consalvi ("Santiago")
Lucio Vásquez ("Chiyo")
Jorge E. Cuéllar
Michael Beattie
Karla Lara
Edited by Heather Gies.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck https://twitter.com/coletivocatarse
Voice actors: Marc Steiner and Jasial Noor
Theme music by Monte Perdido https://open.spotify.com/artist/0nexDyQCZI89JH8zsYu5wa.
Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Chiyo and host Michael Fox performed two original songs that appear in this podcast. You can listen here and here.
You can read Chiyo’s book, Siete Gorriones, here: https://www.academia.edu/43531929/Siete_Gorriones
Documentary sound and Radio Venceremos archives and images are courtesy of the Museum of Word and Image. You can visit them at https://museo.com.sv/ or follow on Instagram @museodelapalabraylaimagen and Twitter @tejiendomemoria.
Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Ep. 4 | El Salvador. The Innocent Victims. Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

1980s El Salvador was ground zero for the U.S. intervention in Central America. The United States funneled over $6 billion to El Salvador in mostly military aid and police and security training throughout the country’s 12-year civil war, which lasted from 1980 until 1992.
The violence and the U.S. support for the country's bloody authoritarian regimes had a deadly cost, claiming the lives of and tens of thousands of innocent victims.
In this episode, journalist Michael Fox heads to San Salvador, where he visits a memorial for the innocent victims and looks at the legacy of El Salvador's armed conflict today.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Edited by Heather Gies.

Sound design by Gustavo Türck: twitter.com/coletivocatarse

Theme music by Monte Perdido: open.spotify.com/artist/0nexDyQCZI89JH8zsYu5wa. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow: www.patreon.com/mfox

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Ep. 3 | Guatemala. The Disappeared. Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, host Michael Fox visits a memorial for the disappeared on the outskirts of the Guatemalan town of San Juan Comalapa. He walks back in time to the 1980s, into the country’s genocide of Indigenous peoples, uncovering the overwhelming support from the United States and then President Ronald Reagan in the name of fighting the so-called “communist threat.”
Between 1962 and 1996, 200,000 Guatemalans were killed and 45,000 were forcibly disappeared. For the majority of families, the whereabouts of those lost loved ones are still unknown, even decades after security forces abducted them. Most of the victims of the conflict were Indigenous. Most of the perpetrators were members of government forces.
We also look at the upcoming inauguration of Bernardo Arévalo—the son of the country’s first democratic president—who is generating hope across the country. Arévalo is expected to be sworn in on January 14, 2024.
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives and left deep marks on the world.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Edited by Heather Gies.

Sound design by Gustavo Türck: twitter.com/coletivocatarse

Theme music by Monte Perdido: open.spotify.com/artist/0nexDyQCZI89JH8zsYu5wa. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Watch the clip from Democracy Now! looking at the 200th Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSO-t49t198
Support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow: www.patreon.com/mfox

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

Under the Shadow Ep. 2 | Guatemala. United Fruit. Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, host Michael Fox looks at the outsized role of the U.S. banana corporation, United Fruit, in Central America. You literally can't talk about the history of Central America in the 20th Century without mentioning it. Fox goes in search of the legacy of the company today. He travels to the Guatemalan town of Tiquisate, which was built by the company. We dig into the past and the 1954 CIA coup, which overthrew the democratically elected president in the name of U.S. corporate interests.
We also look at the upcoming inauguration of Bernardo Arévalo—the son of the country’s first democratic president—who is set to be sworn in on January 14, 202
Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives and left deep marks on the world.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Edited by Heather Gies.

Sound design by Gustavo Türck: twitter.com/coletivocatarse

Theme music by Monte Perdido: open.spotify.com/artist/0nexDyQCZI89JH8zsYu5wa. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Read NACLA: nacla.org
Support NACLA: nacla.org/donate
Follow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA

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