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Americas Decoded
Hosted by Tim Padgett

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.

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.

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  • President Donald Trump speaks with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington.
    Venezuela, Mexico: Trump’s cartel military threats
    Opinion: President Donald Trump is threatening to unleash the U.S. military on drug cartels in Mexico and Venezuela — but sending troops to take down traffickers usually ends badly.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, Tim Padgett looks at the longstanding U.S. urge to have the military fight Latin America’s drug cartels - and how Trump’s similar ‘shock and awe’ approach to D.C. is also misguided. Failed exploits by the Mexican military have only worsened the problems there and abroad, while any militarized U.S. counternarcotics operation in Venezuela could lead to war — since the military itself is its leading drug cartel.You can watch the full video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN’s YouTube channel on youtube.com/@WLRN or on WLRN.org/Decoded. You can read Tim’s digital commentary along with WLRN’s coverage of Americas news on WLRN.org/americas. Sign up for the Americas Report newsletter on WLRN.org/newsletters. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
  • Maverick 'Miracle': Argentine President Javier Milei, wearing a polo helmet decorated with the Argentine flag, greets supporters during the opening of an agricultural exposition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 26, 2025.
    Milei’s Argentina shows Trump triumph without tariffs
    OPINION: Donald Trump admires Argentine President Javier Milei — so why is Trump pushing tariffs and economic policies so divorced from the ‘Milei Miracle’? WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett continues to grimace at Milei’s vulgar and reactionary demagoguery, but admits that “his economic orthodoxy crusade has brought welcome order to Argentina’s fiscal chaos” and shows Trump that populist bullies can triumph without tariffs. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, his online commentary series, Padgett asks, “Why is our president pursuing an economic strategy so divorced from what’s made his Argentine amigo so successful?”