Opinion: President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio seem to have tuned out Venezuelan and Cuban exile leaders — as well as their own rhetoric about blocking China's influence in the Americas.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that for all the Trump administration’s rhetoric about blocking China’s influence in the Americas, in both Cuba and Venezuela the U.S. is pushing scenarios that indulge in China’s m.o. — its hybrid system of capitalism and authoritarianism – and go against the principles of those exile communities.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.

Opinion: As the U.S. cuts off global oil to Cuba, the island's communist regime could get President Trump to back off by offering something he's showing special interest in: dictatorship instruction. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett suggests that with his failed attempts to take control of U.S. elections, lock up political foes and use federal law enforcement to take over cities, Trump would welcome some tyranny tutoring from his more efficient Cuban counterparts. 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.

Opinion: President Trump may be following a brazen and brutish version of the Monroe Doctrine on issues like Greenland — but the world shouldn't be shocked that Monroe still lingers in U.S. policy. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett explains that the idea President James Monroe first laid out two centuries ago – in reaction to Europe’s colonial actions in the Western hemisphere – has always informed U.S. policy in the Americas. 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.

Opinion: President Trump's so-called "law enforcement" capture of Venezuela's dictator Nicolás Maduro will be regarded a failure if it doesn't mean democracy restoration — which may require more U.S. military force. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett warns that in Venezuela Trump may have removed the brutal dictator but he’s left the brutal dictatorship intact. The socialist regime’s top goons, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, remain entrenched in power, while Trump has sidelined opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. It’s a worrying sign that, unlike the country’s oil, a return to democracy in Venezuela is low on his agenda. 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.

Opinion: President Trump and his deportation crusade. Nicolas Maduro and his disastrous dictatorship. Haiti’s gang confederation and its evil violence. As another year of migrant crisis in the Americas draws to a close – who was the cruelest leader of all? On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett t looks at the leaders most responsible for migrant misery and refugee wretchedness in the New World in 2025. Inspired by the monstrous Biblical figure King Herod, it’s time for his second annual Herod of the Hemisphere awards. You can watch the 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.

Opinion: President Trump's pardon of former Honduran president and convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández follows a time-honored exile doctrine: that Latin American conservatives are never guilty. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says Hernández is the mirror image of reviled Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro – but the key difference is: Maduro is left-wing, a socialist. As his pardon of 1,500 MAGA Jan. 6 rioters proved, Trump believes that conservatives’ felonies can and should be erased. So, corrupt and authoritarian right-wing leaders get a pass. You can watch the 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.

Opinion: Haiti's remarkable qualification for the 2026 soccer World Cup won't rescue it from the country's gangs — but it reminds us that Haiti undoubtedly is worth saving from that monstrous evil.Qualifying for next summer’s World Cup – it’s first in over half a century – won’t rescue Haiti from the clutches of the gangs ruling and terrorizing a growing portion of the county.But on the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says that, as the U.S. and the U.N. press onward with a new solution to gang governance, it ought to remind the international community that it needs to get serious about sending police or even military backup into Haiti.You can watch the 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.

Opinion: Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister should be applauded for steering away from Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro — but questioned for steering into President Donald Trump's potential legal whirlpool.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar appears to have made the right choice in turning her back on Maduro and letting U.S. warships dock in Trinidad as they target alleged narco-boats from Venezuela.But will she end up sucked into the serious legal issues that Trump — and she, if only by association — may face for subjecting alleged civilian criminals to military execution?You can watch the 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.

Opinion: María Corina Machado deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for leading Venezuela’s nonviolent democracy movement — but what does it mean if that effort’s success relies on a U.S. military incursion?Machado’s win took place hours after President Donald Trump announced his Gaza peace deal – a combination that shows the power of the peaceful path. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says there is a “dissonance between the concord we hope is emerging in the rubble of Gaza and the conflict we know is brewing in the waters off Venezuela.”He argues that any military incursion into Venezuela could send the region the message that, in the end, nonviolent democracy efforts matter less than the promise of yanqui military salvation.You can watch the 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.

Opinion: The hysteria over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl gig that we’re hearing from English-only militants shows a disregard for America's historical reality — but so does a Spanish-only mindset that many immigrants here still embrace.On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett argues that that the controversy over giving the coveted half-time show to an artist who sings only in Spanish is not because America Firsters think not enough Americans speak Spanish — it’s because they are terrified that more than enough do.But he says he is just as tired of watching Spanish-only immigrants act like there’s nothing wrong with not speaking a word of English in the U.S.You can watch the 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.