Under the Shadow
Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that explores historical events by visiting significant places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration's policies in Latin America. Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox, the podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Episodes
Trailer: Under the Shadow
Support the production of this podcast now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brasilonfire/under-the-shadow-of-the-united-states-a-podcastHistory is often lost in the past. Hard to grasp. Difficult to explain. The story of the US role abroad is often muddled or forgotten.In this podcast series on US intervention and revolutionary resistance in Latin America, independent journalist Michael Fox m
The Beginning: Monroe and Migration
Two hundred years ago, on December 2, 1823, then-president James Monroe delivered his State of the Union address to Congress. In his address, he laid out what would become both one of the most consequential and devastating ideas for Latin America—the Monroe Doctrine.We look back on the history of the Monroe Doctrine and the devastating impact on the region. The list of US invasions, occupations, c
Guatemala. United Fruit.
In the second episode of Under the Shadow, host Michael Fox digs into the past to examine the outsized role one US banana corporation, United Fruit, played in shaping the history of modern Central America. While literally walking in the footsteps of those who worked at United Fruit’s former central Guatemalan operation in the town of Tiquisate, Fox goes in search of the legacy of the company today
Guatemala. The Disappeared.
In the third episode of Under the Shadow, host Michael Fox visits a memorial for the disappeared on the outskirts of the Guatemalan town of San Juan Comalapa. Then, he walks back in time to the 1980s, into the country’s genocide of Indigenous peoples—and the overwhelming support for the violence that came from the United States and then-President Ronald Reagan in the name of fighting the so-called
El Salvador. The Innocent Victims.
1980s El Salvador was ground zero for the US intervention in Central America. The United States would funnel over $6 billion US dollars to El Salvador in mostly military aid and police and security training throughout the country’s 12-year civil war, which would last from 1980 until 1992.The violence and the US support for the country's bloody authoritarian regimes would have a deadly cost, claimi
El Salvador. Rebel Radio.
Today, we look at Radio Venceremos — a grassroots guerrilla radio 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 t
Guatemala. Arévalo, Presidente.
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, w
El Salvador. Bukele, Presidente.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has been reelected. While the official results aren’t yet in, with 70% of the ballots counted, Bukele has received an astounding 83% of the votes. He declared victory on Sunday night over X (formerly Twitter).Under the Shadow host Michael Fox was on the ground for the election. He takes us there, and sits down for an in-depth conversation with Dartmouth assista
U.S.S. Honduras
In the 1980s, Honduras was ground zero for US operations in Central America—it was the primary point from which the US would wage its proxy wars and launch its interventionist operations across the region in the name of “fighting communism.” The 1954 CIA coup in Guatemala, which we explored in Episode 2 of Under the Shadow, was staged from Honduras. It was the main base of operations where US forc
Honduras, 2009. La Resistencia. (Part 1)
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 episode, host Michael Fox dives into the tremendous resistance to the 2009 coup. He also looks at the government of Manuel Zelaya, the Latin America Pink Tide movement of the 2000s, an
Honduras, 2009. Legacy of a Coup. (Part 2)
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
Honduras. Narcodictator. Convicted.
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 fr
Nicaragua. William Walker.
William Walker was a journalist, lawyer and physician from Nashville, Tennessee, who in 1855 invaded Nicaragua with a few dozen troops and conquered the country.At the time, he was one of thousands of private U.S. citizens who had their sights set on taking over foreign nations, all in the name of Manifest Destiny.In this episode, host Michael Fox follows in the footsteps of William Walker as he r
Nicaragua. Sandino.
In 1912, the United States invaded Nicaragua and began what would become the longest US occupation in Latin American history. The occupation would birth both a dictatorship and one of Latin America’s most important revolutionary heroes: Augusto Sandino.Sandino would wage a six-year-long guerrilla insurgency to rid Nicaragua of the US Marines. And he would win. The United States finally pulled out
Nicaragua, 1980s. Revolution. (Part 1)
The 1979 Nicaraguan revolution that overthrew a brutal U.S.-backed dictator ushered in a wave of hope in the Central American country. The new Sandinista government launched literacy and healthcare campaigns, carried out land reform and promised to improving the lives of all.But the United States, under president Ronald Reagan, feared the dominos would fall across Central America, and they unleash
Nicaragua, 1980s. Contra War. (Part 2)
In the early 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan launched a covert war to destroy the fledgling Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. It was brutal: Paramilitary war, CIA attacks, economic blockade, and more.It would wreak havoc on the country, killing tens of thousands and ravaging the economy. But an international solidarity movement stood up in response. And the Reagan government's hubris, and dr
Hollywood. Empire.
In the late 1980s, British film director Alex Cox spent several months in Nicaragua filming Walker, a movie about the U.S. filibuster who invaded and took over the country in the mid-1800s.As Cox puts it, he was trying to make “a revolutionary film in a revolutionary context." That did not go over well in Hollywood. The movie would get him blacklisted. Even today, you still can’t find the movie st
Chomsky on US Intervention in Central America
Noam Chomsky needs no introduction. He’s a celebrated linguist, who has long denounced U.S. empire at home and abroad. And he has a long relationship with Latin America.Chomsky’s 1985 book, Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace, was formative for many academics and activists analyzing the U.S. role in the region.In 2012, NACLA awarded him the Latin Ameri
The US hand in Costa Rica
In this episode of Under the Shadow, host Michael Fox takes us to Costa Rica to examine the so-called peaceful and democratic beacon in a region beset by dictatorships and violence, and the myths surrounding the elimination of the country's military, along with how the United States did its utmost to encourage San Jose to do its bidding.This is Episode 11.Under the Shadow is an investigative narra
The Panama Canal
Panama is, perhaps, the country in Central America that has suffered under the longest US shadow, right from the very beginning. The country and its famous canal would grow to become the United States's most important asset in the region. During World War II, the US installed as many as 100 military bases throughout Panama, and it was the base of Washington’s Latin American military training appar
Venezuela. Media War.
On Sunday, July 28th, President Nicolas Maduro won reelection there. According to the country’s national electoral council, he took 51% of votes over 44% for his rival Edmundo González Urrutia.But the opposition called fraud, claiming that they actually won the vote. Most international media have been on board with that narrative. In fact, the United States, and several other right-wing led Latin
The Legacy of Monroe
In December 1823, US president James Monroe delivered his State of the Union address in which he coined what would become known as the Monroe Doctrine. It was a framework that would later be used to legitimize US intervention up and down the hemisphere. But in those early days, Monroe’s statements were applauded by Latin American leaders as supporting their independence struggles. They were even e
US Invasion of Panama
On December 20, 1989, the United States invaded Panama with tens of thousands of troops. It was the largest US invasion since Vietnam. The first US military action since the fall of the Berlin Wall one month before. The testing ground for the Iraq Wars. The US invading forces destroyed 20,000 homes and killed hundreds of innocent Panamanians, dumping bodies into mass graves.And the United States g
Introducing: Stories of Resistance
Hi folks, this is Michael Fox, the host of Under the Shadow. If you've enjoyed this series, you will be happy to know that I’ll be bringing you Season 2 next year. Over the last year, I’ve been traveling across South America and this season will be a deep dive into the dictatorships of the 1970s, Plan Condor, the fight for justice and memory today, and of course, the role of the United States. But
Trump’s Piracy in the Caribbean
On September 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced from the Oval Office that the U.S. Navy had carried out an air strike on a boat in international waters. That boat strike rewrote U.S. policy for Latin America overnight. Three months later, 26 boats have been hit, killing more than 90 people.The United States has codified its justification for the boat strikes as part of a new National Securi
Understanding the US Invasion of Venezuela
In the early hours of Saturday morning, January 3rd, Venezuelans were awoken by the sounds of bombs falling. US helicopters whirled overhead. Explosions struck across the capital Caracas and in surrounding states. Hours of chaos, fear, and uncertainty.President Donald Trump would post over social media that the US had “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores amid a
Hands Off Latin America
Thousands have marched against Trump’s invasion of Venezuela. And leaders are leading the charge against U.S. intervention in the region, in some unexpected places. But Trump is now also pointing elsewhere in the region. Cuba, Colombia and Mexico are in his sights.Today, host Michael Fox looks at the response around the world to Trump's invasion of Venezuela. He also takes a deep dive into Trump’s
Debunking the US Narrative on Venezuela
In the hours after the Jan. 3 US invasion of Venezuela, social media was inundated with fake videos and images. Some showed Venezuelans holding huge rallies in favor of the US invasion. Others showed US troops landing or firing from helicopters. Others showed Maduro being kidnapped. Not all were AI. Some were old, showing anti-government rallies from years past. Or from other places—other invasion
When the Bombs Fell on Caracas
On January 3, 2026, the United States invaded Venezuela and kidnapped president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. It was the first U.S. invasion of a Latin American country since the 1989 invasion of Panama. The United States fired missiles and bombs that blew out windows and hit residential apartment blocks. Helicopters. Explosions. Firebombs. They cut electricity. They destroyed a medic
Homeland Empire: Venezuela to Minneapolis
Since the beginning of 2026, US forces have killed people in Caracas, Venezuela, on boat strikes in the Pacific, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is a new era, where US law enforcement kill people in plain sight and then blame it on the victims, accusing them of being agitators or terrorists — domestic or foreign — whether they are in fishing boats in the Caribbean and Pacific or protesting on
Trump’s War on Cuba: Crisis Made in the USA
Cuba is facing the greatest existential threat it has seen in decades. Trash is filling streets, because garbage trucks can’t make the rounds. Rolling blackouts, rising food prices and cuts to transportation, university classes, and hospitals amid a gas shortage, the likes of which the country hasn’t seen in years.US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other officials ha
Shield of the Americas: Trump's Donroe Coalition
At least 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are on board with Trump’s new military alliance. They are calling it the America’s Counter Cartel Coalition. Latin America’s top right-wing leaders are involved, including El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei. They met in Florida for the event on March 7th.The United States has promised to use lethal force to destroy carte
How the United States Stole Mexico
Increasingly, Trump has his sights set on Mexico—promising to send in US troops in the name of fighting cartels and advancing a so-called drug war policy. But Trump’s actions harken back to an era of US empire much, much older.See, Mexico has withstood a long history of foreign intervention by the Spanish, French, and multiple times by the United States.In 1848, Mexico lost more than half its terr
Trump Re-ups the Forever Drug War — How US Policy Fueled Mexico's Cartel Crisis
The U.S. has funneled billions into allies in the region under the guise of fighting the drug traffickers. It has ripped apart countries. And the violence has only gotten worse. Decades of fighting, with little to show for it except human rights abuses, displacement, and tens of thousands of dead and disappeared.In the last episode, host Michael Fox took you to Mexico City to walk through Mexico's
HondurasGate: Leaks Reveal Right-Wing Plot to Dismantle Latin American Left
On the morning of April 30, the Spanish website Diario Red and the television channel Canal Red began to release a series of leaked audio recordings between powerful right-wing figures in the Americas. They called it HondurasGate.By May 6, the outlets had released a total of 37 WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram messages. What they reveal is a shocking network pushing undermine leftist leaders in the
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