The 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders ranks Nicaragua last in Latin America, with the region’s worst press freedom record, placing 168th out of 180 countries evaluated. Cuba ranks 160th, Venezuela 159th, and El Salvador 143rd.
According to the Index’s methodology, these four countries share extreme restrictions on access to information, the criminalization of journalism and freedom of expression, and the enforcement and abuse of “national security” laws, creating what is classified as a “very serious” lack of press freedom.
Yet in Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and El Salvador, an ecosystem of independent media operating from exile continues to exist. These outlets represent the only reliable source of information for citizens and a vital means of overcoming censorship.
On Esta Semana, broadcast on CONFIDENCIAL’s YouTube channel due to television censorship in Nicaragua, we spoke with Pablo Díaz, director of Diario de Cuba; Luz Mely Reyes, director of Efecto Cocuyo in Venezuela; and Carlos Dada, director of El Faro in El Salvador, about the main challenges facing journalism in exile in Latin America: How do you report on a country where you no longer live, where even sources are afraid and under threat?
Pablo Díaz: “Independent Cuban journalism has exposed the true structure of the regime, which is controlled by a mafia-like economic corporation that dictates the country’s future. Today’s Cuban reality would be impossible to understand without independent Cuban journalism.”
Luz Mely Reyes: “In the early hours of January 3, when Nicolás Maduro was captured, we spent more than 10 consecutive hours providing live, real-time streaming coverage through a partnership between journalists in Venezuela and those in exile.”
Carlos Dada: “Last week, we published a report revealing how Nayib Bukele’s brother and wife lead a secret commission that decides who remains in prison and who is released. This is extremely valuable information, especially in a country with so many prisoners—it is information that serves the public.”
And then comes the million-dollar question: How can independent media become sustainable when exile is no longer an emergency, but a permanent condition?
All three agree on the answer: “It’s not sustainable, but these are the conditions under which we have to work. The fact that we have not given up, that we keep trying, is already a victory under these circumstances.”
According to the Reporters Without Borders report, Nicaragua’s media landscape is in ruins, marked by systematic repression and the complete criminalization of journalism and freedom of expression. Yet from exile, CONFIDENCIAL and Nicaragua’s independent press continue to overcome censorship.
How is journalism practiced from exile in Cuba, amid internet restrictions and state repression, to provide citizens with the news and information that the Cuban regime seeks to conceal?
Pablo Díaz, Director of Diario de Cuba: We are veterans when it comes to bringing free information to the island, and we rely heavily on new technologies, which help make the island less isolated. All independent media outlets operating in Cuba work through hybrid models. Decades of experience have shaped the way our newsrooms operate, with journalists both inside and outside the country. The editorial teams, servers, and technological infrastructure are based abroad, while contributors and sources remain inside Cuba. Some journalists publish under their real names, generally the better-known ones who have a certain degree of protection because any attack against them by the repressive apparatus would attract greater international attention. Others publish under pseudonyms. We work from the premise that we want to do journalism on the ground, not become martyrs or heroes.
Over the last twenty years, and I have witnessed this firsthand, independent Cuban journalism has made extraordinary progress. I remember when journalists were not professionals. They were activists, self-taught reporters, and information gatherers. Today, most are professionals or have formal journalism training. They practice every kind of journalism: data journalism, investigative reporting, narrative journalism. In doing so, they confront a regime that controls communication. This professionalization has enabled us to take advantage of every crack in the wall built against freedom of information on the island. Today, it would be impossible to understand Cuba’s reality without independent journalism.
Reporters Without Borders describes press freedom in Venezuela as being in a state of uncertainty following the fall of dictator Nicolás Maduro three months ago and the enactment of an amnesty for political prisoners. Has the situation for press freedom in Venezuela improved at all?
Luz Mely Reyes, Director of Efecto Cocuyo: “We are still under a de facto government because Maduro’s successor is his vice president. We are still living under a dictatorship. So I do not see a period of uncertainty. What I see is a reconfiguration of authoritarian rule. Venezuela moved up one place in the Index, and that is largely due to the release of more than twenty media workers who had been imprisoned. That is good news. What is less encouraging is that most of them remain subject to restrictive legal measures, the amnesty law has not been applied to everyone, and many people still have their passports suspended. According to Espacio Público, which monitors freedom of expression in Venezuela, this is not a period of uncertainty. There is still a great deal of fear.
In recent days, El País of Spain published a series of major reports from inside Venezuela. All but two of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity. When a source is unwilling to speak on the record, it is clear evidence that they are operating in a highly repressive environment. So yes, things have improved a little. But for me, the biggest change is that the dictator used to be a man, and now the dictator is a woman.”
Reporters Without Borders has documented the fastest and most severe decline in press freedom in El Salvador in recent years, ranking the country 143rd in the world. El Faro has been operating from exile since last year. Has exile affected the quality of the journalism you provide to your audience?
Carlos Dada, director of El Faro: That is a question I hope I will be in a better position to answer some time from now. In a few days, our entire newsroom will mark one year in exile, and we are learning from our colleagues in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, who have been navigating these circumstances longer than we have.
It is indeed the most dramatic deterioration. There is also the paradox that while the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua have for years been treated as international pariahs and recognized as dictatorships, President Bukele, even as he has attacked and harassed critical voices, has simultaneously become an international success story. That has made it easier for him to silence those critical voices without paying the reputational cost that the governments of the other countries have had to bear.
The fact that El Salvador is now among the five worst-ranked countries in Latin America, alongside our four countries and Peru, which ranks 144th, speaks to a dramatic decline in a country where we are also witnessing the end of our democratic era.
How do we practice journalism from exile? We are still learning. Above all, we are focused and alert to the fact that we cannot keep reporting on the country we left behind. That country is still alive, even if we are no longer there. We need to develop tools that allow us to stay connected to the country and continue telling the story of the lives being lived there, even in our absence. For El Faro, the newspaper I direct, this is the greatest challenge in our 27-year history: how do we report on a country where we no longer live? In that regard, you have a head start, and we are learning from your experience.
CONFIDENCIAL will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026. We were founded in 1996 during Nicaragua’s democratic transition, first as a printed newsletter and a television program. Today, we are a digital news outlet holding a dictatorship to account. For the past five years, we have operated under conditions of permanent exile. And the question we continue to ask ourselves is: How long will we remain in exile? Is Latin American journalism in exile sustainable?
Luz Mely Reyes: After spending three years completely in exile, it remains a challenge. We have spent a great deal of time thinking about how journalism can be practiced from exile. How do you tell the story of a country you are no longer in, when so many people are still living there? We have combined not only the skills and capabilities of the Efecto Cocuyo newsroom, but also those of journalists working inside Venezuela. One example was the live streaming coverage we provided in the early hours of January 3, when Nicolás Maduro was captured. We spent more than ten consecutive hours reporting in real time. The strategy we used was for those of us outside the country, who have an extra layer of protection because the authorities cannot simply knock on our door and arrest us, as they have done to others, to be the public faces of the coverage. But behind it all was a large team of journalists working not only in Caracas but across different regions of the country.
Another answer we have found has to do with technology. During the Southern Cone exiles of previous decades, journalists who relocated to host countries had to integrate into those societies and could no longer work for audiences back home. In our case, virtually all the work we do is still for our own countries, and that means there is at least some possibility of finding sources of funding. I do not believe it is sustainable, but people always see exile as temporary, and history has shown us that it often is not.
The Cuban press has decades of experience operating from exile. What lessons can be learned from the persistence of Cuban independent media to achieve sustainability in exile?
Pablo Díaz: Digital media around the world is facing profound changes. Artificial intelligence is transforming the industry, and sustainability is a challenge everywhere. On top of those global challenges, journalism in exile faces additional obstacles that make sustainability even more difficult.
In Cuba’s case, there is no magic formula. Much of independent Cuban journalism is sustained through international cooperation mechanisms and organizations that defend freedom of expression. But we also diversify through other channels. We work with partner organizations, offer training courses and workshops, take on special assignments, produce content for other platforms, maintain reader support programs so audiences can help fund our outlets, seek advertising revenue, and organize events that sometimes generate income. Journalists themselves often have to diversify their work as well. Newsrooms share resources, and reporters do not just produce daily journalism. Many also take on other jobs to make a living. In general, it is not sustainable, but these are the conditions under which we have to work.
El Faro is one of the newest members of this group of Latin American media outlets operating in exile. Other Salvadoran journalists find themselves in the same situation, but they also bring a long track record and extensive experience in investigative reporting in El Salvador. Is that kind of journalism sustainable under these new conditions? Is there an understanding in the international community that media in exile requires different forms of support in order to remain sustainable?
Carlos Dada: It is not a simple answer because your question is not a simple yes-or-no question. I do think there is much greater awareness among foundations and international organizations of the need to support journalism in exile, because there is more and more of it around the world, not just in Latin America. At the same time, many of those same foundations are now under direct attack from governments that are increasingly hostile to critical voices. These governments do not like independent media, nor do they like the support we receive. Under a dictatorship, pressure on the press is not only political, judicial, or fiscal. It is also economic. It is about trying to suffocate every source of income you have from every possible angle. That makes all of this much more difficult.
I disagree somewhat with Luz Mely, perhaps because I am more optimistic, when she says that exile is not temporary. We are exiled from our countries because political conditions make it impossible for us to be there. But the greatest lesson of history is that these periods in our countries’ political lives also come to an end. This becomes something like a long-distance race. We hope to still be on the track and running when this period finally ends. I often think of something our colleague José Rubén Zamora of Guatemala likes to say: “Under political conditions like ours, journalism is not a 100-meter sprint. It is a marathon. You have to be patient and know how to manage your energy if you want to reach the finish line.”
When this chapter of our national history comes to an end, we want to still be here. But that requires reinventing ourselves in many ways, not only in how we report, but also in how we secure funding. The answer to whether it is sustainable seems, by all indications, to be no. But as Pablo said, this is the reality we face, and this is the work that needs to be done. We have to find a way to make it sustainable.
You have found a way to keep going until now. You have been doing this much longer than we have, despite all indications that it was not sustainable, and yet here you are. And it is not only you. Our colleagues in other countries continue the daily effort to survive and make it to the end of the month. The simple fact that you have not given up, that you keep trying, is already a victory under these circumstances.
“And by the way, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone at CONFIDENCIAL on your 30th anniversary. You have been a reference point for the region. In many ways, you have helped show the way forward. I remember when you were a printed newsletter, and now you are among the most respected and enduring news organizations in our field.
So congratulations. I hope you celebrate this milestone proudly, despite the circumstances, and take great pride in everything you have accomplished.”
Let us now look at the other side of the coin. What would be the consequences if this journalism in exile were to disappear from societies already bombarded by disinformation and official propaganda, systems that are actively creating information vacuums? Are we producing journalism that remains useful to citizens under those conditions?
Pablo Díaz: Absolutely. I will say it again: Cuba’s reality today would be impossible to understand without independent Cuban journalism. International media outlets and news agencies provide coverage that is often incomplete and unbalanced because they respond to the agendas of other countries or other audiences. The watchdog role played by independent Cuban journalism is therefore essential, especially in a still-totalitarian environment with no freedom of expression, no institutional checks on power, and where, by constitutional mandate, all media outlets belong to the state.
Independent Cuban journalism has produced numerous investigations. It has exposed the true structure of the regime, which is ultimately controlled by a mafia-like economic corporation that is the real force shaping the country’s future.
It is also a form of journalism that has become increasingly interpretive, including in its day-to-day reporting. It goes beyond simply reporting the news. It explains what is happening, connects the dots, and gives Cuban citizens more tools to make informed decisions. It embraces a pluralistic and pro-democracy perspective. It investigates, interprets reality, covers daily events, and reveals a society that the regime’s propaganda apparatus is determined to conceal above all else.
Without that journalism, Cubans would struggle to understand the reality in which they live.
That also includes coverage of neighboring countries and developments in Venezuela and Central America. We devote considerable attention to Latin America for the same reason: to provide citizens with the information they need.
Luz Mely Reyes: I want to join in congratulating CONFIDENCIAL, but also El Faro and the journalists working in Cuba. This relates to the sense of hope that Carlos Dada mentioned earlier. I remain optimistic. When we talk about refusing to give up or throw in the towel, one of the examples that always comes to mind is Cuba. I would say: if, after sixty years under these conditions, Cuba receives even a small opening, even a little more freedom, new initiatives immediately emerge. In Venezuela, where the ground is already prepared for that possibility, the impact could be even greater. Many of us in exile from Venezuela have managed to build alliances, and that has been critically important, particularly with journalists who remain on the ground. We have distributed risk among different actors, and that is something authoritarian systems often struggle to understand. Of course, we have faced countless challenges. People sometimes ask whether you know how to work under pressure. And you think: well, yes. I have worked through coups d’état, crossed borders to continue reporting, had my home raided, faced economic suffocation, and reinvented business models more times than I can count. That experience is also a contribution in itself.
The connections that have emerged between journalists in exile, journalists working under closed regimes, and journalists working for media organizations in free countries are fundamental. Much of that collaboration has been made possible precisely because so many of us have been forced into exile.
What do El Faro’s sources and audiences say? Has trust in a media outlet operating from exile remained strong enough for it to continue producing journalism that serves the public?
Carlos Dada: I do not think El Salvador is a typical case, or one that can easily explain situations beyond El Salvador, because it is a very popular dictatorship. Nayib Bukele still enjoys approval ratings above 80 percent. And what is typical of any dictatorship is the effort to polarize society to such an extent that anyone who is not with the regime is portrayed as an enemy of the people. That narrative is particularly effective when a dictatorship enjoys broad popular support. It also tends to polarize public trust and perceptions of credibility. Among the people who continue to read us, our credibility has probably increased significantly. At the same time, there are others who, no matter how much evidence you present, keep asking where the evidence is and continue accusing you of making everything up.
Last week, we published a report revealing how Nayib Bukele’s brother and Bukele’s wife lead a secret commission that decides who stays in prison and who is released. These are two people who hold no official position within the country’s justice system, yet they are deciding the fate of tens of thousands of people detained in recent years in the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world.
This is extremely valuable information, especially in a country with so many prisoners. It is information that serves the public. Otherwise, we would not be doing it. This kind of reporting is about a country where we no longer live, and it illustrates very clearly our determination to remain useful to citizens despite being in exile.
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This story was originally published by the CONFIDENCIAL and has been featured on our blog with the appropriate permission.