Julio Ricardo Varela
@juliorvarela.com
Award-winning journalist. Senior Producer/Strategist, FreePress.net. Founder, TheLatinoNewsletter.org (2024), LatinoRebels.com (2011). MS.now columnist. Opinions here are mine only and no one else's 🇵🇷
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
With news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is officially dissolving, I'm resharing this piece on why the possibility and promise of public media is still worth defending. And why we need to be creating new blueprints and a vision that goes far beyond what we just lost.
Let’s Make the End of CPB the Start of Public Media’s Revival
The fight for public media’s future is a fight for democracy and against authoritarianism.
pressingissues.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:37 PM
With news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is officially dissolving, I'm resharing this piece on why the possibility and promise of public media is still worth defending. And why we need to be creating new blueprints and a vision that goes far beyond what we just lost.
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
A special edition of @thelatinonewsletter.org is new from @juanescalante.com
The Long Road Ahead for Venezuela
Here are my three big questions on this developing situation
The Long Road Ahead for Venezuela
Here are my three big questions on this developing situation
The Long Road Ahead For Venezuela
Here are my three big questions on this developing situation. I encourage everyone to keep them top of mind whenever discussing Venezuela’s future.
thelatinonewsletter.org
January 4, 2026 at 10:25 PM
A special edition of @thelatinonewsletter.org is new from @juanescalante.com
The Long Road Ahead for Venezuela
Here are my three big questions on this developing situation
The Long Road Ahead for Venezuela
Here are my three big questions on this developing situation
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
Via @washingtonpost.com
"President Donald Trump said Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club that the United States will control Venezuela for an unspecified period after a U.S. operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife."
"President Donald Trump said Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club that the United States will control Venezuela for an unspecified period after a U.S. operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife."
January 3, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Via @washingtonpost.com
"President Donald Trump said Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club that the United States will control Venezuela for an unspecified period after a U.S. operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife."
"President Donald Trump said Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club that the United States will control Venezuela for an unspecified period after a U.S. operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife."
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
Following U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and the apprehension of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, various military planes can be seen at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base. #PuertoRico
January 3, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Following U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and the apprehension of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, various military planes can be seen at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base. #PuertoRico
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
Live updates: Trump confirms U.S. strikes on Venezuela, says Maduro was 'captured' via @nbcnews.com
Live updates: Trump confirms U.S. strikes on Venezuela, says Maduro was 'captured'
Follow live updates as a series of explosions are heard around Venezuela's capital after a military buildup in the Caribbean, tanker seizures, and Trump pressing President Nicolás Maduro to step down.
www.nbcnews.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Live updates: Trump confirms U.S. strikes on Venezuela, says Maduro was 'captured' via @nbcnews.com
I have never been more excited about where @thelatinonewsletter.org will go next, although I am also very aware that we are only as good as the work we publish and the trust we build with our subscribers, followers, supporters, reporters, producers, editors, and contributors.
Here is @thelatinonewsletter.org's 2026 strategic plan by Julio Ricardo Varela @juliorvarela.com
What The Latino Newsletter Will Accomplish in 2026
I have never been more excited about where The Latino Newsletter will go next, although I am also very aware that we are only as good as the work we publish and the trust we build with our subscribers...
thelatinonewsletter.org
January 2, 2026 at 2:13 AM
I have never been more excited about where @thelatinonewsletter.org will go next, although I am also very aware that we are only as good as the work we publish and the trust we build with our subscribers, followers, supporters, reporters, producers, editors, and contributors.
The important things you need to know today.
REMEMBER
Feliz Año Nuevo = Happy New Year
Feliz Ano Nuevo = Happy New Butthole
Feliz Año Nuevo = Happy New Year
Feliz Ano Nuevo = Happy New Butthole
December 31, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The important things you need to know today.
Stay for the hair. Seriously.
Here is @thelatinonewsletter.org founder Julio Ricardo Varela @juliorvarela.com with one final year-end message to support our work.
2025 was a fantastic year for us, and you can help us start off 2026 right! Happy New Year! ¡Feliz año nuevo!
Give here => bit.ly/donatetln
2025 was a fantastic year for us, and you can help us start off 2026 right! Happy New Year! ¡Feliz año nuevo!
Give here => bit.ly/donatetln
December 31, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Stay for the hair. Seriously.
New from @attorneynora.bsky.social in the NYTimes Opinion section.
NEW: Free Press' @attorneynora.bsky.social writes on @nytimes.com...
"My Trump's relentless campaign to stifle dissent work in concert in their frequency and their volume."
Read and share: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
"My Trump's relentless campaign to stifle dissent work in concert in their frequency and their volume."
Read and share: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
December 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
New from @attorneynora.bsky.social in the NYTimes Opinion section.
A joy to see how well @thelatinonewsletter.org did this year.
The December 30 edition of @thelatinonewsletter.org is by @juliorvarela.com
Some of The Latino Newsletter‘s 2025 Data Wins
A list of key audience and engagement metrics from our website
Some of The Latino Newsletter‘s 2025 Data Wins
A list of key audience and engagement metrics from our website
Some of The Latino Newsletter‘s 2025 Data Wins
We are in the 82nd week of The Latino Newsletter, and over the last couple of days, I spent some time reviewing our web data from Google Analytics, MSN, and Beehiiv, which launched its own analytics d...
thelatinonewsletter.org
December 31, 2025 at 3:59 AM
A joy to see how well @thelatinonewsletter.org did this year.
Most fun Arsenal half of the year. Next!
December 30, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Most fun Arsenal half of the year. Next!
299 supporters.
Over $20K in donations.
We are on our way to make 2026 a stellar year for The Latino Newsletter.
Help support us as we create new lanes for journalists who cover our communities.
Over $20K in donations.
We are on our way to make 2026 a stellar year for The Latino Newsletter.
Help support us as we create new lanes for journalists who cover our communities.
Support The Latino Newsletter | The Latino Newsletter
Your tax-deductible donation helps us continue our independent journalism.
the-latino-newsletter.monkeypod.io
December 29, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Let's do it.
December 24, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Let's do it.
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
“If you’re doing immigration law, you’re protecting the livelihood of individual people — but you’re also working inside a very broken system.”
@andreaflores.bsky.social reflects on helping create #DACA and how she holds lawmakers accountable.
New podcast episode —> www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXe5...
@andreaflores.bsky.social reflects on helping create #DACA and how she holds lawmakers accountable.
New podcast episode —> www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXe5...
December 22, 2025 at 10:45 PM
“If you’re doing immigration law, you’re protecting the livelihood of individual people — but you’re also working inside a very broken system.”
@andreaflores.bsky.social reflects on helping create #DACA and how she holds lawmakers accountable.
New podcast episode —> www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXe5...
@andreaflores.bsky.social reflects on helping create #DACA and how she holds lawmakers accountable.
New podcast episode —> www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXe5...
‘I ultimately had to comply’: ‘60 Minutes’ EP faces fallout after Bari Weiss shelves story via @washingtonpost.com
‘I ultimately had to comply’: ‘60 Minutes’ EP faces fallout after Bari Weiss shelves story
CBS News postponed a “60 Minutes” segment about El Salvador’s CECOT prison one day before it was set to air because the Trump administration declined to participate.
wapo.st
December 22, 2025 at 10:07 PM
‘I ultimately had to comply’: ‘60 Minutes’ EP faces fallout after Bari Weiss shelves story via @washingtonpost.com
We are at 20k to our goal
of 50k. If you make @thelatinonewsletter.org part of your daily routine, we would love your support this year!
Give at bit.ly/SupportTLN
of 50k. If you make @thelatinonewsletter.org part of your daily routine, we would love your support this year!
Give at bit.ly/SupportTLN
December 21, 2025 at 3:33 PM
We are at 20k to our goal
of 50k. If you make @thelatinonewsletter.org part of your daily routine, we would love your support this year!
Give at bit.ly/SupportTLN
of 50k. If you make @thelatinonewsletter.org part of your daily routine, we would love your support this year!
Give at bit.ly/SupportTLN
40 editions of PressingIssues.org!
After a near-impossible year, we’re lucky to have incredible allies and independent journalists who refuse to cower and capitulate.
So I asked a bunch of colleagues and contributors to share the work of some of their favorite muckrackers and good troublemakers.
Last Pressing Issues of 2025!
So I asked a bunch of colleagues and contributors to share the work of some of their favorite muckrackers and good troublemakers.
Last Pressing Issues of 2025!
Pressing Issues Holiday Gift Guide
We’ve (almost) made it to the end of 2025. And we couldn’t have done it without a little help from our friends and favorite writers.
pressingissues.org
December 20, 2025 at 2:09 AM
40 editions of PressingIssues.org!
This @thelatinonewsletter.org episode with @andreaflores.bsky.social is one of my favorites. The team did a fantastic job with this one.
New from @juliorvarela.com for @thelatinonewsletter.org
Season 2, Episode 7 our podcast is out!
Andrea Flores @andreaflores.bsky.social on Redesigning the System
Season 2, Episode 7 our podcast is out!
Andrea Flores @andreaflores.bsky.social on Redesigning the System
Andrea Flores on Redesigning the System
This is the 80th week of The Latino Newsletter, and I am writing a couple of hours after we held our biannual Board of Directors meeting. I write from a place of joy and gratitude for another incredib...
thelatinonewsletter.org
December 20, 2025 at 2:07 AM
This @thelatinonewsletter.org episode with @andreaflores.bsky.social is one of my favorites. The team did a fantastic job with this one.
The work that @thelatinonewsletter.org San Juan Bureau Deputy Editor @vaquero2xl.bsky.social has been stellar. Here is Carlos' latest.
New from @vaquero2xl.bsky.social for @thelatinonewsletter.org
Puerto Rico Signs Bill Critics Say Is a Threat to Public Information
Law 156-2025 became official this past weekend
Puerto Rico Signs Bill Critics Say Is a Threat to Public Information
Law 156-2025 became official this past weekend
Puerto Rico Signs Bill Critics Say Is a Threat to Public Information
SAN JUAN — Over the weekend, Governor Jenniffer González-Colón signed a controversial bill into law, placing new restrictions on access to public information through records requests. Critics say that...
thelatinonewsletter.org
December 19, 2025 at 2:40 PM
The work that @thelatinonewsletter.org San Juan Bureau Deputy Editor @vaquero2xl.bsky.social has been stellar. Here is Carlos' latest.
Cool to see my @freepress.bsky.social colleague @attorneynora.bsky.social in my hometown paper.
"Acts of violence and the kind of grief that follow are not moments to be exploited. And yet, leaders in the highest levels of office trot out falsities and unproven theories that sway people because they're emotional in moments after violent acts." - @attorneynora.bsky.social via @bostonglobe.com
‘A dangerous road’: Misinformation is spreading about the Brown University shooter - The Boston Globe
In the absence of a clear narrative, misinformation about the shooter and any possible motives has run rampant.
www.bostonglobe.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Cool to see my @freepress.bsky.social colleague @attorneynora.bsky.social in my hometown paper.
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
tired: a federal moratorium blocking states from regulating AI
wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs
me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US
www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...
wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs
me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US
www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...
The Real Race for an AI Moratorium: Stopping Data Centers | TechPolicy.Press
Cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake on data center development, writes Jenna Ruddock.
www.techpolicy.press
December 17, 2025 at 10:41 PM
tired: a federal moratorium blocking states from regulating AI
wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs
me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US
www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...
wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs
me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US
www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
New from @juliorvarela.com for @thelatinonewsletter.org
Puerto Rican Nonprofit Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Jersey City Free Public Library
The Boricua Community Building Center alleges discrimination after its executive director was banned from all library branches
Puerto Rican Nonprofit Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Jersey City Free Public Library
The Boricua Community Building Center alleges discrimination after its executive director was banned from all library branches
Puerto Rican Nonprofit Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Jersey City Free Public Library
A Puerto Rican nonprofit in Jersey City has filed a civil rights complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, alleging that the city’s public library system discriminated against the organi...
thelatinonewsletter.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:19 AM
New from @juliorvarela.com for @thelatinonewsletter.org
Puerto Rican Nonprofit Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Jersey City Free Public Library
The Boricua Community Building Center alleges discrimination after its executive director was banned from all library branches
Puerto Rican Nonprofit Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Jersey City Free Public Library
The Boricua Community Building Center alleges discrimination after its executive director was banned from all library branches
Reposted by Julio Ricardo Varela
During questioning, FCC Chair Brendan Carr was asked whether the FCC is an independent agency. Sen. Luján specifically cited the FCC website calling it “independent.”
I took a screenshot of the site at 11:54 am
I took another at 12:22 pm and the word “independent” was gone.
#FCCOversight
I took a screenshot of the site at 11:54 am
I took another at 12:22 pm and the word “independent” was gone.
#FCCOversight
December 17, 2025 at 5:31 PM
During questioning, FCC Chair Brendan Carr was asked whether the FCC is an independent agency. Sen. Luján specifically cited the FCC website calling it “independent.”
I took a screenshot of the site at 11:54 am
I took another at 12:22 pm and the word “independent” was gone.
#FCCOversight
I took a screenshot of the site at 11:54 am
I took another at 12:22 pm and the word “independent” was gone.
#FCCOversight
For the latest edition of PressingIssues.org from @freepress.bsky.social, we connected with @rooseveltinstitute.org about its new report, The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis.
The Media Is Essential Democratic Infrastructure
‘The press matters because it is vital to the project of self-government.’
pressingissues.org
December 17, 2025 at 5:52 PM
For the latest edition of PressingIssues.org from @freepress.bsky.social, we connected with @rooseveltinstitute.org about its new report, The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis.
I believe Carr said it about 30 times today?
Every time Brendan Carr says "public interest," Orwell rolls in his grave
December 17, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I believe Carr said it about 30 times today?