VICE News Reports

Miguel Angel Galvez lived a double life: at work, he was one of Guatemala’s most influential and famous jurists, presiding over cases that sent former and sitting heads of state to prison. But at night and on weekends, Galvez was a scared man worried that he'd be shot down in the street. 

He had good reason to be afraid. Every other high profile anti-corruption prosecutor or judge in the country is in exile or in jail. This year, the same right-wing group, Foundation Against Terrorism (FCT), behind the persecution of other jurists publicly proclaimed that Galvez was next. But if Galvez left the country what would happen to his internationally watched trial implicating former military officials in the extrajudicial killings of 183 Guatemalans? Today, reporter Jesse Alejandro Cotrell interviews Galvez…and the man who led the charge to chase him out of the country. 

This story was reported and produced by Jesse Alejandro Cottrell and edited by Stephanie Kariuki and Annie Aviles.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sam Eagan, Sophie Kazis, Adreanna Rodriguez and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is  Ashley Cleek. Our associate producer is Steph Brown. Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross.

Special thanks to Bernardo Caal Xol, Jorge Mario Mendoza, Patricia Ninett Martínez Rodríguez, Jessica Cristina Gramajo Argueta, and Andrea Carrillo Samayoa.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years Romana Didulo, better known to her followers as Queen Romana, has built a following of tens of thousands of people online behind a blend of QAnon conspiracies, COVID-19 denial, new age mysticism, the support of a supposed intergalactic alien consortium, and perhaps most notably, the belief that she is the one true sovereign Queen and ruler of the ‘Kingdom of Canada.’ 

But in the past year the QAnon Queen’s movement has gone offline, resulting in real world actions that began with the harassment of healthcare workers and COVID compliant businesses and escalated into an attack on local police forces in Ontario. 

Today, The Queen is on a non-stop RV tour of Canada, greeting followers and soliciting thousands of dollars in donations from her ever growing online platform. This has even led some experts to call the burgeoning group a cult. Now, some former members of Romana Didulo’s inner circle, who allege that they were subjected to emotional and financial abuse, are fighting back. 

This story was produced by Sam Eagan, It was reported by Mack Lamoureux and Sam Eagan. Editing by Julia Nutter.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sam Eagan, Sophie Kazis, Adreanna Rodriguez and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is  Ashley Cleek. Our associate producer is Steph Brown. Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross.

Special thanks to Sophie Kazis, Josh Visser, Christina Sterbenz, and Caryma Sa’d. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before Trump campaigned on building a wall along the Mexico border, in 2014 President Danilo Medina wanted to build one across the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It’s part of the country’s decades-long pattern of xenophobia and racism against Haitians migrants. 

Around this time last year, the Dominican Republic government also started deporting Haitian pregnant women. This practice has received immediate criticism from the UN and other human right organizations. Both practices are part of a larger crackdown in the Dominican Republic that is radically pushing the boundaries of anti-immigration policies. Producer Mariana traveled to the Dominican Republic to investigate how women are being affected.

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. It was reported by Mariana Zuñiga. This version was produced by Adriana Tapia and edited by Annie Avilés. The Spanish version was released by El Hilo, a co-production between Radio Ambulante and VICE News.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sam Eagan, Sophie Kazis, Adreanna (Ay-Dree-Anna) Rodriguez and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producer is Steph Brown. Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our Exec Producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Local libraries across the US are facing pressure for having books related to racial justice and LGBTQ+ themes. In this week’s episode, journalist Claire Woodcock walks us through one situation in Jamestown Township, MI that ended with the town voting to defund its library. As Claire explains, a version of this story is playing out across the country and could have huge consequences for libraries as a public institution and on the communities they serve.

This episode was reported by Claire Woodcock and produced and hosted by Julia Nutter. Editing by Stephanie Kariuki. 

Special thanks to Jason Koebler and the VICE Motherboard team. 

VICE News Reports is produced by Sam Eagan, Sophie Kazis, Adreanna Rodriguez, and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producer is Steph Brown.

Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When people think about Fiji, they picture a postcard paradise with white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water – but away from the luxury resorts, a dark side of Fiji emerges. In the past five years, crystal methamphetamine has flooded into Fiji’s urban centers devastating the lives of thousands of people. Amid the local meth boom, poverty, violence, and crime are rising to all-time highs. In this episode, VICE World News senior reporter Gavin Butler travels to Fiji’s capital Suva to find some of the people who are really living at the front line of this crisis, hear their stories, and document the ways in which Fijjians are becoming collateral damage in the global drug trade.

This episode was hosted and produced by Janice Llamoca and edited by Stephanie Kariuki. Reporting by Gavin Butler.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sophie Kazis and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. 

Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MAGA Republican candidates in Arizona have been pushing conspiracies from 2020 even after Tuesday’s midterm election. The conspiracies have led to threats and intimidation on election workers and more recently - everyday voters. VICE News’ Liz Landers has been reporting from Arizona, on how election denialism and conspiracy has clouded this year’s Governors' race. 

This episode was produced by Steph Brown and Julia Nutter. 

VICE News Reports is produced by Sophie Kazis and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this year, Paulina Ramirez - a 26-year old woman from Sinaloa, Mexico - died from complications after getting a plastic surgery procedure. What Paulina didn’t know is that her surgeon was not a plastic surgeon and that the clinic she was walking into was unregulated. VICE News Latin America editor Deborah Bonello headed over to Sinaloa to investigate how under the table plastic surgeries have become an industry of their own, leading to the deaths of Paulina and many other women who aspire to transform their bodies into a very culturally specific aesthetic. 

This episode was produced by Adriana Tapia and edited by Janice Llamoca and Stephanie Kariuki. Reporting by Deborah Bonello with help from America Armenta.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sophie Kazis and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. 

Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Housing costs have skyrocketed beyond pre-pandemic levels this year. Experts are saying that the market is beginning to cool down in the U.S., but are renters and buyers actually feeling that change? In this vignette style 100th episode of Vice News Reports, first-hand accounts from people all over the country reveal what is happening with housing right now. They share their anxieties, frustrations, excitements and worries while giving a window into the realities of the current housing market.

This episode was produced by Sophie Kazis, Adreanna Rodriguez, and Stephanie Kariuki. Editing by Lacy Roberts. 

Special thanks to Jen Kinney and everyone who sent a voice memo.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sophie Kazis and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. 

Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Almost three years ago, an informant invited extremism and national security correspondent Ben Makuch into a secret phone call where members of a neo-Nazi terror group called The Base gathered to plan a civil war. Ben spent the next few years tracking every single move of The Base and the explosion of right wing terror groups in the United States. What he uncovered is revealed through his new podcast “American Terror” from VICE News and Gimlet, only on Spotify. 

This episode was produced by Sam Eagan, Editing by Stephanie Kariuki and Julia Nutter.

VICE News Reports is produced by Sophie Kazis and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. 

Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever since he can remember, Hamdullah Mohib has just wanted to go home. As a child, he and his family were forced to flee Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Years of violent civil war followed, as well as the U.S.-led invasion to remove the Taliban from power in 2001. All this time, Hamdullah dreamed of one day returning to Afghanistan to help bring peace to the unstable region. When he was tapped to become the country’s National Security Advisor, he thought he finally had his chance. 

That all changed in August 2021: the U.S. pulled its troops for good. The Taliban took back the country. And Hamdullah – once again – had to flee. 

One year since the fall of Kabul, Hamdullah is still struggling to come to terms with the fate of the country he loves. In this episode of VICE News Reports, Dr. Mohib sits down for a candid conversation with VICE World News senior producer Adam Desiderio to explain what happened in the final hours leading up to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. 

This story was reported by Adam Desiderio and produced by Julia Nutter. Editing by Stephanie Kariuki. 

VICE News Reports is produced by Sophie Kazis and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producers are Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, Janice Llamoca, and Julia Nutter. Our supervising producer is Ashley Cleek. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. 

Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. 

Our executive producers are Adizah Eghan and Stephanie Kariuki.

Annie Aviles is our Executive Editor and Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone. Our host is Arielle Duhaime-Ross. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.