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A Beacon in Central America
El Faro

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El Faro

El Faro is an award-winning Central American news outlet that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on many platforms, including audio, documentary films, and books. Founded in San Salvador in April 1998, we are the first digital-native news outlet in Latin America. For 25 years, we have gained recognition around the world for independence, transparency, and trustworthiness in covering corruption, organized crime, migration, inequality, impunity, and human rights in Central America.

Who Owns El Faro?

El Faro was founded in San Salvador by journalist Carlos Dada and businessman Jorge Simán in 1998. Ownership was later shared with current or former newsroom members José Luis Sanz, Carlos Martínez, Sergio Arauz, Daniel Valencia, Óscar Martínez, Ricardo Vaquerano, and Élmer Menjívar. Since April 2023, El Faro has been registered as a non-profit organization in San José, Costa Rica.

How is El Faro Financed?

At its inception El Faro had no capital investors, growing with the volunteer work of its journalists, editors, and directors. As a mission-driven organization, none of its shareholders were ever paid dividends. By 2021, our current full-time team was sustained by five sources: international foundations (75%), advertising (7%), workshops and events (4%), royalties for books, films, and syndication (8%), and reader contributions (6%).

How to Support Us

Join our community of crowdfunders, a group of over 1,200 people in El Salvador, the United States, and around the world. You’ll receive exclusive access to events with our newsroom and the annual Central American Journalism Forum (ForoCAP).

Contact Us

At El Faro English we want to be in permanent conversation with our readers. If you have questions, feedback (especially corrections), or scoops, write to us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook. To report an issue with our website, send us a message at [email protected].

Our Team

El Faro has over 30 staff members, including reporters and editors, audience and social media managers, web developers, audio and video producers, sales representatives, ForoCAP organizers, and an outstanding administrative team. El Faro English, in charge of this edition, is a small team based in Guatemala and Washington, D.C.

Carlos Dada
Director
Twitter:

Óscar Martínez
Editor-in-chief
Twitter:

Carlos Salamanca
General manager
Twitter: @CSalamank

Sergio Arauz
Deputy editor-in-chief
Twitter:

José Luis Sanz
El Faro English editor and Washington correspondent
Twitter: 

María Luz Nóchez
Opinion coordinator
Twitter: 

Víctor Peña
Photography coordinator
Instagram: @victorpena84

Rebeca Monge
Social media coordinator
Twitter: 

Katya Recinos Sevilla
Audience coordinator
Twitter: @KatyaRecinos

Carlos Martínez
Reporter
Twitter:

Gabriela Cáceres
Reporter
Twitter: 

Nelson Rauda Zablah
Reporter
Twitter: @raudaz_

Efren Lemus
Reporter
Twitter:

Julia Gavarrete
Reporter
Twitter: 

Roman Gressier
Reporter, El Faro English
Twitter: 

Gabriel Labrador
Reporter
Twitter:

Jimmy Alvarado
Reporter
Twitter:

Carlos Barrera
Photojournalist
Instagram: @barreraescarlos

Julie López
Reporter
Twitter:

Ramiro Guevara
Social media strategist
Twitter: 

Otto Meza
Cartoonist
Instagram: @ottoteibol

Daniel Reyes
Designer
Twitter:

Alex Santos
Designer
Twitter: @aciddotzip

Omnionn
Head of production and technical producer of ForoCAP
Twitter:

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Edificio Centro Colón, 5to Piso, Oficina 5-7, San José, Costa Rica.
El Faro is supported by:
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FUNDACIÓN PERIÓDICA (San José, Costa Rica). All rights reserved. Copyright © 1998 - 2023. Founded on April 25, 1998.