War is raging in Ukraine right now,

but there's been a colder war brewing for years

between the United States and China,

two superpowers clamoring for global dominance

by launching people into space,

competing in an arms race

and playing games of military chicken,

and economic aid to other countries, of course.

And a big battleground on that front is Central America.

I'm Gustavariano.

You're listening to The Times, Daily News from the L.A. Times.

It's Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

Today, how China's billions of dollars in

influence in Central America could strengthen a new generation of of this is my L.A. Times colleague, Latin American correspondent Kate Lentacom.

Kate, welcome to the Times.

It's great to be here.

Regular listeners know what's up in El Salvador because we've already had you on twice to talk about the country.

But catch up any new listeners about who's in charge and what's going on right now.

Yeah, so the president is a guy named Naiv Buckele, who was a former advertising executive who made a quick rise in politics.

And was elected president in 2019.

Since then, he's been extremely popular.

He has super high approval ratings, like 85%. But at the same time, he's been

...