Mimi Swaby
Mimi Swaby covers global power and protest through the people living with the consequences of political decisions, with a particular focus on Latin America. She is a global affairs reporter at the BBC, working across text, video and audio to explain how politics, security and social change intersect. Her public profile describes her as a global affairs reporter for the BBC World Service and notes that she works in Spanish as well as English, which aligns with her regular coverage of Spanish-speaking countries.
Latin American power struggles and protest movements
Swaby’s recent work centres on political crises and shifting power dynamics across Latin America, often framed through sustained protest and the response of those in office.
In Bolivia, she reports on how unions and indigenous groups have blocked roads nationwide in a confrontation with President Rodrigo Paz, capturing both the economic damage and the human cost of a month-long stand-off. Her coverage follows the escalation from land reform proposals and scrapped fuel subsidies through to congressional moves that make it easier for the president to declare a state of emergency and deploy the military.
She returns to the same story as it develops, documenting daily economic losses, shortages of basic goods and the political debate over whether “violent” factions should shape the country’s future.
In Peru, Swaby reports on Keiko Fujimori’s inauguration as the country’s first female elected president, placing that moment within a wider trend of conservative leaders gaining ground in the region.
The piece sets out Fujimori’s promise that the military will play a central role in restoring order, underscoring Swaby’s interest in how security institutions are used in domestic politics. In Colombia, she covers the United States’ offer of $1bn to a newly installed right-wing populist president, treating the aid package as part of the same story of external backing and internal realignment that runs through her Latin American coverage.
Her radio work on Argentina’s President Javier Milei follows his austerity programme into everyday life, detailing how inflation of around 300% and looming national strikes affect different parts of the country.
Crime, security and justice in Central America
Swaby regularly reports on how governments use criminal justice systems and security policy to pursue order, particularly in Central America. In El Salvador, she front a video explainer on the mass trial of 486 alleged MS-13 gang members, outlining why authorities have turned to large-scale prosecutions and why rights groups criticise the strategy. The piece emphasises both the state’s argument that such trials are necessary to tackle gang violence and the concerns about due process and individual rights, fitting her broader pattern of examining security measures in political context.
That focus is echoed in her coverage of US funding to Colombia, where she sets out how international money is framed as support for a hard-line agenda by a new right-wing leader.
Migration routes and human impact reporting
A second strand of Swaby’s work follows the personal journeys of people caught up in global crises, most clearly in her reporting on migration through the Darién Gap.
In a BBC audio feature, she tracks one Venezuelan woman’s attempt to cross the dense rainforest between Colombia and Panama, describing the 96km route, the risks of death and the toll that the journey takes on those who attempt it. The piece sets official statistics on deaths in the region against the accounts of migrants themselves, showing her interest in combining data with testimony.
This attention to individuals within wider emergencies is also present in her coverage of a major earthquake in Venezuela, where she provides updates on how long trapped victims can survive under rubble and what rescue workers face on the ground.
Global affairs beyond Latin America
Although Latin America is a core focus, Swaby also reports on global stories that touch on power, identity and public space in other regions. In France, she covers the investigation opened after female staff at the Eiffel Tower were replaced by male colleagues during a visit by a Hindu religious group, documenting the political condemnation and questions over gender equality and religious accommodation. Her article sets out how the incident unfolded and why it has attracted scrutiny from French politicians, reflecting her interest in institutional decisions that resonate beyond a single event. In Italy, she co-writes a feature on the discovery of an ancient Roman shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, explaining how divers found the vessel and why the find matters to understanding trade and history in the Mediterranean.
Across these stories, Swaby’s work keeps a steady line: global affairs are presented as lived experiences shaped by protests, policies, journeys and the places where everyday life meets political power.
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