<div><p>Two months into Operation Epic Fury, the US and Iran remain locked in an uncomfortable limbo: a ceasefire is technically holding, the Strait of Hormuz is still contested, and diplomacy has collapsed over the question of nuclear enrichment. Chris and Matt assess the war's compounding costs—severely drawn-down munitions stockpiles with implications stretching from Taiwan to NATO, and reporting that JD Vance has privately challenged whether the Pentagon is telling the president the truth about how the war is going. Then: Viktor Orbán is out in Hungary after sixteen years, replaced by Peter Magyar in a cleaner democratic handover than many expected—but nativist politics didn't leave with him. Finally, two CIA officers killed in a car crash in the mountains of Chihuahua pull back the curtain on a quietly expanding American intelligence footprint in the cartel fight, and the pointed question of what Mexican authorities actually knew.</p></div><h1><strong>Please share this episode using these links</strong></h1><div><p>Audio: <a href="https://secretsandspiespodcast.com/episode/s10-ep43-espresso-martini-iran-stalemate-the-end-of-orban-and-the-cia-in-mexico">https://pod.fo/e/40c0f2</a><br>YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/2hbLmHsqVVg">https://youtu.be/2hbLmHsqVVg</a></p></div><h1><strong>Support Secrets and Spies</strong></h1><div>Become a “Friend of the Podcast” on Patreon for £3/$4: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies">https://www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies</a><br>Buy merchandise from our Redbubble shop: <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60934996">https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60934996</a><br>Buy us a coffee: <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/secretsandspies">https://buymeacoffee.com/secretsandspies</a><br>Subscribe to our YouTube page: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg<br></a><br>For more information about the podcast, check out our website: <a href="https://secretsandspiespodcast.com">https://secretsandspiespodcast.com<br></a><br></div><h1><strong>Articles discussed in today’s episode</strong></h1><div> <p>"US-Iran ceasefire and nuclear talks in 2026" by Philip Loft | House of Commons Library: <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10637/">https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10637/</a></p><p>"The Pentagon May Not Be Telling Trump the Full Picture About the War" by Missy Ryan, Vivian Salama, Michael Scherer, &amp; Nancy A. Youssef | <em>The Atlantic</em>: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/04/iran-war-vance-hegseth-trump/686905/">https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/04/iran-war-vance-hegseth-trump/686905/</a></p><p>"Illiberalism is not Inevitable" by Anne Applebaum | <em>Open Letters</em> Substack: <a href="https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/illiberalism-is-not-inevitable">https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/illiberalism-is-not-inevitable<br></a><br>"Orbán may be gone, but his prejudices are now baked into the European political mainstream" by Shada Islam | <em>The Guardian</em>: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/27/orban-europe-eu-racism-migration-border">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/27/orban-europe-eu-racism-migration-border<br></a><br>"2 Americans Killed in Mexico Crash Were C.I.A. Officers" by Maria Abi-Habib, Dustin Volz, Adam Goldman &amp; Paulina Villegas | <em>The New York Times</em>: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/americas/americans-cia-mexico-crash.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/americas/americans-cia-mexico-crash.html<br></a><br>"Mexico’s Sheinbaum rules out a conflict with US over 2 CIA agents killed in Chihuahua accident" by Associated Press | Politico: <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/27/mexicos-sheinbaum-rules-out-a-conflict-with-us-over-2-cia-agents-killed-in-chihuahua-accident-00894034">https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/27/mexicos-sheinbaum-rules-out-a-conflict-with-us-over-2-cia-agents-killed-in-chihuahua-accident-00894034<br></a><br></p></div><h1><strong>Connect with us on social media</strong></h1><div>Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/secretsandspies.bsky.social">https://bsky.app/profile/secretsandspies.bsky.social</a><br>Instagram: <a href="https://instagram.com/secretsandspies">https://instagram.com/secretsandspies</a><br>Facebook: <a href="https://facebook.com/secretsandspies">https://facebook.com/secretsandspies</a><br>Spoutible: <a href="https://spoutible.com/SecretsAndSpies">https://spoutible.com/SecretsAndSpies<br></a><br>Follow Chris and Matt on Bluesky:<br><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/chriscarrfilm.bsky.social">https://bsky.app/profile/chriscarrfilm.bsky.social</a><br><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mattfulton.net">https://bsky.app/profile/mattfulton.net<br></a><br><em>Secrets and Spies</em> is produced by Films &amp; Podcasts LTD: <a href="https://filmsandpodcasts.co.uk/">https://filmsandpodcasts.co.uk/</a><br>Music by Andrew R. Bird<br>Photos by Getty/AP</div>