Latin America

Sergio Gómez and Carla Cavallini pose for a picture outside their store, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Gómez and his wife are among a large group of Argentines who say their economic situation is worse now than a year ago as a consequence of a series of austerity and deregulation measures ordered by President Javier Milei in his first 100 days in office. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Milei’s first 100 days: Argentines struggle to make ends meet as support for president remains high

A butcher shutting down his shop barely eight months after opening it. A 72-year-old retiree singing in the streets of Buenos Aires to make ends meet.

A helicopter lands to evacuate personnel at the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haitians emerge from homes during brief respite from gang violence. Hours later, gunfire erupts

FILE - Members of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo protest in San Martin Square in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 21, 1977. Week after week, since April 1977, the mothers of disappeared children have gathered at the square that provided the group with its name, despite being discredited during the dictatorship as “crazy” and “terrorists.” (AP Photo, File)

Their children disappeared in Argentina’s dictatorship. These mothers have looked for them since

FILE - Atletico Mineiro's Robinho reacts after failing to score during a Copa Libertadores soccer match against Argentina's Racing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 27, 2016. Former soccer star turned himself in on Thursday, March 21, 2024, to start serving a nine-year prison sentence in his native Brazil more than 10 years after he was first accused of raping a woman in Italy. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, File)

Former soccer star Robinho starts 9-year prison sentence in Brazil for 2013 rape in Italy

Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland walks to his truck after opening a gate leading to Bone Water Crossing on the Rio Grande River, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Terrell County, Texas. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Law enforcement officials in Texas wonder how they will enforce migrant arrest law

Worshippers dressed in white gather before the Pyramid of the Sun as part of the Spring Equinox celebrations, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, March 21, 2024. Each year the Pyramid of the Sun and the adjacent Pyramid of the Moon draw thousands of pilgrims to the pre-Hispanic ceremonial and trading centre, northeast of Mexico City. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean

March 15-21, 2024

Thousands of spring equinox worshippers gathered around Mexico’s giant Pyramid of the Sun.

A water truck worker fills a container outside the homes of residents who use it for drinking, cooking and cleaning, in the Pamplona Alta area in Lima, Peru, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Drought, heat and mismanagement make getting fresh water an increasingly tough task

As the world warms from human-caused climate change, fresh water for drinking, cooking and cleaning is becoming harder to get for many people.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas takes part in a joint news conference with the Guatemalan president, at the National Palace in Guatemala City, Thursday, March 21, 2024. Mayorkas said at the conference that a Texas law giving state authorities the power to arrest and deport migrants who have entered the country illegally is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Santiago Billy)

US Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas says Texas immigration law is unconstitutional

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says that a Texas law giving state authorities the power to arrest and deport migrants who have entered the country illegally is unconstitutional.

Investigators find at least 5 burned bodies near northern Mexican city of Monterrey

Investigators in the northern Mexico border state of Nuevo Leon say they have found at least five burned bodies in a vehicle on a road near the industrial hub of Monterrey.

FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores flash victory signs as they arrive to the National Assembly for the annual presidential address, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 15, 2024. As the July 28 presidential election nears, Venezuelan government keeps arresting opponents allegedly tied to criminal plots. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

As election nears, Venezuelan government keeps arresting opponents allegedly tied to criminal plots

As Venezuela’s government would have it, President Nicolas Maduro and members of his inner circle have been the target of several conspiracies since last year that could have left them injured or worse.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado speaks at a press conference regarding the arrest order for her campaign manager and eight other opposition members for alleged involvement in a conspiracy plot to destabilize the government, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Machado has been disqualified from holding public office for 15 years but has continued to campaign for president ahead of the July 28 elections. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan authorities arrest campaign staffers of opposition candidate in alleged violent plot

Venezuela’s top prosecutor says arrest warrants have been issued for the manager and eight other staffers of the presidential campaign of opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado, accusing them of being part of a violent, anti-government conspiracy Attorney General Tarek William Saab says that Mac

Blood streams from a body lying in the street in the Petion-ville area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Gangs target peaceful communities in new attacks on Haiti’s capital

Armed gangs are launching new attacks in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital.

A dozen bodies found in Mexico, 5 piled in an SUV and 7 others near the US border with Arizona

Prosecutors in the violent western Mexico state of Jalisco say five dead bodies have been found piled in a bulletproof SUV.

Mexico City residents help cops chase down a loose wolf

Police in Mexico City say residents and schoolkids helped squads of police chase down a wolf that was loose in one of the city’s neighborhoods.

FILE - Palestinians crowd together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 8, 2023. Catastrophic hunger is so dire in two world hotspots that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and approaching in Haiti, with hundreds of thousands of people in both places struggling to avoid starvation, according to international food security experts and aid groups. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File)

Gaza and Haiti are on the brink of famine, experts say. Here’s what that means

A new report warns that famine is imminent in Gaza as fighting between Israel and Hamas continues. Aid groups also say that 1.4 million people in Haiti are on the verge of famine.

FILE - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his regularly scheduled morning press conference, decorated with an image of Francisco "Pancho" Villa, a general in the Mexican Revolution, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Feb. 28, 2023. Mexico’s president praised Mexican revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, for his 1916 attack on Columbus, New Mexico, a raid that killed 18 Americans, mostly civilians. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

Mexican president praises Pancho Villa for his 1916 attack on Columbus, New Mexico, that killed 18

Mexico’s president is praising Mexican revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa for his 1916 attack on Columbus, New Mexico.

Colombia’s president invites the country’s largest criminal group to peace talks, and it accepts

Colombia’s largest criminal group says it has accepted President Gustavo Petro’s offer to start peace negotiations, but the next steps in any talks are not immediately clear.

Una persona levanta la sábana que cubría un cadáver en el vecindario Petion Ville de Puerto Príncipe, Haití, el 18 de marzo de 2024. (Foto AP/Odelyn Joseph)

A team to choose Haiti’s next leader takes shape as gang violence engulfs the Caribbean nation

Caribbean leaders say all groups and political parties except one have submitted nominees for a transitional presidential council charged with selecting an interim prime minister for Haiti.

A coloring book featuring Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is for sale outside the presidential palace in Mexico City, Thursday, March 14, 2024. Despite not being eligible to run for reelection in the upcoming June 2 presidential vote, López Obrador looms larger than any of the candidates competing for the helm of Mexico’s government. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Hats, T-shirts and dolls reflect outgoing Mexican president’s outsized presence in upcoming election

Souvenirs bearing the image of 70-year-old Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sell like T-shirts at a Taylor Swift concert.

A child stands amid people who were detained for deportation to Haiti inside a police truck on a border bridge that connects Dajabon, Dominican Republic with Haiti, Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Dominican Republic is urged to stop deporting people to Haiti as people flee surge in gang violence

Human rights activists are calling on the Dominican Republic’s government for a temporary reprieve in deportations as neighboring Haiti’s crisis spirals and people attempt to flee over the closed border from a surge in deadly gang violence.

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks at the launch of the pre-candidacy of Alexandre Ramagem, center right, for the Rio de Janeiro's mayoral elections in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, March 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Brazil’s Bolsonaro is indicted for 1st time over alleged falsification of his vaccination status

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been formally accused of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status, marking the first indictment for the embattled far-right leader, with more allegations potentially in store.

A woman and a boy attempt to hitch a ride during a scheduled power outage in Bauta, Cuba, Monday, March 18, 2024 Th island is facing an energy crisis, with waves of blackouts worsening in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba protests US comments following protests against power blackouts, food shortages

Cuba’s government has protested as interventionist comments from the U.S. Embassy on the island following demonstrations against power blackouts and food shortages by hundreds of people in eastern Cuba.

FILE - Panama's former President Ricardo Martinelli speaks to supporters during a campaign rally, in Panama City, Feb. 3, 2024. Panamanian authorities on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, ordered the arrest of Martinelli, who has been holed up in the Nicaraguan Embassy since receiving political asylum from that country earlier this month. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)

Panama demands Nicaragua rein in former President Ricardo Martinelli

Panama has accused Nicaragua of meddling in its internal affairs by allowing former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli to continue taking swipes at the justice system and promoting his political allies from within the walls of the Nicaraguan embassy.

3 police officers killed in an attack on western Mexico highway

A state police official and her bodyguards were killed in a highway attack in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan.

FILE - Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel walks through the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Small groups of protesters took to the streets in the eastern city of Santiago on Sunday, March 18, 2024, decrying power outages lasting up to eight hours and food shortages across Cuba. President Miguel Díaz-Canel also referred to protests in a social media post, though he did not specify where they occurred.(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Cubans in eastern city of Santiago protest blackouts and food shortages

Small groups of protesters have taken to the streets in the eastern Cuba city of Santiago decryng power outages lasting up to eight hours across the Caribbean nation.

Residents push a giant paper-mache "torito" or bull stuffed with fireworks during a nighttime lighting of bull-shaped figures as part of the annual festival honoring Saint John of God, in Tultepec, Mexico, Friday, March 8, 2024. The celebration, now its 35th year, pays homage to the patron saint of the poor and sick, St. John of God, who the fireworks' producers view as a protective figure. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

The culture of Mexican fireworks revealed through the lens of an AP photographer

Marco Ugarte has been a photographer based in Mexico City for over 30 years. He covered the fireworks festival in nearby Tultepec for just the second time a week ago.

FILE - President Nicolas Maduro, accompanied by first lady Cilia Flores, greets supporters during an event marking the anniversary of a 1958 coup ousting dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23, 2024. After officials said election day would be July 28, the birthdate of the late President Hugo Chavez, the government announced it would send invitations to international electoral observers. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

Venezuela ruling party officially makes Maduro its candidate in the July presidential election

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has become his party’s official nominee for July’s highly anticipated presidential election, which will allow him to stroll into a third consecutive term with no real competition on the horizon.

A woman walks past a banner featuring the Brazilian national flag and an image of former President Jair Bolsonaro with a message that reads in Portuguese: "Ex, most beloved of Brazil", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, March 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Brazil’s Bolsonaro ‘not afraid of any trial’ over accusations he plotted to remain president

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he’s “not afraid of any trial,” a day after documents released by the Supreme Court revealed that two top military leaders said the populist plotted to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.

FILE - Opposition coalition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado speaks to supporters at a campaign event in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23, 2024. As a March 25, 2024 deadline nears to register to compete in the presidential election, Machado faces pressure from foreign leaders and fellow government opponents to abandon her dead-end candidacy, because she’s technically barred from office. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

Venezuelan opposition leader faces deadline for standing down in race against Maduro

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado faces a choice on which the hopes of millions of Venezuelans fighting to restore their democracy depends.

A server ladles soup into a container as children line up to receive food at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Hunger soars and aid dwindles as gangs in Haiti suffocate the country

About 1.4 million Haitians are on the verge of famine and more than 4 million require food aid. Sometimes people are eating only once a day or not at all.

Lolling with bright blue mats, sleeping masks and travel pillows, people lie sprawled out at the base of the iconic Monument to the Revolution to take a nap, in Mexico City, Friday, March 15, 2024. Dubbed the “mass siesta,” the event was in commemoration of World Sleep Day. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Hundreds of people in Mexico City stretch out for a ‘mass nap’ to commemorate World Sleep Day

Those walking through the milling streets of downtown Mexico City were greeted with a strange and sleepy sight.

A woman holds a bengala in front of La Moneda presidential palace during an International Women's Day march, in Santiago, Chile, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean

March 8-14, 2024

Women marched to commemorate International Women’s Day in cities across Latin America, a region marred by high levels of violence against women.

The banks of the Miguel Aleman dam lie exposed due to low water levels in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, Thursday, March 14, 2024. According to Mexico’s National Water Commission, Valle de Bravo’s reservoir has fallen to 29% of its capacity – a historical low -- compared to one year ago when it was at 52%, while the country endures a drought and has imposed restrictions on water taken from the system. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

In Mexico, a once glittering lake is being sucked dry by development, drought and lawlessness

Once a glittering weekend getaway for wealthy residents of Mexico City, Valle de Bravo has been reduced to a shrinking muddy puddle by a combination of drought, water transfers to the capital, bad planning and lawlessness.

National Police patrol the area near the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire inside the jail in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. This is the same prison that armed gangs stormed late March 2 and hundreds of inmates escaped. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

A plan to find new leadership for Haiti is moving forward, Caribbean officials say

Caribbean officials say a plan to create a transitional presidential council is moving forward after a majority of Haitian parties and coalitions submitted the names of those charged with finding new leaders for the country.

Italian journalist and writer Fabio Marchese Ragona holds a copy of "Life: My Story Through History" as he poses for a picture prior to the start of an interview with the Associated Press, in Rome, Thursday, March 13, 2024. Pope Francis says he has no plans to resign and isn't suffering from any health problems that would require doing so, in an autobiography, "Life: My Story Through History," which is being published Tuesday and written with Italian journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope acknowledges criticism and health issues but says in his new memoir he has no plans to retire

Pope Francis says he has no plans to resign and isn’t suffering from any health problems that would require doing so.

Another mayoral hopeful is killed in southern Mexico, one of a half-dozen murdered this year

A mayoral hopeful was killed in southern Mexico, one of at least a half-dozen local politicians murdered so far this year ahead of the June 2 national elections.

Mexican journalist says he was abducted, beaten and questioned by armed men about his reporting

A prominent journalist in western Mexico says he was abducted, beaten and questioned by an armed gang because of what he wrote.

The original statue of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre stands behind the altar at her shrine in El Cobre, Cuba, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The Vatican-recognized Virgin, venerated by Catholics and followers of Afro-Cuban Santeria traditions, is at the heart of Cuban identity, uniting compatriots from the Communist-run Caribbean island to those who were exiled or emigrated to the U.S. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Revered by Hemingway and visited by popes, why Cuba’s small patron saint is such a huge symbol

One religious icon unites Cubans: The Virgin of Charity of Cobre. The patron saint of the Caribbean island nation is venerated by observant Catholics and followers of Afro-Cuban Santeria traditions; by Cubans in exile and back home.

FILE - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, left, stands with his wife Ana Garcia, during the presidential inauguration ceremony for his second term at the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jan. 27, 2018. The former first lady said Tuesday, March 12, 2024, just days after her husband’s U.S. drug trafficking conviction, that she plans to seek the country’s presidency in 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Antonio, File)

Ex-Honduras first lady announces run for presidency days after husband’s drug trafficking conviction

Former Honduras first lady Ana García de Hernández says she plans to seek the country’s presidency next year.

A woman cooks at shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 8, 2024. The violence as anti-government gangs battle police in the streets has crippled Haiti’s economy and made it extremely difficult for many of the country's most vulnerable to feed themselves.(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

4 million people face ‘acute food insecurity’ in troubled Haiti, says UN food agency official

The U.N. food agency’s director in Haiti says that 4 million people face “acute food insecurity” and one million of them are one step away from famine.