From reverse migration to jailed presidents, AP photos recorded Latin America's top news in 2025

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From geopolitical tensions to natural disasters to massive migratory shifts, Latin America was the epicenter for some of the world’s biggest stories in 2025. Associated Press photographers worked from crowds of protesters, hurricane-ravaged streets and boats rocketing along tropical coastlines to cover it all.

Venezuela continued to feel tremors in the wake of the previous year's electoral turmoil as the U.S. launched strikes on boats in the Caribbean and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s migratory crackdown, thousands of migrants began to reverse course while others were deported into harsh conditions in a prison in El Salvador.

Brazil, too, felt shock waves after its ex-President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to prison for a coup attempt and a forceful anti-gangs favela operation in Rio paved the way for carnage and tragedy.

Protests erupted in Argentina and Mexico, while Jamaica was left reeling from a devastating hurricane.

Yet the region was also witness to moments of hope and beauty: Scientists worked to save rare pink dolphins in the Amazon rainforest, a couple coated in mud passionately kissed in the heart of a Brazilian festival, and flowers lined the streets of Colombia’s capital.

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Photo editing by Ricardo Mazalan, deputy director for storytelling and photos for Latin America and Caribbean, and photo editors Leslie Mazoch, Anita Baca and Jon Orbach.