Mexico advances in the World Cup and other top photos from Latin America and the Caribbean

June 12-18, 2026

Mexico became the first country to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup, beating South Korea 1-0. Merlín the duck is celebrated as the team mascot.

Conservative Keiko Fujimori leads progressive Roberto Sánchez as votes are slowly counted from Peru’s presidential runoff election.

A deeply divided electorate is preparing to vote for Colombia’s next president in a tight runoff election between a progressive and a conservative outsider.

This gallery was curated by photo editor Anita Baca based in Mexico City.

___

AP photography: https://apnews.com/photography

AP News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews

Mexico becomes first country to reach knockout stage of World Cup, beating South Korea 1-0

How Merlin the duck became Mexico’s viral World Cup ‘mascot’

US strike on an alleged drug boat kills 3 in the eastern Pacific Ocean