CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela beat Bolivia 2-0 on Friday to extend its advantage in seventh place in South American World Cup qualifying and a potential spot in an intercontinental playoff for next year's tournament in North America.
Bolivian Héctor Cuellar scored an own goal in the fifth minute after a simple pass to goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra ended in the back of the net. The hosts added a second in the 30th minute with striker Salomón Rondón, Venezuela's all-time top goal scorer with 47 goals, after he chested down a cross from Nahuel Ferraresi and scored with his left foot.
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Colombia's Daniel Munoz, left, and Peru's Cesar Inga react at the end of the game for a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Colombia's Cristian Borja, front, and Peru's Oliver Sone battle for the ball during a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Bolivia's Jhon Velasquez, center, kicks the ball during a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Venezuela in Maturin, Venezuela, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's Salomon Rondon celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Bolivia during a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match in Maturin, Venezuela, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Bolivia, which now trails Venezuela by four points with only three rounds to play, never threatened goalkeeper Rafael Romo at the Monumental Stadium in the eastern city of Maturin, Venezuela.
“It was a very important win for us. But we haven't won anything yet," said Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia. “We have to keep winning, we are going for our dream. It will be another final on Tuesday."
Venezuela has not lost at home in the current edition of South American qualifying. So far, it has four wins and four draws. Only Argentina is also unbeaten at home.
Also on Friday, Colombia drew Peru 0-0 at home and failed to overtake Brazil in the standings. It was Colombia's fifth consecutive match without a win.
The hosts at the Metropolitano Stadium in Barranquilla missed suspended striker Luis Díaz, who scored six goals in World Cup qualifying. Jhon Córdoba and Rafael Santos Borré were also out due to injury.
World Cup champion Argentina, which secured its 2026 berth in March, leads South American qualifying after 15 matches with 34 points. Ecuador and Paraguay are next with 24 points, but the Ecuadorians have better goal difference. Brazil is in fourth place with 22 points.
Uruguay and Colombia, both with 21 points, are in fifth and sixth, respectively, separated by goal difference. Venezuela, the only South American team to have never competed in a World Cup, has 18 points.
Bolivia, which still has a chance of moving into seventh place, has 14. Peru and Chile have 11 and 10 points respectively.
Several teams could secure their World Cup spots in Tuesday's next set of matches. Ecuador will clinch its spot with a win at Peru and Brazil could also secure its berth with a win, provided Venezuela doesn't add points at Uruguay.
Colombia will have to beat Lionel Messi's Argentina in Buenos Aires to come close to its spot before the two final rounds in September. Bolivia will have to overcome Chile at home to keep its chances alive.
All 10 South American nations play each other home and away. The top six countries qualify directly to the finals next year.
The seventh-place South American team will go into the intercontinental playoffs in March 2026 in North America when six teams will vie for the remaining two spots in the main tournament.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Colombia's Daniel Munoz, left, and Peru's Cesar Inga react at the end of the game for a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Colombia's Cristian Borja, front, and Peru's Oliver Sone battle for the ball during a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Bolivia's Jhon Velasquez, center, kicks the ball during a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Venezuela in Maturin, Venezuela, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's Salomon Rondon celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Bolivia during a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match in Maturin, Venezuela, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye irritant at activists Tuesday during another day of confrontations in Minneapolis while students miles away walked out of a suburban school to protest the Trump administration's bold immigration sweeps.
The government's immigration crackdown is next headed to a federal court where Minnesota and two mayors are asking a judge to immediately suspend the operation. No hearing has been set on the request.
Gas clouds filled a Minneapolis street near where Renee Good was fatally shot in the head by an immigration agent last week. A man scrubbed his eyes with snow and screamed for help while agents in an unmarked Jeep sprayed an orange irritant and drove away.
It's common for people to boo, taunt and blow orange whistles when they spot heavily armed agents passing through in unmarked vehicles or walking the streets, all part of a grassroots effort to warn the neighborhood and remind the government that they’re watching.
“Who doesn't have a whistle?” a man with a bag of them yelled.
Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support neighborhood friends, said she was “incensed” to see agents in tactical gear and gas masks, and wondered about their purpose.
“It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,” Anderson said.
Separately, a judge heard arguments and said she would rule by Thursday or Friday on a request to restrict the use of force, such as chemical irritants, on people who are observing and recording agents' activities. Government attorneys argued that officers are acting within their authority and must protect themselves.
In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, students protesting the immigration enforcement operation walked out of school, as students in other communities have done this week.
With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, the state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued President Donald Trump's administration Monday to halt or limit the surge.
The lawsuit says the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.
“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” state Attorney General Keith Ellison said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: “What we are seeing is thousands — plural — thousands of federal agents coming into our city. And, yeah, they’re having a tremendous impact on day-to-day life.”
Dozens of protests or vigils have taken place across the U.S. to honor Good since the 37-year-old mother of three was killed.
Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, responding to the lawsuit, accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.
“President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law — no matter who your mayor, governor, or state attorney general is," McLaughlin said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot Good, saying he acted in self-defense. But that explanation has been widely panned by Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.
Two Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts announced Tuesday they are sponsoring a bill to make it easier for people to sue and overcome immunity protections for federal officers who are accused of violating civil rights. The bill stands little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Congress.
In Wisconsin, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is proposing that the state ban civil immigration enforcement around courthouses, hospitals, health clinics, schools, churches and other places. She is hoping to succeed Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow Democrat, who is not running for a third term.
“We can take a look at that, but I think banning things absolutely will ramp up the actions of our folks in Washington, D.C.,” Evers said, referring to the Trump administration. “They don’t tend to approach those things appropriately.”
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester is detained by Federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester grabs a tear gas grenade deployed by federal immigration officers near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester is sprayed with pepper spray by a Federal agent Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Tear gas is deployed amid protesters near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - Tear gas is deployed amid protesters near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester is detained by Federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester grabs a tear gas grenade deployed by federal immigration officers near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Fireworks are set off by protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal immigration officers detain a demonstrator outside Bishop Whipple Federal Building after tear gas was deployed Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal immigration officers are seen outside Bishop Whipple Federal Building after tear gas was deployed Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal agents drive through smoke from tear gas dispersed during a protest, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester's face is doused in water after he was pepper sprayed outside of the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A man gestures as he walks toward a cloud of tear gas that was deployed by federal immigration officers Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters try to avoid tear gas dispersed by federal agents, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal agents get ready to disperse tear gas into a crowd at a protest, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
