SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The only member of Haiti’s national soccer team who is based in the troubled Caribbean country is awaiting a U.S. visa to join the squad in Florida just weeks before the start of the World Cup.
Woodensky Pierre is a defensive midfielder who plays for Violette AC in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 70% of that city is under siege by violent gangs.
The other 25 players on the World Cup squad play outside the country, coming from leagues in places like England, France, Portugal, Canada and the United States.
This year's World Cup will be only the second for Haiti in its history — the country’s only other appearance on soccer’s biggest stage was in 1974.
Haitian soccer federation spokesman Thecieux Jeanty said all but one player on the 1974 World Cup team was living and playing in Haiti at that time.
The U.S. visas for Pierre and nearly a dozen other officials with the Haitian soccer federation have yet to come through as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues to expand travel restrictions from countries including Haiti.
Pierre continues to train at a field with synthetic grass in Pétion-Ville, an upscale area of Port-au-Prince, as he awaits his visa, “in hopes of being with his team as soon as possible,” Jeanty told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday.
“I hope he doesn’t have to live in (Haiti) after the World Cup,” Jeanty said. “It’s an opportunity to present himself to the world and await a contract.”
The team’s home stadium in Port-au-Prince — not far from the neighborhood where Pierre is from — was deemed too dangerous, forcing Haiti to play its “home” World Cup qualifiers in Curaçao.
Pierre is from Cite Soleil, a seaside slum that has endured violence and hunger for years and serves as a base for powerful gang leaders. Cite Soleil has seen multiple massacres and gang rapes, with violence recently displacing more than 5,300 people, according to the latest report from the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration.
“It’s a source of pride for him,” Jeanty said of Pierre being able to play in the World Cup. “It’s satisfying for (soccer) officials and for the public, too. As you know, Haiti is in crisis.”
Pierre did not return messages seeking comment, and neither did the team’s coach.
Officials for Haiti’s squad arrived in Florida on Sunday, and players began training in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday. Three other players are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, Jeanty said.
There is still time to resolve Pierre’s situation. Haiti will play two World Cup warmup matches, first against New Zealand on Tuesday and then against Peru on June 5, in South Florida.
Haiti opens World Cup play on June 13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against Scotland, then plays five-time champion Brazil on June 19 in Philadelphia and Morocco on June 24 in Atlanta.
Jeanty said he first made contact with Pierre in 2022, when they traveled together to Honduras for a under-20 match.
“I saw him as a top-level player,” Jeanty said, adding that “everybody’s very happy” to have Pierre on the team.
“There is soccer in Haiti,” Jeanty said. “It’s a country that wants to live.”
AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
FIFA World Cup signage is displayed outside of Houston Stadium, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Houston, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer matches. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
A vendor sells Haitian flags during a National Flag Day parade in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
FILE - Haiti's Louicius Don Deedson (10) keeps an eye on the ball during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against the United States Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks inched to more records after oil prices fell back to where they were in mid-April. The S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.1%. All three indexes set records. Bath & Body Works and Abercrombie & Fitch both rallied after becoming the latest companies to deliver stronger profit reports for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. That’s even though U.S. consumers have been getting more discouraged about inflation. Stocks of oil-and-gas companies fell after oil prices dropped more than 4%. Treasury yields eased.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Wednesday as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and added to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 243 points, or 0.5%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.9%, and United Airlines rallied 6.5%. Delta Air Lines rose 3% and is on track to set an all-time high.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.6% to $92.25 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell 5.5% to settle at $88.68 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.
Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.
Bath & Body Works rallied 10.7%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 16% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That's even as U.S. consumers continue to say they're feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.
Lululemon Athletica rose 4.2% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick's Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.5% despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.
Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1%, and Chevron slipped 1%. Halliburton dropped 3.1% to bring its gain for the year so far back below 41%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48% from 4.50% late Tuesday and from 4.67% roughly a week ago.
It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi was one of the world's best performers and jumped 2.3% after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3%.
A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
