Storms blamed on El Nino batter Chile and other top photos from Latin America and the Caribbean

July 17-23, 2026

Days of El Nino-driven storms battered northern Chile, triggering deadly floods and landslides that left communities isolated and prompted a state of emergency.

A sailboat carrying humanitarian aid from Europe arrived in Havana as Catholic Church organizations distributed U.S. donations while the island's economic crisis deepens.

Athletes from 37 nations arrived in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the centennial edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games, the world’s oldest regional multisport event.

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

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Players hug each other after playing during a women's amputee soccer clinic in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Soldier march during a parade marking Independence Day in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

The fingers of Judo fighter Maikor Louis, from Dominican Republic, are taped during training at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Argentina fans put a head depicting Lionel Messi into a box after a gathering one day before the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and Spain in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Photo assistants fan out the skirt of quinceañera Franchesca Ovalle's gown during a portrait session in the historic center of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Stuffed animals and toys found at the OPP 25 residential building, which collapsed during the earthquake, are piled into a makeshift memorial in La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Jerfferson Cova, wearing a headlamp, looks at the deep hole he dug with other relatives in search of his mother-in-law, days after rescuing the bodies of his two children from a building collapsed by an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Artwork by Cuban Osmany Betancourt stands on exhibit in Havana Bay where the Astral ship from the Spanish humanitarian organization Open Arms arrives, in Cuba, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man on a bus wipes frost from the window during a rainstorm in Santiago, Chile, early Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reshuffled top posts on Friday as he tries to boost the fortunes of his deeply unpopular government ahead of regional elections in which a far-right party could get its first state governor.

Merz took office less than 15 months ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany’s economy, Europe’s biggest, after years of stagnation. But that economic turnaround has been slow to start. And the middle-of-the-road coalition of Merz’s center-right Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats, two traditional rivals, has yet to persuade voters that it can produce results.

That has resulted in Merz’s popularity sinking to rock-bottom levels, while the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has capitalized on widespread discontent.

Merz took the opportunity to make a series of changes after a senior ally quit as the leader of his party’s parliamentary group over personal conduct that undermined his credibility. Merz plans to put his chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, in that job.

The German leader said Health Minister Nina Warken will take Frei’s place at the chancellery, a post that is key to the smooth functioning of the government. Another close ally, Carsten Linnemann, the general secretary of Merz’s party, will become health minister.

Merz said that there will be further changes, but didn’t offer details.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives for a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and Thorsten Frei, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks attend the cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (Sebastian Gollnow/dpa via AP)