A look at some of the top images from the events that occurred in Latin America
From forest fires to the risky migration by land of Central Americans that continued despite the pandemic and roadblocks imposed by governments; a look at all that transpired in Latin America this past year
Associated Press
December 22, 2020 / 17:37 IST
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Early 2020, the pandemic seemed far from Latin America. But as soon as it arrived in the region, it had a devastating impact, exposing weaknesses in already precarious public health systems. Images of a woman’s corpse lying on the street while being disinfected in Ecuador, and Venezuelan migrants carrying a coffin of a man who allegedly died of COVID-19 on a steep and dusty hill in Peru, illustrate the unfolding crisis. Often wearing equipment to protect against disease and violence, an Associated Press team of photographers in the region documented these events, as well as forest fires in Brazil and the risky migration by land of Central Americans that continued despite the pandemic and roadblocks imposed by governments. Take a look.... (Image: AP)
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The coffins of COVID-19 victims burn after their bodies were cremated at the San Nicolas Tolentino cemetery in the Iztapalapa neighbourhood of Mexico City, June 24. (Image: AP)
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Maria Rita Dias dos Santos wipes tears after former inmates delivered free food to her home, as part of a nonprofit organization known as "Eu sou Eu" or "I am me" that gifts food to those struggling economically amid the new coronavirus pandemic in the Para-Pedro favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 8. (Image: AP)
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Venezuelan migrants Luis Zerpa leads Luis Brito and Jhoan Faneite to carry the remains of 51-year-old Marcos Espinoza who is suspected of dying of the new coronavirus, down a steep hill to a waiting hearse in a working-class neighbourhood near Pachacamac, the site of an Inca temple, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, May 8. (Image: AP)
Inmates gather around the corpses of other inmates during a riot at Miguel Castro Castro prison, in Lima, Peru, April 27. Peru's prison agency reported that three prisoners died from causes still under investigation after a riot at the prison, while inmates complained authorities are not doing enough to prevent the spread of coronavirus inside the prison. (Image: AP)
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A worker builds niches at the Caju Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 20. There were already plans this year to create more tombs at Caju but the new coronavirus pandemic accelerated the construction. (Image: AP)
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City workers fumigate a street to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus in La Paz, Bolivia, April 2. (Image: AP)
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Fabian Ramirez, 11, and members of his family scavenge a trash container for discarded vegetables at the "Mercado de Abasto," a market for vendors, during the fourth week of quarantine to contain the spread of the new coronavirus in Asuncion, Paraguay, April 2. (Image: AP)
Demonstrators attack a fire department truck to protest gender violence during a march marking International Women's Day in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo, March 8. (Image: AP)
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The feet and hands of children who died in a fire at the Orphanage of the Church of Bible Understanding extend beyond the sheet they lie under on a bed at Baptiste Mission Hospital in Kenscoff, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 14. A fire swept through a Haitian children's home run by a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit group, killing 13 children. (Image: AP)
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Milena Jami whips her llama to secure first place in the 500-meter llama race, age 7-8 category, at Llanganates National Park in Ecuador, February 8. (Image: AP)
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Mourners pray on their knees around the coffin of environmental activist Homero Gomez Gonzalez during his wake in Ocampo, Michoacan state, Mexico, January 30. Relatives of the anti-logging activist who fought to protect the winter habitat of monarch butterflies don't know whether he was murdered or died accidentally, but they say they do know one thing for sure: something bad is happening to rights and environmental activists in Mexico, and people are afraid. (Image: AP)
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A supporter of Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori and opposition leader, is held back by police officers outside a courtroom in Lima, Peru, January 28. A Peruvian judge ordered 15 months of preventive detention for Keiko Fujimori while she is investigated for alleged money laundering related to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. (Image: AP)
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Central American migrants carry children across the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico, near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, January 20, 2020, in hopes of convincing Mexican authorities to allow them passage through the country so they could reach the United States. (Image: AP)
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National Assembly President Juan Guaido, Venezuela's opposition leader, climbs the fence in a failed attempt to enter the Assembly compound as he and other opposition lawmakers are blocked from entering a session to elect the body's new leadership in Caracas, Venezuela, January 5. (Image: AP)
![Maria Rita Dias dos Santos wipes tears after former inmates delivered free food to her home, as part of a nonprofit organization known as "Eu sou Eu" or "I am me" that gifts food to those struggling economically amid the new coronavirus pandemic in the Para-Pedro favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 8. (Image: AP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2020/12/13-latin-america-picture-of-2020.jpg "Maria Rita Dias dos Santos wipes tears after former inmates delivered free food to her home, as part of a nonprofit organization known as "Eu sou Eu" or "I am me" that gifts food to those struggling economically amid the new coronavirus pandemic in the Para-Pedro favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 8. (Image: AP)")
![Fabian Ramirez, 11, and members of his family scavenge a trash container for discarded vegetables at the "Mercado de Abasto," a market for vendors, during the fourth week of quarantine to contain the spread of the new coronavirus in Asuncion, Paraguay, April 2. (Image: AP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2020/12/12-latin-america-picture-of-2020.jpg "Fabian Ramirez, 11, and members of his family scavenge a trash container for discarded vegetables at the "Mercado de Abasto," a market for vendors, during the fourth week of quarantine to contain the spread of the new coronavirus in Asuncion, Paraguay, April 2. (Image: AP)")
