Latin America in review

Latin America in review is a gallery that features some of the top photojournalism made by AP staff photographers and freelancers based in our Latin America region.

Here is a selection of photos for the month of January, 2018: 

People watch the fireworks exploding over Copacabana beach during the New Year's celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A demonstrator dressed as Batman holds a sign that reads in Portuguese "Lula in Prison" during a protest against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

In this Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 photo, KTM motorbike rider Mohammed Balooshi, of United Arab Emirates, waits for his bike to be refueled during stage 8 of the Dakar Rally between Uyuni and Tupiza, Bolivia. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Visitors swim in a rooftop pool at Sesc 24 de Maio, a cultural and sports center owned by the Commerce and Industries of the Sao Paulo State, in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

In this Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 photo, Ricky Brabec, of the United States, rides his Honda motorbike during the first stage of the Dakar Rally between Lima and Pisco, Peru. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A protester stands in front of a police barricade near the United States embassy during a protest against President Donald Trump's recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Soldiers and police launch tear gas at demonstrators marching to the National Stadium to protest the presidential inauguration of Juan Orlando Hernandez, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018.  (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

In this Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 photo, smoke rises from overheated Toyota, raced by driver Alicia Reina and co-driver Carlos Dante Pelayo, both Argentines, during the third stage of the Dakar Rally in Pisco, Peru. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Relatives of victims executed by a clandestine group of soldiers during the government of former president Alberto Fujimori attend a vigil in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Jan. 18, 2018 photo, a woman stands in a doorway smoking a cigarette as soldiers take part in a surprise operation in the Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Friday, Jan. 19, 2018 photo, Argentine Kevin Benavides races his Honda motorbike during stage 13 of the Dakar Rally between San Juan and Cordoba, Argentina. Benavides finished second overall in his category, after winning the last stage. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

People accompany the statue of Ekeko, the Bolivian god of prosperity and the central figure of the Alasita miniature fair, in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Londono, a former rebel leader known as Timochenko, concludes his speech at a campaign inauguration to present congressional candidates for the political party formed by the former guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

This Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017 photo shows an aerial view of the Manduvira River near Arroyos y Esteros, Paraguay. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

In this Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 photo released by the Panama Foreign Ministry, Mexico's former Quintana Roo state Gov. Roberto Borge looks over his shoulder as he is escorted onto a Mexican plane in Panama City. (Efren Giron/Panama Foreign Ministry via AP)

In this Jan. 5, 2018 photo, protesters try to liberate a woman detained by riot police during a protest commemorating the ten year anniversary of the police killing of Mapuche indigenous activist Matias Catrileo, Santiago, Chile.  (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

In this Jan. 6, 2018 photo, Zala Vaidotas, right, and his co-driver Jurgelenas Saulius, both of Lithuania, jump in unison on the podium ramp during the Dakar Rally ceremonial start, in Lima, Peru. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Jan. 8, 2018 photo, a boy dressed as a "Guajiro" travels in a vintage American car during a caravan marking the 59th anniversary of the arrival of Fidel Castro and his rebel army in Regla, outskirts of Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo, a spectator checks on Guillaume Martens after the Macad Rally Team rider was overcome with fatigue and had no option but to retire, during stage 7 of the 2018 Dakar Rally between La Paz and Uyuni, Bolivia. (Franck Fife/Pool Photo via AP)

An activist dressed as a nun is lowered down by a police officers, and detained, after she and other protesters placed a pro-abortion banner above a road near Pope Francis' expected route, before the pontiff's arrival in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

A pilgrim waits for Pope Francis to celebrate Mass at O'Higgins Park in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Nuns express their happiness as Pope Francis walks past upon his arrival to the Cathedral, in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Shamans perform a welcome ritual for Pope Francis one day before he arrives to Peru, on Agua Dulce beach in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 photo, Hunikui Antonio Borges, from Acre, Brazil, listens to a speech during a congress of Amazonian indigenous, in Puerto Maldonado, part of Peru's Madre de Dios region in the Amazon, one day ahead of Pope Francis' arrival. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2017 photo, Azucar the Chihuahua, Bimba, the Great Dane, and another pet sit on the family couch at their home and shelter in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

In this photo provided by the government news agency Andina, an injured man is transported over water from a bus that fell off a cliff after it was hit by a tractor-trailer rig, in Pasamayo, Peru, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. (Vidal Tarky, Andina News Agency via AP)

Performance artist Roberto Martinez Perez, dressed as one of the Three Kings, reads a newspaper while waiting for families wanting to pose for souvenir photos on the eve of the Epiphany, in the historic center of Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 photo, Leonardo Flach, left, a Gray Dolphin Institute scientist, and assistant Luis Guilherme, place the carcass of a guiana dolphin in a boat after they recovered it from the coast on the Bay of Sepetiba, Brazil. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A nun takes a picture as she waits for Pope Francis to celebrate Mass at O'Higgins Park in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo, lawmaker Julio Juarez Ramirez, right, stands handcuffed in a courtroom flanked by two police officers, in Guatemala City. Authorities in Guatemala arrested Juarez Ramirez accused of orchestrating the murder of two journalists in 2015. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Firefighters give the first aid to people that were hurt after a car drove into the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Flames engulf the Virgen de la Candelaria church at the Calafquen community of Panguipulli, Chile, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. In the last week a dozen Catholic churches and chapels have been burned prior to the visit of Pope Francis to the Andean nation. (AP Photo/Jonathan Chandia)

In this Jan. 22, 2018 photo, people's shadows are cast on a wall at sunset in the neighborhood of Chicharrones in Santiago, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A priest holds a baby as clergy and indigenous people wait for the arrival of Pope Francis in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios province, Peru, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A reveler smiles during the Banda de Ipanema carnival "bloco" parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Friend and relatives of Jose Diaz Pimentel shout slogans against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during his funeral service at a cemetery in Caracas Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Yamaha rider Ignacio Casale, of Chile, is kissed by his wife after winning the quad category of the 2018 Dakar Rally in Cordoba, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Maria Naji, 85, eats rice and fish caught by her son, in the village of Palma Real, Madre de Dios province, Peru, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 photo, the former President of Honduras Jose Manuel Zelaya is pulled to safety after military police launched tear gas at protesters, near the presidential house in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. (AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)

Faithful waive at Pope Francis as he leaves the shrine of St. Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Jan.16, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2017 photo, Mariam Gutierrez de Velasco and her husband Jair Benavides share their bed with their dogs at their home in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a rally with his supporters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.  (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

In this Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 photo, a bullhorn preacher evangelizes to the passing residents of the Caradeux refugee camp set up nearly eight years ago for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Retired Army officer and ruling-party lawmaker Estuardo Galdamez stands after being sworn-in as the First Secretary of Congress, on the sidelines of the president's state of the nation address in Guatemala City, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A banner welcoming Pope Francis is reflected in a woman's sunglasses as she waits for the pope's arrival at the Maquehue Air Base, in Temuco, Chile, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018.  (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)

In this Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 photo, spectators cheer as Driver Giniel De Villiers, of South Africa, and co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz, of Germany, race their Toyota during the 8th stage of the Dakar Rally between Uyuni and Tupiza, Bolivia. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A boys holds a poster of Pope Francis as he waits for the arrival of Pope Francis in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios province, Peru, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018.  (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Nov. 1, 2017 photo, Juan Carlos Boite repairs a locomotive at Ferrominera Orinoco, in Ciudad Guayana, Bolivar state, Venezuela. In cash-strapped Venezuela, there's no money to buy spare parts. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Revelers wear wire mesh mask that represent the more affluent during the traditional New Year's festival known as "La Diablada", in Pillaro, Ecuador, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 photo, Philippe Raud, of France, right, and Miguel Angel Alvarez Pineda, of Peru, both drivers of Toyota cars, point in opposite directions as they try to determine their way across the dunes during stage 5 of the Dakar Rally between San Juan de Marcona and Arequipa, Peru. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

In this Jan. 14, 2018 photo, Father Pablo Zabala, better known as Padre Pablo, squirts holy water from a recycled water bottle during his last Mass as the parish priest in Boca Colorado, part of Peru's Madre de Dios region in the Amazon. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 photo, a man is detained during a protest against Pope Francis, in Santiago, Chile. Francis flew in to Chile's capital Monday night for a visit that was met with protests over sexual abuse by priests. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

In this Jan. 25, 2018, photo, a youth carries his injured dog Thales, hit by a stray bullet during a heavy exchange between police and alleged drug traffickers at the Rocinha slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A reveler points to the behind of a man dressed as a "naughty nun" at the Banda de Ipanema carnival "bloco" parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018.  (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Pope Francis waves from a golf cart as he is driven inside a coliseum during a meeting with indigenous groups from the Peruvian Amazon, in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios province, Peru, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 23, 2018 photo, a youth moves quickly to collect grains of corn on the street that fell from a truck that was looted outside the port in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Police officers help a woman who was taking cover against a median barrier during a confrontation between police and suspected drug traffickers along the road known as the Linha Amarela, or Yellow Line, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018.  (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A tourist kicks up her heels as she and a friend wait for the driver of a hot pink private taxi, a classic American Chevrolet convertible, before they take a driving tour of Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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